Feeding Rabbits on Locally available feeds in Papua New Guinea.

Abstract

Domesticated rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were introduced into Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 1993 to improve family nutrition, income generation, self-employment opportunities for subsistence farmers and supply a by-product in the form of manure for improving soil fertility. The introduction was successful and rabbits are now kept by households in most mainland provinces. Since most rabbit farmers are located in rural areas where; access to goods and services is difficult and purchase of commercial feed is not an option due to its high cost, farmers have to resort to feeding their animals on readily available local feedstuffs. Studies conducted by the PNG University of Technology and later by the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) assessed available feedstuffs and low cost feeding options for farmers. Based on these studies, NARI released the recommendation that either sweet potato tubers or coconut, fed together with a suitable palatable fresh green leaf material, can be used to give satisfactory growth of weaner rabbits when fed free choice and to appetite. These diets can be entirely made up from locally available resources.