الفهرس 
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Abstract
Objectives : The main objectives of the present study were to investigate the impact of partial replacement of concentrate feed mixture (CFM) CP by different levels of hydroponic barley (HB) on rabbits performance, digestibility, feeding value, some blood constituents and caecum microbial count. Methods & Results: The experimental work of this study was carried out at a private Rabbits Farm at Mansoura city of Al-Dakahlia, Egypt. The analytical work was carried out at laboratories of Animal Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University during the period from March to April, 2017. Forty weaned male APRI rabbits weighing 837.5 to 838.5 g/ head at 6 weeks of age were randomly allocated into 4 equal treated groups (10 rabbits each). The rabbits were individually reared in galvanized-wire cages fitted with a feeder and an automatic nipple drinker. Diets were offered twice daily, which the concentrate feed mixture (CFM) (3.5 mm diameter) was offered in the morning while the hydroponic barley (HB) was fed at evening, since HB replaced 20, 40 and 60% of CFM -CP (on DM basis) as follows:Diet 1 (D1): control diet (CFM) without hydroponic barley (HB) - Diet 2 (D2): CFM 80% + HB 20% - Diet 3 (D3): CFM 60% + HB 40% -Diet 4 (D4): CFM 40% + HB 60% .The changes in chemical composition of HB during 6, 7 and 8 days of growth period were studied. The main results generally showed that there was a tendency for gradual decreases in DM and NFE content, but increases in Ash, EE, CP and CF content by advancing age of sprouting. Rabbits fed D2 recorded the highest significantly (P < 0.05) values of digestion coefficients of CP and CF, while the lowest significantly (P < 0.05) values were recorded with rabbits fed D4 diet. There were positive significant (P<0.05) effect of feeding HB at levels of 20 and 40 % on concentrations of blood total protein, albumin and glucose. Rabbits fed HB diets (D2, D3 and D4) had significantly (P < 0.05) higher total viable count of bacteria in caecum compared with those fed the control diet without HB (D1). The values recorded for average total gain (ATG) for groups fed HB diets were significantly lower than that recorded for control (D1) without significant difference among the later diets during the period of 6 : 9 wks of age. Concerning ADG, similar trend as that recorded for ATG have been reported for ADG since control group recorded the highest value during 6 :9 wks (22.36 g), while the lowest value was found with group fed D4 (15.25 g). There were significant differences (P<0.05) in relative growth rate (RGR) among the different dietary groups during the three experimental periods (6 – 9, 9 – 12 and 6 - 12 wks of age). Rabbits fed D4 had the worse value (the highest) (4.87%) of feed conversion ratio (FCR). The best performance index (PI) value was recorded for group fed D1 (50.95 %) followed by group fed D2 (47.06 %) and those fed D3 (46.63 %) without significant differences among them have been observed, while the lowest significant (P<0.05) value have been shown with those fed D4 (28.61 %). There was no significant differences among all dietary treatments on DM, ash, EE concentrations and energy value of meat of growing APRI rabbits. The only significant difference was with CP %. Rabbits fed CFM without HB diet (D1) possessed higher total feed cost (L.E.) by about 1.19, 1.17 and 1.53, compared with D3, D2 and D4, respectively. Conclusion: It may be concluded that replacing of HB at the rate of 20 or 40 % of CFM protein in growing rabbit diets had beneficial effects on most criteria studied. Higher level (60% of HB) used herein in rabbit diets is not recommended since it negatively affected nutrients digestibility and feeding values of tested diets.