1. Effect of inulin supplementation and age on growth performance and digestive physiological parameters in weaned rabbits
- Author
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Gábor Tornyos, Melinda Kovács, F. Kovács, Péter Horn, András Bónai, Hedvig Fébel, Zs. Matics, Zs. Szendrő, and L. Kametler
- Subjects
Aerobic bacteria ,Inulin ,Weanling ,Caecal bacteria ,Rabbit ,Biology ,Medication ,Feed conversion ratio ,Butyric acid ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,chemistry ,Lactation ,Fermentation ,medicine ,Weaning ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Food science ,Anaerobic bacteria ,Growth traits - Abstract
[EN] Three diets were formulated, a control diet (C, 40.7% NDF, 15.1% CP), the same diet but medicated (M, 500 mg/kg oxytetracycline and 50 mg/kg thiamulin), and a third diet obtained substituting 4% of barley with inulin (Frutafi t) in C diet (I). Pannon White does and their litters were randomly allocated into three groups (8/group) at 21 d of lactation and diets offered to the does and kids from 21 d of lactation onwards. After weaning (28 d), growing rabbits (30 cages/ treatment, 2 rabbits/cage) were fed the same diet as before weaning. At 28, 35 and 42 d of age, 6 healthy animals from each group (1 animal/cage) were slaughtered. Live body weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio increased and growth rate decreased with age (P, The research was funded by the OTKA (project No. T046999) and the TéT foundation (project No. FR27/2007).The authors are grateful to Dr. L. Maertens (ILVO-Belgium) for his advice on diet formulation.
- Published
- 2010
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