Influence of a herbal feed additives (digestarom®)‎ on productive performance and blood constituents of growing rabbits

الملخص EN

A total of 45 unsexed weaned Alexandria rabbits line (a paternal rabbit line), at four weeks of age (with an average initial weight 513 gm) were randomly distributed into three groups (15 each).

First group (G1) was fed the basal diet (control).

The other groups were fed the control diet supplemented with 300 and 400 gm digestarom®/ ton feed.

The experimental period extended for five weeks.

The results showed that dietary supplementation with digestarom showed the highest live body weight, body weight gain, digestion coefficients, and caecal activity.

Treatment with digestarom also improved meat composition, carcass, dressing, liver and caecum percentages.

The improvements of feed conversion ratio and mortality rate with digestarom® groups were also found.

The experimental additives significantly increased hemoglobin, red blood cells count, serum phosphorus, insulin, T3 and growth hormones concentration.

Blood constituents significantly differed between groups and serum total lipid, cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations decreased with dietary supplementation with digestarom.

Blood serum total protein, albumin, globulin, glucose, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase AST, calcium (Ca), creatinine levels showed insignificant differences between the rabbit groups.

It can be concluded that herbal feed additives (digestarom) administration improved productive performance, some blood constituents and carcass characteristics of growing Alexandria rabbit's line.