The effects of feeding four dietary treatments containing 0, 20, 25 and 30% olive pulp without nucleolus as replacement for barley grains to does and growing rabbits on nutrients digestibility and nutritive values, productive and reproductive performance, growth performance and economical efficiency were studied.
The digestibility of DM, CP and CF significantly (P<0.05) decreased with increasing olive pulp level up to 30%. However, digestibility of OM was not significantly affected by olive pulp inclusion. The gestation period, litter size at birth and at 28 days and litter weight at birth were insignificantly affected by olive pulp inclusion. The results indicated significant differences (P<0.05) among treatments in bunny weight at birth, at 21days and at 28 days, litter weight at 21days, at 28 days and at 35 days of age (weaning age), daily gain from birth to 21 days and from birth to 28 days and viability (%) from birth to 21 days, from birth to 28 days and from birth to weaning. No significant differences were observed in total milk yield among doe rabbits fed olive pulp (OP). The growth performance traits, the daily body weight gain significantly (P<0.05) decreased by increasing OP level more than 25%. Rabbits fed diets containing olive pulp can reduce production costs.
Accordingly, olive pulp without nucleolus could be used successively and safely instead of barley in feeding doe rabbits during gestation period up to 25% , up to 20% during lactation period, and up to 25% for growing rabbits without adverse, under North Sinai conditions.