Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Rabbits Fed Oil Supplemented Diets

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of feeding different dietary fat supplements in the finisher rations of Baladi rabbits, including sesame oil (SO), olive oil sediments (OOS), and poultry grease (PG), in comparison to the traditional oil supplement, the soybean soap stock oil (SS), on growth performance, blood lipid profile, dressing percentage and carcass cut, and meat quality: water holding capacity (WHC) and cell forming unit (CFU). A total of 48 Baladi rabbits were used, with individual body weights (BW) of 519 ± 22 g at the beginning of the experiment. Rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups of 12, and those in each group were individually fed cereal grain-soybean meal (SBM) with a fixed amount ( i.e . 30 g/kg dry matter (DM)) of oil, being either soybean oil (SOY), olive oil sediments (OOS), recycled restaurant oil (RRO), or poultry grease (PG). All rations were isonitrogenous and contained iso-metabolizable energy (ME). At the end of the 44 day feeding trial, all animals were slaughtered. Rabbits fed a SOY supplemented diet consumed more (P < 0.05) feed than those fed the OOS, RRO, or PG supplemented diets. However, rabbits fed the SOY had a better (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio than rabbits fed the OOS, PG, or RRO diets. Oil source had no effect on carcass components weights. Liver was heavier (P < 0.05) in rabbits fed the SOY supplemented diet. However, the RRO fed rabbits had heavier (P < 0.05) small intestine, large intestine and cecum. In conclusion, the positive effects of the tested oil supplements ( i.e. RRO, OOS, PG) on the studied performance and carcass traits is encouraging, but more investigation is needed to identify the optimal levels for these supplements in various diets of local rabbits. doi: 10.14456/WJST.2016.10