الفهرس 
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Abstract
The present study was carried out at the Poultry research center, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, during the period from January to February 2018. This study aimed to investigate the effect of palm kernel meal (PKM) on the productive performance, some physiological traits, and carcass characteristics of growing rabbits from 4 to 9 weeks. Rabbits used in this study were V rabbit’s line which was a synthetic line selected for litter size at weaning. A total number of 96 weaned V line rabbits (unsexed) aged four weeks were used in this study. Rabbits were randomly distributed into four groups of 24 rabbits each. Each group was subdivided into 6 replicates (4 rabbits each). Rabbits used similarly in live body weight ranged between (555 - 575 g). Each group of rabbits was randomly assigned to one of the experimental treatments. The experiment lasted five weeks. The present experiment was designed to study the possibility of using PKM at different levels in the growing rabbit’s diets and evaluate their effects on performance, carcass quality, and blood constituents. Experimental groups were as follows:
The first group (control, T1) was fed on the commercial basal diet, which is formulated to satisfy the requirement of growing rabbits. The second group (T2) was fed the basal diet supplemented with (15%) PKM. The third group (T3) was fed the basal diet supplemented with (30%) PKM. The fourth group (T4) was fed the basal diet supplemented with (45%) PKM. The main results of this study can be summarized in the following points:
1. Results indicated that LBW was significantly (P≤0.05) affected by PKM levels during the whole experimental period at 63 days of age. The effect of increasing PKM to a level higher than 30% on live body weight was significantly lower in comparison with the treatments of 15% and 30% PKM as the increase in the level (45%) reduced live body weight.
2. The average body weight gain had significantly a relative improvement at the end of the experimental period 8-9 weeks of age, especially with 15 and 30% of PKM being 3.91 and 1.00% higher than the control group, respectively.
3. The highest feed consumption value was recorded for the 45% PKM group, and the lowest feed consumption was observed under the 30% PKM group with a decrease of 44 2.61% compared to the control group.