The effect of barnacles powder as a source of protein feed substitution against the digestibility of crude protein and crude fiber on male rabbits rex

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the effect of barnacle powder as a feed substitution in diet on digestibility of crude protein and crude fiber in 100 rex male rabbits. It was an experimental study using a completely randomized design with four treatments and five replications. The substitution of barnacle flour was given for four weeks and each diet was 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%. Data collection was carried out in the fourth week (for seven days) which included data on consumption, manure weight and analysis of treated feed and manure analysis. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance and Duncan test. The average crude protein digestibility (%) of P0, P1, P2, and P3 for each treatment were 76.84±0.81; 76.45±1.41; 76.09±0.60; and 77.47±1.01. The results showed that there were no significant differences (p> 0.05) in crude protein digestibility but the results showed a significant difference (p> 0.05) in crude fiber digestibility. The average crude fiber digestibility (%) of P0, P1, P2, and P3 for each treatment were 36.67±2.86; 50.81±1.57; 49.42±1.30; and 45.93±2.77. It showed that substitution of barnacle flour in diet can replace the source of protein in fish meal for the complete diet of rabbits.