Productivity, Nutrient Digestibility, Nitrogen Retention, and Meat Quality in Rabbits Fed Diets Supplemented with Sida hermaphrodita

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Alfalfa is an important forage crop in rabbit nutrition. Despite the numerous advantages of alfalfa, efforts have been made to find its potential substitutes. Virginia fanpetals (Sida hermaphrodita), is yet another potential substitute for alfalfa in animal diets. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dehydrated Virginia fanpetals meal as a substitute for dehydrated alfalfa meal in rabbit diets. The results of this study indicated that Virginia fanpetals meal can be included in rabbit diets at up to 20% as a substitute for alfalfa without compromising the production performance of animals, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention, carcass quality, or meat quality parameters. ABSTRACT: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is an important forage crop in rabbit nutrition. Despite the numerous advantages of alfalfa, efforts have been made to find its potential substitutes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Sida hermaphrodita meal as a substitute for alfalfa meal in rabbit diets. The experiment was performed on 90 New Zealand White rabbits divided into three groups. DA group was fed a diet containing 20% dehydrated alfalfa. In the DA/DS group, rabbits received a diet containing 10% dehydrated alfalfa and 10% dehydrated Sida. The diet administered to the DS group contained 20% dehydrated Sida. The results of this study indicate that the dietary supplementation with Sida contributed to an increase in the final body weight of rabbits and improved the feed-conversion ratio. Experimental diets had no influence on nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention, and selected carcass characteristics of rabbits, except for the proportion of the hind part. The content of dry matter, total protein, and monounsaturated fatty acids in the hind leg muscles of rabbits was higher in the DA group than in the experimental groups. The concentrations of saturated fatty acids were higher in the tissues of animals fed diets supplemented with Sida.