TITLE:
Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Rabbits Fed a Diet Based on Palm-Press Fibres in Benin
AUTHORS:
Ghislaine Sègbédji Théodora Atchadé, Agossou Damien Pacôme Noumavo, Serge Egide Paulin Mensah, Mankpondji Frédéric Houndonougbo
KEYWORDS:
Fibre, Oryctolagus Cuniculus, Pellets, Growth, Carcass, Benin
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.16 No.4,
October
29,
2026
ABSTRACT: Palm-press fibres (PPF), a by-product available in Benin, represent a local source of fibre that could be valorized in rabbit feeding. This study aimed to evaluate, under real-world farming conditions, the effect of incorporating 15% PPF into a balanced diet on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of rabbits. A ten-week experiment was conducted on four rabbit farms in Dassa-Zoumé and Glazoué, using 96 crossbred rabbits aged 35 to 45 days, with an initial mean live body weight of 976.95 ± 40.88 g. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design, with the four farms serving as blocks. Two dietary treatments, a control diet (AT) and an experimental palm-press fibre-based diet (AFNP), were compared, with three replicates of four rabbits per treatment in each block. Feed intake, live body weight, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and carcass characteristics were evaluated. The results showed that mean feed intake was 88.35 ± 1.52 and 92.01 ± 1.52 g DM/day for the AT and AFNP diets, respectively, with no significant difference (P = 0.1061). Average daily gain was also similar between the two dietary treatments, with values of 16.75 ± 0.94 g and 16.84 ± 0.94 g for AT and AFNP, respectively (P = 0.9485). Similarly, no significant difference (P = 0.9286) was observed between the feed conversion ratios recorded for the two tested diets (5.63 ± 0.38 vs 5.58 ± 0.38). Furthermore, carcass yield of rabbits fed the AT diet (64.66% ± 0.68%) was comparable (P = 0.0668) to that obtained in rabbits fed the AFNP diet (66.45% ± 0.64%). However, total carcass fat yield was significantly higher (P = 0.0291) with AFNP (3.27% ± 0.57%) than with AT (1.85% ± 0.21%). These results show that the incorporation of 15% PPF into a balanced diet can maintain rabbit growth performance and carcass yields comparable to those obtained with the control diet under real-world farming conditions.