Tropical Animal Production Investigations

Effect of Heat-Treated Rock Phosphate Diets on Growth, Post Parturition Performances and Reproductive Efficiency of Rabbits

2026-02-11T08:35:34+00:00

Phosphorus and calcium are essential for controlling skeletal growth and metabolic processes in rabbits. Due to the potential zoonotic implications of Bone Meal (BM), its use as a calcium-phosphorus source in rabbit diets has decreased. An alternative to BM could be Rock Phosphate (RP), a naturally occurring mineral rich in calcium and phosphorus, however RP contains fluoride which is a potent toxicant at high levels of exposure. This study was therefore designed to leverage the volatility of fluoride at relatively high temperatures a safe alternative to BM for rabbits. Eleven-week-old does (n=25, average weight= 1744 ± 29.64 g) were randomly allotted to five diets with heat treated rock phosphate (HTRP) replacement for BM at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% for 31 weeks (r=5) in a CRD. Average Daily Feed IntakeADFI (g), Litter Size at Birth-LSB (g), Litter Weight at 3 Weeks-LW3W (g) and Total Milk Yield-TMY (g) were recorded. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics and analysis of variance, using SAS 9.4 (2023). Means were separated using Tukey’s HSD at ?0.05.
The ADFI of 145.23±12.75 in rabbit does fed 100% HTRP was comparable with the control diet (151.74±12.87), but differed from 50% HTRP (104.46±61.43 g). The LSB of 4.60±1.14 g observed in rabbits fed 100%BM diet was significantly higher than 3.00±1.00 g (in 25%HTRP and 50%HTRP). The LW3W of 321.71±28.24 observed for 100% HTRP was comparable to control (336.13±28.50), while TMY of 1016.60±89.25 at 100% HTRP was similar to control group (1062.17±90.03) and better than other treatments. It was therefore concluded that replacement of bone meal with heat treated rock phosphate up to 100% did not affect growth, postparturition performances and reproductive efficiency of rabbits.

Influence of L-Dopa on the performance and lipid profile of pullet chicks

2026-02-11T08:51:47+00:00

The effect of L-Dopa on growth performance, cholesterol profile and blood metabolites was investigated in a 56-day experiment using 300 one-day old Nera Black pullet chicks that were fed diets supplemented with L-Dopa at 0.0%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4% dietary levels respectively in a completely randomized design. Feed Intake, Body Weight Gain and Feed Conversion Ratio were monitored using standard procedures. Blood (5 mL) was sampled from two birds per replicate at the end of the feeding trial to determine serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein and blood parameters using standard procedures. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at ?0.05. The Initial weight, final weight, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio did not differ significantly (P>0.05) in the birds fed diets containing graded levels of L-Dopa.

It was observed, however, that the feed intake of pullets fed 0.3% L-Dopa was significantly (P>0.05) higher than that of birds fed 0.0% L-Dopa but statistically similar to other diets. Monocyte counts of birds fed 0.1% and 0.2% L-Dopa were significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of birds fed 0.0% L-Dopa and 0.4% L-Dopa but all were similar to that of birds fed 0.1% L-Dopa diet. No significant difference was observed in the cholesterol profile and haematological parameters of the birds fed pullet starter diets with L-Dopa inclusions except the Basophils (10³ µL) where pullets fed 0.1% L-Dopa inclusion was significantly higher than those fed 0.4% L-Dopa but similar to other diets. Although, L-Dopa up to 0.4% inclusion in its pure state did not significantly affect performance, haematology and cholesterol because of the reproduction stage but had no detrimental effects on pullet chicks