The experiment on the growth of rabbits involved a completely randomized design with six treatments and six replications, with two rabbits with balanced sexual distribution per trial unit. The six treatments included different methods of treating soya waste, including cooking it (T1), and five commercial probiotics, namely the biotic probiotic (T2), garlic powder probiotic (T3), M-VS05 probiotic (T4), UV-Bacillus probiotic (T5), and the alive probiotic (T6). The soya waste was anaerobically fermentedin three days before feeding it to the experimental rabbits. The results showed that the use of probiotic treatments improved nutrient intake, nutrient digestibility, digestible nutrients, and nitrogen retention (P>0.05). The T3 treatment resulted in the highest daily weight gain (P0.05). The group of rabbits fed with T1 treatment (without probiotics) had a much higher density of E. coli in their fecesthan the other five groups. These findings indicated that treating anti-nutrients in soya waste with probiotics could replace heat treatment and result in better growth performance, improved daily weight gain, and increased profits for growing rabbits.

Keywords: probiotic, herbivore, agricultural by-product, feed utilization