Effects of Diets Incorporating Pods of Faidherbia albida (Del.) A. Chev. and Piliostigma reticulatum (DC.) Hochst. on Rabbit Performance in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Aims: The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of incorporating Piliostigma reticulatum pods, Faidherbia albida pods, and legume haulms into diets for growing rabbits. Study Design:  A completely randomised design (CRD) was employed to assess the effect of incorporating local feed resources on the growth performance of rabbits. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Tenkodogo University Centre (Burkina Faso) from July to November 2025. Methodology: This study evaluated the incorporation of Faidherbia albida (Del.) A. Chev. pods, Piliostigma reticulatum (DC.) Hochst. pods, and legume haulms into the diets of growing rabbits in Burkina Faso. Twenty-seven rabbits were allocated to three dietary treatments: a commercial control diet (T), a diet including Faidherbia albida pods (A), and a diet including Piliostigma reticulatum pods (B). The trial lasted 70 days, during which feed intake and body weight gain were monitored. Results: The results showed that rabbits fed the control diet exhibited significantly higher growth (ADG: 16.45 ± 4.62 g/day) compared with those receiving the experimental diets (13.06 ± 0.47 g/day for A and 13.88 ± 0.46 g/day for B; p < 0.05). Feed efficiency was also superior for the control (FCR: 4.05) compared with the experimental diets (FCR: 5.45-5.58). Moreover, production costs per rabbit were reduced with the experimental diets (4 358-4 477 FCFA) compared with the control (4 641 FCFA). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the integration of non-timber forest products and legume residues represents an economically viable alternative for rabbit feeding, despite slightly lower zootechnical performance.