NUTRITIVE-VALUE OF BEET AND CITRUS PULPS FOR RABBITS

Fifty-four New Zealand X Californian rabbits were used to study the effect of the energy concentration of the basal diet (10.0 or 12.3 MJ digestible energy (DE) kg-1 dry matter (DM) on the estimation of the nutritive value of beet and citrus pulps, using the substitution method. All the digestibility values (energy, crude protein, and acid detergent fibre) were significantly higher when using the more concentrated basal diet. Digestible energy values for beet and citrus pulps were 12.4 and 13.1, or 10.0 and 11.3 MJ kg-1 DM when using the high or the low concentrated basal diets, respectively. The latter values are lower than those recommended at present in the feeding standards for rabbits, while the chemical composition of the experimental diets in this study was nearer to that of practical diets.