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This study was conducted to investigate the influence of the dietary supplementation with different levels of ascorbic acid on growth performance, nutrients digestibility, and carcass traits of growing rabbits under summer and winter conditions in Egypt. Factorial design experiment (2×4) was carried out including two seasons (winter and summer) and four levels of ascorbic acid 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g /kg diet. Results indicated that growth performance, daily feed intake, nutrients digestibility, nutritive values, hemoglobin, hematocrit, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Red blood cell counts, dressing (%) and organs (liver, kidney and heart) weight were significantly decreased at summer season compared with winter season. In contrast, ascorbic acid supplementation caused a significant increase in growth performance indices, organic matter (OM) digestibility, some blood parameters i.e., aspirate amino transferase (ALT, AST, urea, total protein and albumin) of growing rabbits. However, ascorbic acid supplementation showed insignificant effects in dressing percentage and relative weights of liver, kidney, heart, lung and spleen. On the other hand, the economical evaluation in this study showed that using of 0.5 or 1g ascorbic acid/kg diet in winter season and 0.5 g ascorbic acid/kg in summer season in the growing rabbit diets was more economical than the other treatment groups. Conclusively, the results revealed that fortification of rabbit diets with ascorbic acid especially level of 0.5 g/kg diet, economically, could enhance the growth performance of growing rabbit during mild and hot climate in Egypt.

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Aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of nigella sativa oil (NSO) supplementation under hot and mild Egyptian conditions, on physiological thermoregulatory response, blood components, gestation length, feed and water consumption during gestation and suckling period, litter size and weight at each of birth, 21 d and 30 d (weaning) of age and mortality rate of pups from birth to 30 days of age. Thirty New Zealand White (NZW) adult doe rabbits (15 in hot season and 15 in mild season) aged 6 months and weighed 2935.4 g were used. Results showed that feed intake, water consumption, rectal temperature, respiration rate, litter size and weight at birth, 21 d, weaning, pre-weaning mortality rate were affected significantly (P<0.01), while the gestation period, serum total proteins , albumin, globulin, urea and creatinine were not affected significantly by season. Supplementation the doe rabbits diet with NSO (30 g oil / kg diet) significantly improved litter size and weight at birth (P<0.01 and P<0.05), at 21 d and at weaning (P<0.05), while pre-weaning mortality rate, gestation period, feed intake, water intake, rectal temperature, respiration rate, serum total protein, albumin, globulin, urea and creatinine concentrations in blood plasma of does were not affected.It could be concluded that, feeding doe rabbits during the hot season with dietary supplementation of 30 g Nigella sativa oil/kg diet is very effective on productive and reproductive performances of rabbits.

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