Effects of dietary supplemental zinc and/ or selenium enriched spirulina (Zn-Sp, Se-Sp and Zn-Se-Sp, respectively) as antioxidants on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma biochemicals and antioxidant status of growing rabbits under summer conditions were evaluated. A total of 160 New Zealand White male rabbits at six-weeks-old were randomly assigned to four groups. The first group received untreated diet (control). The other groups received diet supplemented with 100 mg Zn-Sp/kg diet, 0.5 mg Se-Sp/kg diet or 100 mg Zn-Sp+ 0.5 mg Se-Sp, respectively. The findings showed that the supplemented diets enhanced growth performance of rabbits at marketing. Rabbits fed Zn-Sp exhibited high dry and organic matter digestibilities while those fed Zn-Sp and Zn-Se-Sp diet supplemented achieved high crude protein digestibility. Rabbits fed diet supplemented with Zn-Se-Sp gave the highest hot carcass weight when competed with their counterparts. Zn-Sp and Zn-Se-Sp supplemented diets tended to promote dressing percentage. Low concentrations of plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol were recorded by Se-Sp and Zn-Se-Sp groups. Rabbits fed Se-Sp, Zn-Se-Sp had the greatest HDL, plasma TAC and catalase and the lowest TBARs. Conclusively, dietary supplementation of 100 mg Zn-Sp, 0.5 mg Se-Sp or their combination could improve growth performance, nutrients digestibility and antioxidant status of heat stressed growing rabbits.

Poultry production is an important area of the agricultural economy. Nowadays, there is an interest in novel sources of feed additives that will improve production performance and poultry health. As an easily available and renewable biomass rich in biologically active compounds, seaweeds can meet this demand. Different forms of seaweeds–seaweed powder from naturally occurring biomass, cultivated or waste biomass, extracted compounds, post-extraction residues or liquid extracts–may be used in poultry feeding. Inclusion of this unconventional material in the poultry nutrition can positively influence the poultry performance along with its health and enrich poultry products with active compounds, such as micro- and macroelements, polyunsaturated fatty acids and pigments. Seaweeds also reduce lipids and cholesterol in eggs. Moreover, due to their unique properties, they can serve as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters. This review presents the latest developments in the use of seaweeds in poultry nutrition, as well as its limitations.

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The effect of dietary orange peel (OPE) and tomato pomace extract (TPE) supplementations on growth performance, plasma biochemicals, carcass characteristics and antioxidant status of growing male rabbits were investigated. A total of 96 rabbits (5 weeks old) were distributed into four groups. The first group received untreated pelleted diet (control). The second group was fed a diet containing ascorbic acid (AA; 1.0 g/kg diet), while the third and fourth groups consumed diets supplemented with 200 gm of OPE or (TPE, respectively. Our results indicated that OPE and TPE contained 59, 14.03 mg ascorbic acid/100 g DM, respectively. Growth performance, except feed conversion ratio, and carcass weight were improved by dietary supplementations. Dietary supplementations decreased kidneys, abdominal, back fats and ether extract of meat. Plasma protein and globulin levels were high in rabbits fed AA and TPE-supplemented diets. Low plasma total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were observed in rabbits fed the supplemented diets. Plasma AA was increased in rabbits fed AA and OPE-supplemented diets. Rabbits fed OPE and TPE-supplemented diets had great SOD activity. The best economic efficiency was recorded by rabbits fed the supplemented diets. Dietary supplementations of OPE and TPE could effectively improve growth performance, antioxidative status, modulate AA level in plasma and meat and lower plasma total cholesterol and LDL.

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of feed restriction systems, herbal mixture and their interactions on growth performance, carcass traits, and microbial aspects of growing New Zealand White (NZW) rabbit kept from 5 to 13 weeks of age. A 3 Â 4 factorial arrangement was performed, including three feed restriction systems (ad-libitum, 90%, and 80% of ad-libitum) and four dietary supplementation levels of herbal mix (0, 0.30%, 0.50% and 0.70%). A total number of 120 rabbits (male and female ratio 1:1) at five weeks of age were randomly allotted into twelve experimental groups (n ¼ 10 each). Results showed a significant decrease in body weight, body weight gain and feed intake in restricted-fed rabbits compared to the control group (ad-libitum). HERBS levels significantly influenced the growth performance and carcass traits of rabbits. The herbal blend had a positive effect on reducing the population of pathogenic microorganisms and increasing the population of lactic acid bacteria. Conclusively, it could be concluded that the feed restriction system has beneficial effects in the improvement of feed conversion ratio (FCR), weight gain, and carcass traits. In addition, HERBS supplementation to the growing rabbits resulted in significant improvements in growth performance, carcass characteristics, and microbial aspects of rabbits kept from 5 to 13 weeks of age. HIGHLIGHTS:This work investigated the effect of feed restriction systems (FRS), herbal mix (HERBS), and their interactions with rabbits. Restricted feed decreased live body weight during all ages studied. Feed conversion ratio, weight gain and carcass traits were improved due to FRS. The HERBS improved the growth, carcass traits, and microbial aspects of rabbits.