The effect of prebiotic with bifidogenic properties on morphometric parameters of rabbits

The research was aimed at study of the potential and effectiveness of lactulose use in rabbit breeding. Lactulose is an isomer of milk sugar (disaccharide), it serves as a nutrient substrate for saccharolytic bacteria. The latter decompose it into short-chain fatty acids - lactic, acetic, propionic, butyric. At that time, the pH of the contents of the colon decreases. The microbiocenosis uses lactulose as a source of carbohydrates and energy. In this work, the optimal dosage and method of introducing lactulose into the diet of young rabbits of the California breed are calculated and determined experimentally. The experiment (2013-2016) involved male rabbits at the age of 45 days. The duration of the experiment was 60 days. The control group and two experimental groups of 20 heads each were formed by the method of analog pairs. The dry type of feeding was used using full-grain granular compound feed KK-92. Lactulose concentrate "Lactusan" was used, being added to drinking water. As the basic value of the norm for the introduction of lactulose into the diet of rabbits for further planned experiments, 0.06 g/kg of live weight per day was taken. As a result of the conducted studies, some responses of the rabbit body were revealed when they were raised using the lactulose prebiotic, which has bifidogenic properties. The influence of different dosages of lactulose on some morphological parameters and meat productivity of rabbits was established. The mass of the examined internal organs did not undergo critical changes. The introduction of lactulose into the diet of California rabbits for 60 days at a dosage of 0.06 g/kg of live weight per day increased the slaughter yield by 3.1 %, and at a dosage of 0.12 g/kg ‒by 0.5 %.