Cashew nut meal (Anacardium occidentale L.) in the feeding of growing rabbits

Abstract

Two trials were conducted: (1) to determine the chemical composition, digestibility of nutrients and energy of cashew nut meal (CNM); and (2) to evaluate the effects of increasing its levels (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25%) in diets for growing rabbits on performance, carcass characteristics and economic evaluation. The digestibility assay utilized 24 rabbits (55 days of age), distributed in a completely randomized design with two treatments and 12 repetitions, with one reference and another test feed composed of 70% basal diet and 30% CNM. The digestibility of dry matter, crude protein and gross energy from CNM were, respectively, 76.61, 61.71 and 56.53%. The digestible dry matter, digestible protein and digestible energy were, respectively, 74.28, 16.97 and 3,549 kcal/kg. The performance assay utilized 120 rabbits, with an average of 45 days of age and weight 1090 ± 151g, distributed in a completely randomized design with six treatments and 10 repetitions with two rabbits of the same sex per cage. The inclusion of CNM above 5% promoted a linear reduction in feed intake and improved feed conversion, without affecting weight gain and carcass characteristics to the 20% level of inclusion. There was also a linear reduction in feed cost per kilogram of weight gain and linear improvement in rates of economic efficiency and cost index up to 25% CNM inclusion. Based on these findings – and to not hurt performance – it is recommended to include up to 20% CNM in rabbits' diet. Keywords: alternative feedstuff, economic analysis, Oryctolagus cuniculus, productive yield.