Abstract

Two experiments were performed to evaluate Panicum maximum (Pm) and its effect on rabbits’ growth performance. In the first experiment, six adult V-line male rabbits were used to determine the digestible energy in Pm by continuously feeding these 120 gram (g) Pm and 120 g clover hay for 3 days, and then the digestible energy was recorded 1959 kcal /kg. In second experiment, a total of 64 rabbits of V-line, 6 weeks old with average weight of 702 g, were divided into 4 groups, each in 4 replicates (4 rabbits/replicate), the first fed basic diet; control (T1), the 3 groups fed on the diet contained Pm to replace clover hay as a percentage of 15%, 30% and 45%, which corresponds to 4.5%, 9% and 13.5% of the total diet; which represent T2, T3, and T4, respectively. Rabbits were fed ad libitum with pellet feed until the end of growth attempt (14 weeks). The results indicated that the proximate analysis of Pm was 11.65% crude protein, 2.67% crude fat, and 30.66% crude fiber. Rabbits in T4 group significantly had the best final weight, daily weight gain, and Feed Conversion Ratio FCR. All groups had high crude protein digestibility except the group fed T3 diet. The total number of cecum bacterial count was improved in all tested groups. In conclusion, feeding growing rabbits with Pm up to 45% instead of clover hay achieved higher growth performance and lower cecum coliform bacteria.