EXPERIMENTAL EXPERIMENTAL DietsDiets

Table 1Composition of the basal diet fed to weanling rabbits

aYeasacc10261 containing 108 cfu g-1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was added to separate batches of the basaldiet at 0.0, 1.50 and 3.0 g kg-1 to provide dietary treatments 1, 2 and 3, respectively.bProvided per kilogram of diet: vitamin A, 10 000 IU (retinyl acetate); cholecalciferol, 3000 IU; vitamin E, 8.0IU (DL-a-tocopheryl acetate); K, 2.0 mg; thiamine, 2.0 mg; pyridoxine, 1.2 mg; cyanocobalamin, 0.12 mg;niacin, 1.0 mg; pantothenic acid, 7.0 mg; folic acid, 0.6 mg; choline chloride, 500 mg; Fe, 60 mg; Mn, 100 mg;Cu, 8.0 mg; Zn, 50 mg; Co, 0.45 mg; I, 2.0 mg; Se, 0.1 mg.

Table 2 Performance characteristics of rabbits fed basal or yeast-supplemented diets

a-cMeans s in the same row without similar supercripts are significantly (P <0.05) different.*: P < 0.05; **: P < 0.01; ***: P < 0.001NS: Not significant

Table 3Blood composition in rabbits fed basal or yeast-supplemented diets

1MCV, mean corpuscular volume; MCH, mean corpuscular haemoglobin; MCHC, mean corpuscularhaemoglobin concentration.2Leucocyte differentials are expressed as percentage of the total cells count.a±c: Means in the same row without similar supercripts are significantly (P<0.05) different.*: P < 0.05; **: P < 0.01; ***: P < 0.001.NS: Not significant

Table 4Serum clinical chemistry of rabbits fed basal or yeast-supplemented diets

1AST, Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, Alanine aminotranferase; ALP, Alkaline phosphatase.a-cMeans in the same row without similar superscripts are significantly (P < 0.05) different.*: P < 0.05; **: P < 0.01; ***: P < 0.001.NS: Not significant

It can be concluded from this study that the addition of a culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae had a growth stimulating effect and the responses were generally linearlyrelated to the concentration of yeast.

EXPERIMENTAL EXPERIMENTAL DietsDiets EXPERIMENTAL EXPERIMENTAL DietsDiets

Table 1: Presence of Escherichia coli(>107 cfu/g), Clostridium perfringens (>107 cfu/g) and Pasteurella multocida in the faeces, intestine and lungs of fattening rabbits, respectively, after administration of probiotics

* Pearson chi square (P=0.05)

Table 2: Growth performance in the groups of rabbits at different fattening stages

* Different superscripts in the same row denote statistically significant difference (P≤0.05)

The results of this study showed that administration of the probiotic BioPlus 2B at 400 g/T of feed to fattening rabbits from 4 days post weaning until 5 days before the slaughter age reduces mortality and the presence of E. coli and C. perfringens in the faeces, and improves growth performance (ADG and FCR)..