PERFORMANCE OF WEANER RABBITS FED DIETS CONTAINING GUINEA GRASS LEAF MEAL AS REPLACEMENT FOR SOYA BEAN MEAL

The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of weaner rabbits fed diets containing Guinea Grass Leaf Meal (GGLM) as a replacement for soybean meal. The experiment aimed to determine the effects of substituting soybean meal with varying levels of GGLM on growth performance, feed intake, feed conversion efficiency, and protein utilization in weaner rabbits. A total of twenty (20) weaner rabbits of mixed breeds, aged between 6–8 weeks and averaging 820 g in weight, were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments containing 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% GGLM, respectively. Each treatment was replicated thrice with two rabbits per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD). Diet 1 (0%) served as the control with soybean meal as the primary protein source, while soybean meal was progressively replaced with GGLM at 10%, 20%, and 30% in diets 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Data were collected on average initial and final live weight, weekly feed intake, weekly weight gain, weekly protein intake, feed conversion ratio, and protein efficiency ratio. The results indicated that the inclusion of GGLM had significant (p<0.05) effects on the performance parameters of the weaner rabbits. Average final live weight decreased slightly with increasing inclusion of GGLM, ranging from 1628.40 g in the control to 1528.80 g at 30% inclusion, while weekly feed intake and weekly weight gain followed a
similar trend, decreasing as GGLM levels increased. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) improved at moderate inclusion (20%), indicating better feed utilization at that level, while the protein efficiency ratio (PER) was highest at 20% inclusion, suggesting that
rabbits efficiently utilized dietary protein at moderate levels of GGLM replacement. However, at 30% inclusion, performance declined, possibly due to increased fiber content and reduced digestibility of the diet.