CARROT LEAVES AS A ALTERNATIVE FEED FOR RABBIT

CARROT LEAVES AS A  ALTERNATIVE FEED FOR RABBIT  

Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Udayana University, Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia

Email: eny_fapet@unud.ac.id

Rabbits are cattle that are currently being raised in Indonesia by breeders because they have huge and profitable opportunities. This is because rabbits are prolipic animals which can breed very quickly. Farmers not only keep rabbits for sale as pets or ornamental animals but also are sold as beef cattle for meat consumption. Development of rabbit farming is an effort to diversify animal protein sources. Where we know that rabbit meat is healthy meat because it contains high protein and low fat so that the quality of rabbit meat is better than beef and pork.

The main obstacle faced in the development of rabbit farming in Indonesia is the availability of feed. To overcome the problem of feed availability, it is necessary to have alternative feed such as utilization of agricultural industrial waste. On one side there is carrot leaf which is a waste of carrot harvest which is abundant at the time of harvest. Carrot leaves are usually discarded and not used so that it becomes waste and can pollute the surrounding environment. So that this carrot waste can be used as an alternative feed for rabbits.

Carrot leaves are very potential as rabbit feed because they contain many nutrients that are beneficial for rabbits. Where carrot leaves have high protein content and low crude fiber compared to field grass, so carrot leaves can be used as an alternative feed for rabbits. To ensure that rabbits can produce well, it is very necessary to feed in sufficient quantities and quality and meet the standards of livestock needs. So the use of carrot leaves will make it easier for farmers to get feed that has good quality and availability is guaranteed and the price is cheap, thus the production costs will be reduced and eventually it will be able to increase the profits to be gained.

So carrot leaf potential is used as an alternative feed which has a high nutritional value which is useful for rabbits and is also a use of agricultural industrial waste. Where the utilization of agricultural industrial waste means that we have reduced environmental pollution.