Nutritional Requirements of the Rabbit ∗

Abstract

There is abundant evidence 1 that the nutritional requirements of the rabbit are not the same as those of the rat. The possibility that the rabbit may require vitamin C has been considered by all workers in this field, but apparently none except Findlay 2 has found any reason to believe this requirement actually exists,

The first basal diet we used for the rabbit, No. 1002, had the following composition: Casein 20, starch 30, lard 13, cod liver oil 1, wheat germ oil 1, yeast 15, salts 5, cellulose 15. Ration 1535 was used later, and contained milk fat instead of lard, and cellophane instead of cellocotton. The longest survival period on Ration 1002 was approximately 7 weeks. Ration 1002 was then combined with various natural foodstuffs and observations were made on the growth rates and survival periods. The successful combinations are approximately as follows: one part Ration 1002 to: 1 wheat germ, 1 whole milk powder, 3.5 carrots, 6 whole milk, 5 canned tomatoes. In addition Ration 1535 was combined with 25 cc. daily of orange or lemon juice per rabbit. The response of the rabbits to the basal diets and to the various combinations is shown in Table I.

These feeding trials were conducted in an attempt to answer two questions: (1) Does the adequacy of a ration, satisfactory for the rabbit, depend in any marked degree on its composition as determined by the conventional feed analysis? (2) Do any of the substances which make the basal diet complete offer promise of yielding an extract that is equally effective? Our observations lead us to believe the first question can be answered in the negative, and the second in the affirmative.