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This experiment was conducted to determine the nutritive value, palatability and selectivity of 10 legume herbages by rabbits. Chemical analyses and legume intake by rabbits were evaluated for the suitability to fully or partially replace commercial rabbit diet. Ten species of legumes: Desmodium triflorum, Clitoria ternatea, Stylosanthes guianensis, Calopogonium mucunoides, Albizia falcate, Albizia saman, Centrosema pubescens, Leucaena leucocephala, Indigofera zollingeriana and Arachis pintoi were analysed for nutrient content. The legumes were analysed for proximate analysis which included dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), ether extract (EE) and ash (OM). Two methods of feed preference testing were carried out to evaluate the acceptability and preference of the 10 legume species by the rabbits. Five New Zealand White female adult rabbits aged more than 1 year old were allocated to individual cages. The first trial was a single bowl test in which one legume species was offered to each rabbit daily and evaluated for acceptability. The second trial was a double bowl test in which two species of legumes were presented to each rabbit at the same time and evaluated for preference. The testing period for each method lasted for 9 to 10 d, preceded by one week of adaptation. The proximate analysis results showed that all legume herbages had high nutrient, such as CP content. Indigofera zollingeriana had the highest CP content and Calopogonium mucunoids had the highest CF content compared to other legumes and commercial pellet feed. Meanwhile from the feed preference trials, Arachis pintoi, Indigofera zollingeriana and Centrosema pubescens were the most preferred legumes while Albizia saman was the least preferred by the rabbits. It can be concluded that not all legumes are suitable to fully replace commercial diet in rabbits, thus suggesting that legumes can be combined with other forages, and both forages and commercial feed can be included in diets for a successful rabbit production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Napier grass is a C4 type tropical grass and commonly used as ruminant feedstuffs due to its promising yield. The preservation of Napier grass is to ensure continuous feed supply for the animals during shortage of forages as well as preserving the quality of the grasses. The study on nutritive quality of fresh and ensiled Napier cultivars was conducted at March 2014 at Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. Four Napier cultivars (Common Napier, Silver Napier, Red Napier and Dwarf Napier) were sown in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The Common, Silver and Red Napier were classified as tall types and Dwarf Napier as short cultivar. Results revealed that Common Napier and Red Napier had significantly higher (P≤0.05) dry matter yield (DMY). Both Silver and Dwarf Napier have the lowest DMY (P≤0.05) regardless of the grass height. Generally, Dwarf Napier had the highest leaf to stem ratio (3.18) and nutritive value (10% crude protein (CP); 66% in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD); 56% in-vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD)) than tall cultivars. The process of fermentation clearly decreased the nutritive value of Napier cultivars. The ensiling process decreased (P≤0.05) neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content (72 to 67%), IVDMD (69 to 61%)and increased (P≤0.05) the IVOMD (52 to 58%) and gross energy (16 to 17 MJ/kg).Regardless of the feed types, the CP content of Napier cultivars surpassed 7% of the minimum requirement for rumen microbial sustainability. There were interaction (P≤0.05) between cultivars and feed types on CP, potential gas production (A+B), metabolisable energy (ME) and degradation rates (C). The CP content of Common, Red and Dwarf Napier increased numerically due to ensiling process. Nevertheless, the ME content and C value declined gradually after the ensiling process. The compaction during ensiling process could affect the quality of Napier cultivars in particular the IVDMD and the degradation rates due to leaching of nutrient. It is concluded that the nutritive value of Napier cultivars were generally decreased due to preservation mechanism. Despite, the CP content and total gas production of Common Napier increased significantly after ensiled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]