Nutrient Requirements of Rabbits, 2nd Revised Edition
by National Research Council
February 1977
This report is one of a series issued under the direction of the Committee on Animal Nutrition, Board on Agriculture and Renewable Resources, Commission on Natural Resources, National Research Council. It was prepared by the Subcommittee on Rabbit Nutrition and replaces the First Revised Edition of Nutrient Requirements of Rabbits, issued in 1966. The purpose of this report is to present available data on the nutrient requirements of domestic rabbits and to provide information on the application of the data to feeding these animals. Such information should be especially useful to rabbit producers, manufacturers of rabbit feeds, and scientists using rabbits in research.
The following items identify the general nature of the report:
- Data presented reflect, in most cases, new information that was not available for the previous report; however, many requirements for rabbits have not been determined.
- Nutrient requirements and signs of deficiency and toxicity, where known, are presented and discussed. Requirements for growth, maintenance, gestation, and lactation are presented in tabular form.
- Requirements for essential amino acids for growth are indicated, but requirements for other conditions are not known.
- A section on Diets and Feeding Practices includes information on Pelleted vs. Nonpelleted Feed, Particle Size and Crude Fiber, Purified and Experimental Diets, Diet Ingredients and Examples of Adequate Rations, Germ-Free Diets, and Antimicrobial Agents.
- The section on Composition of Feeds and the accompanying tables were prepared by the Subcommittee on Feed Composition from information supplied by the International Feedstuffs Institute.
The subcommittee is indebted to Philip Ross, Executive Secretary, and Selma P. Baron, Staff Assistant, of the Board on Agriculture and Renewable Resources for their assistance in the production of this report, and to William P. Flatt, Director, Agricultural Experiment Stations, University of Georgia, who served as liaison between the Committee on Animal Nutrition and the Board on Agriculture and Renewable Resources in the review of the report.
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