Digestive and productive utilization of semi- simplifield hay diets enriched with vinasse for growing rabbits

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of two qualities of Tifton 85 hay enriched or not with vinasse in semi-simplified diets on the apparent nutrient digestibility, composition and nutritional contribution of cecotropes, productive performance, and carcass, edible viscera and gastrointestinal tract yields of growing New Zealand White rabbits. Fresh vinasse at a proportion of 2:1 was added to the diets containing high-quality (HQV) and low-quality Tifton 85 hay (LQV). The control diets containing high-quality (HQ) and low-quality Tifton 85 (LQ) were not enriched with vinasse. In the digestibility assay, the semi-simplified diets were not influenced (P>0.05) by the quality of hay or by the addition of vinasse, except for the digestibility coefficients of mineral matter, which were 52.31%, 51.13%, 54.45% and 46.73% for treatments HQ, HQV, LQ and LQV, respectively. In the cecotrophy assay, production, chemical composition or nutritional contribution was not altered (P>0.05) in any of the treatments. In the performance assay, no significant difference (P>0.05) was observed in productive parameters or carcass traits, except for kidney weight (P