Evaluation of various salt addition levels in the pellets on performance and health of the domestic rabbit urination system

Abstract

This research aims to evaluate the various salt addition levels in the pellets on the performance and health of the domestic rabbit urination system. The completely randomized design method was used to determine the 5 levels of salt addition to the treatment, namely P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5 with 0%, 0,175%, 0,25%, 0,375%, and 0,50%. The sample consists of 20 male domestic rabbits aged 8 weeks with an average body weight of 897,05 ± 68,27g, which were kept in individual cages. The variables of these rabbits were analyzed to determine their performance and urinalysis using Anova (analysis of variance) and correlation analysis. The Anova results showed that salt addition levels in the pellets had a significant effect on FI, WI, FCR, UV, Nit, Pro (p<0,05), and insignificant on BWG, pH, Leu, Uro, Blo, Ket, Bil, Glu, and SG (p>0,05). The results further showed the correlation on several variables of performance and urinalysis. In conclusion, the optimal level of salt addition in the pellets was 0,25% because it give the lowest value of feed conversion ratio and does not adversely affect the health of the domestic rabbit urination system.