Apple leaves and bark as forage items for zoo managed mono gastric herbivores

Zoos are obliged to offer local and novel browse material which are not comprehensively assessed. This study focused on apple (Malus spp.) browse and aimed to quantify the amount of edible material on a branch using allometric equations, to determine the nutritive value of these portions, and to assess the safety of feeding apple leaves and bark to monogastric’s using domestic rabbits as a model species. Allometric equations of the fresh weight of a branch and yielded the highest R2 values, ranging from 0.53-0.76. The nutritional profiles of the edible portions changed significantly over the growing season (p <0.05). Rabbits fed browse at the highest intake (35% DM) had no negative effect on body weight, organ weight, or circulating levels of ALT, AST, SOD, triglycerides, cholesterol, or the HDL:cholesterol ratio. These findings indicate that apple leaves and bark are relatively good quality and safe dietary items for monogastric herbivore species.