SLAUGHTER QUALITIES AND BIOLOGICAL VALUE OF RABBIT MEAT FOR FEEDING VITAMIN-MINERAL SUPPLEMENT «TEKRO»
Authors: Fedorchenko M. M. , Malina V. V. , Hryshko V. A. 
Published: April 2021

The problem of complete mineral and vitamin nutrition in rabbit breeding is relevant today, despite new discoveries, and research in this direction continues both in Ukraine and around the world. The paper presents experimental data from the results of research to study the effect of different doses of vitamin and mineral supplement "Tekro" in the diets of young rabbits on their productivity, slaughter quality and biological value of rabbit meat. The obtained data of body growth, massometric indicators of carcasses and internal organs of rabbits of experimental groups after slaughter indicate a positive effect of vitamin-mineral supplement "Tekro" on the intensity of development of the body and individual internal organs, which contributes to increased metabolic processes and weight gain in animals research groups. Feeding vitamin and mineral supplements to rabbits of experimental groups of the New Zealand breed for 45 days contributed to a better transformation of feed nutrients into products. In rabbits of the 3rd experimental group, which together with basic ration were fed 3.5 % of the premix "Tekro" at 90 days of age, the highest rates of body weight were recorded, which differed by 8.89 % compared to the control group. In a set of indicators that characterize the nutritional value of rabbit meat, we studied sensory indicators that characterize the quality of rabbit meat: taste, color, pH, juiciness, moisture content, elasticity, aroma, "marbling", etc. It was found that in the appearance of carcasses and muscles in the control group, the samples scored 8.4 points. In the 3-rd and 4-th experimental groups, the number of points on this indicator was higher by 1.2 %. The difference was a trend. Examining the aroma of meat, it was found that in the control of this indicator, the samples scored 7.8 points. In meat samples from experimental groups 3 and 4, the aroma was more identical to natural, so the samples received 2.6 % higher scores. Samples from 3 experimental groups scored the most points in terms of taste. Compared with the control, the figure was higher by 3.6 %. Examining the juiciness of rabbit meat, it was found that samples obtained from carcasses 2 and 3 of the experimental group tended to increase this indicator. Summing up the data, it was found that the highest overall score was found in meat samples from 3 experimental groups. The difference with the control was within the trend and amounted to 2.4 %. Feeding rabbits vitamin and mineral supplements to rabbits helps to obtain good quality meat products with high culinary properties. No data were available to support the effect of vitamin and mineral supplements on compound feed on the synthesis of toxic substances in muscle tissue or the deterioration of rabbit meat. The biological value of muscle samples from rabbits of the 2-nd experimental group did not differ from the control data. The increase was only 0.11 %. It was found that the biological value of muscle tissue from animals of the 4th experimental group was greater than in the control. The difference was 2.6 % Meat obtained from rabbits of the 3rd experimental group, which were fed compound feed with a content of mineral-vitamin supplement "Tekro" 3.5 %, in biological value outweighed the control indicators. The difference was not significant and amounted to 4.1 %. The use of different doses of vitamin and mineral supplements in the feed of young rabbits did not lead to significant changes in the quality of raw hides and furs.