Título: Effect of sweet potato vine on rabbits’ fur
Rabbits’ skin is often used to produce delicate and thermal insulating fabric. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sweet potato vines (SPV) on length and quality of rabbits’ fur, which were fed different levels of that ingredient. A total of 25 rabbits, New Zealand, from both sexes, weaned at 35 days old was used, and they were distributed randomly in individual cages, in randomized allocation design with 5 treatments, with 5 replicates each. The animals were fed one of the following diets: 0SPV – Control diet without SPV; 25SPV, 50 SPV, 75SPV, 100SPV – Diets with 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, respectively, of sweet potato vines in replacement of alfalfa hay.The biological essay was carried out for 49 days. At the end, a portion of fur was removed from the region of the nape and submitted to length analysis. Collected data was tabulated and analyzed through Analysis of Variance (p<0.05), correlation and regression curve. The length of rabbits’ fur was not affected by experimental diets. Correlation test value (ρ) was negative. Therefore, results evidence the possibility of using local and low-cost ingredients, as SPV, to produce fur with the same quality, for fashion and handicraft industries, as in fur produced from conventional ingredients.
Data de publicação: Quinta, 18 Outubro 2018
Disponível em: http://www.rbc.acbc.org.br/images/Bara%C3%A7o.pdf
Palavras-chave: Fur length, Animal nutrition, Pelage