Partial Replacement of Wheat Bran with Tea (Camelia assamica) Waste in Weaner Soviet Chinchilla Rabbits Diets: Effect on Nutrient Utilisation and Performance

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of factory tea (Camellia assamica) waste on the performance of Soviet Chinchilla rabbits. Twenty four, 42 day old (12 male + 12 female) Soviet Chinchilla rabbits of average body weight of 1056 g were divided into 4 groups of 6 animals each. Four experimental rations were prepared containing 0, 5, 10 and 15% tea waste replacing wheat bran in groups E1, E2, E3 and E4, respectively and fed a small amount of para grass for a period of 42 days Average daily gain of 20.93, 20.44 20.28 and 13.88 g with feed/gain ratio of 3.57, 3.55, 3.39 and 4.11 was found in groups E1, E2, E3 and E4, respectively. The digestibility of DM, CP, EE, CF and NFE was lower (P<0.05) in group E4 compared to other groups. Dressing percentage decreased along with increase in level of tea waste in the diet but was significantly lower in E4 group. The retention of N (% of N intake) was also lower while cost of production was higher in group E4. Thus, tea waste could be incorporated in the diet of growing rabbit up to the level of 10% as a replacement of wheat bran without any adverse effect on performance while replacement level of 15% adversely affected the performance of rabbits.