Effect of Yucca Schidigera herbal extract in diet on weight gains of rabbit does (preliminary results)

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of different concentrations of yucca herbal powder additive to the diet on weight gain of rabbit does. Three months old rabbit does (n=45) of New Zealand White line were used in the experiment. The does in the control group (C; n=15) were fed with commercially available diet and in the experimental groups the diet was enriched with 5 g (E1; n=15) or 20 g (E2; n=15) of yucca (Yucca schidigera) powder extract added to the 100 kg of the diet. We found out statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in total average weight gains in the experimental group 1 (E1; 1427.9±51.02 g) compared to the control group (C; 1285.9±35.09 g) and experimental group 2 (E2; 1252±46.24 g). The highest (but not significant) total weight gains per week were observed in the experimental group 1 (E1; 203.99±40.62 g). Lower total weight gains per week were found in the experimental group 2 (E2) compared to the control group (C) (178.85±38.40 and 183.8±40.6 g respectively). In conclusion, addition of lower (5 g/100 kg diet) concentration of Yucca schidigera plant extract to the commercially used diet had positive effects on rabbit doe weight gains, but more experiments are needed to prove this assumption.