A critical approach of the calculation procedures to be used in digestibility determination of feed ingredients for rabbits

Abstract:

The effect of differences between tested ingredient and basal diet dry matter content and the effect of premix inclusion on the digestible nutrient content of tested feedstuffs are analysed. The calculation procedures to be followed in digestibility evaluation assays of feed ingredients far rabbits are also described by means of examples. The impact of dry matter correction on the estimation of the digestible nutrient content of tested ingredient increases with increasing of differences between the dry matter content of basal diet and tested ingredient, and between the nutrient content of basal and test diet, and with decreasing substitution rate, varying from 0.05% to 9%. Premix correction increases the digestible nutrient content of tested ingredient proportionally to the premix addition (calculated on dry matter basis) and independently of the substitution rate and of the kind of feedstuff evaluated. Nevertheless, the complete correction (both by dry matter and premix) sometimes has a compensatory effect, when corrections act in opposite way.

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