Effect of supplementation with native grass on performance in Rex rabbits

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different proportions of native grass diets on late immunization index, slaughter performance, diarrhea rate, mortality rate, alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity, and digestive organ development index in Rex rabbits. Thirty 110-days-old healthy Rex rabbits were randomly divided into three groups with 10 rabbits in each group (half male and half female). In Group Ⅰ, which was the control group, the rabbits were fed with a basal diet; Group Ⅱ rabbits were fed with 85% basal diet + 15% native grass; Group Ⅲ rabbits were fed with 70% basal diet + 30% native grass. The adaptation period was 7 days and the treatment period was 30 days. The results show that the spleen index and IgA content in the experimental Groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ were significantly higher than that in Group Ⅰ (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the other immunological indexes (P>0.05). Compared with Group Ⅰ, the body weight and carcass weight in Group Ⅲ were increased by 11.5% and 13% (P<0.05), respectively. The AKP activity in the three experimental groups decreased with the increase in consumption of native grass (P>0.05). There were no instances of diarrhea or death in the three groups. Compared with Group Ⅰ, the duodenum ratio and jejunum ratio in Group Ⅲ were increased by 16.2% and 39.2% (P<0.05), respectively. Compared with Group Ⅰ, the caecal ratio in Group Ⅲ was decreased by 26.7% (P<0.05). In summary, rabbit harvest can be improved by improving the physical health of rabbits when they are fed with a 30% native grass diet.