Feed restriction in growing rabbits: performance and digestibility

Strategies that reduce feeding costs became extremely important in the pandemic period, which provided a great increasing in the rabbit feeding costs. Feed restriction can improve intestinal health as well as to economize feed in the farm. This work aimed to evaluate the productive performance and digestibility in growing rabbits submitted to feed restriction. Therefore, 160 rabbits weaned at 32 days of age were distributed into two groups, which consisted of ad libitum and feed restriction. Rabbits with feed restriction received 50g per day in the week after weaning, 100g daily from 53 to 60 days of age and ad libitum from 39 to 53 and 61 to 74 days of age. Rabbits of the ad libitum group has free access to feed throughout all experimental period (32 to 74 days of age). For the digestibility assay, total faeces collection was performed using 10 animals from each treatment of the growing experiment. Rabbits with feed restriction were lighter at 39, 53 and 60 days, but reached 74 days with similar slaughter weight, showing compensatory growth. The productive performance of rabbits with feed restriction was impaired within the two restriction periods, with subsequent recovery. The treatments alternated superiority for daily weight gain in the different evaluated periods, although considering the entire period, there was similarity. Outside the restriction periods and considering the entire experimental period, daily feed consumption was similar, suggesting that there were no significant feed savings. Feed conversion was similar when consider all period. There were no significant effects on the digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter and mineral matter. Feed restriction at the proposed levels can be used without impairing the performance of rabbits.