Abstract
The effects of replacing groundnut cake (GNC) with urea-treated and fermented brewer’s dried grains in weaner rabbits diets on the performance, haematology and serum chemistry was investigated. Urea-treated and fermented brewer’s dried grains were used to replace GNC at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels in weaner rabbits´ diets. Diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isocaloric to provide 18% crude protein and 11.00 MJ/kg metabolizable energy. Weaner rabbits of mixed breeds and sexes, aged 8 weeks, were randomly allocated to five treatment groups on equal weight and sex basis. They consisted of two rabbits per replicate and six rabbits per treatment. They were fed ad libitum in hutches for ten weeks. Significant (P < 0.05) differences were observed in final body weight, daily body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, white blood cell count (WBC), glucose and sodium content for all treatment groups. Results indicate that urea-treated and fermented brewers dried grains can be used to replace up to 75% GNC (18.00% of the diet) as an alternative plant protein source. Mortality level (3 - 7%) was normal and evenly spread across treatment groups.