Hempseed meal as a feedstuff in the diet of growing meat rabbits

Objective: Though currently not approved in the USA as an agricultural animal feed ingredient, our objective was to determine the effects of hempseed meal replace-ment of traditional CP sources in the diet of growing meat rabbits on intake, growth performance, and visceral organ weights.Materials and Methods: Pelleted rations were formu-lated in which hempseed meal replaced alfalfa meal and soybean meal at 4 levels (CON, LOW, MED, and HIGH, representing 0, 25, 50, or 75% of the ration CP, respec-tively). Weaned Californian rabbits (n = 64) were pen fed (4 rabbits per pen, 2 pens per treatment) in each of 2 periods for 35 d. After feeding, rabbits were slaughtered via cervical dislocation.Results and Discussion: Dry matter intake was great-est (P < 0.05) from LOW, followed by MED and then CON, and was least (P < 0.05) from HIGH. Similarly, total weight gain and ADG were greatest (P < 0.05) from LOW (1,230 g and 35.1 g/d, respectively), followed by MED (1,163 g and 33.2 g/d, respectively) and then CON (1,067 g and 30.5 g/d, respectively), and were least (P < 0.05) from HIGH (725 g and 20.7 g/d, respectively). There was a quadratic response (P = 0.03) of treatment for DM digestibility, whereby DM digestibility decreased by 10% from CON to LOW before increasing by 14% with HIGH. Implications and Applications: Results suggest that hempseed meal may be included in the ration of growing meat rabbits (once legally approved) at low concentrations (25% of dietary CP) for enhanced production.