The present study aims to investigate the effects of orally quaffed antioxidant (as a source of vitamin E) throughout 7 weeks on growth performance, digestibility coefficient and carcass traits, hematological, and serum biochemical, and economic efficiency parameters of the growing black Balady rabbit males. Eighteen rabbits with an average body weight (436.75 ± 10.87 g) were randomly allotted into two experimental treatments as T1 and T2 (n=9; rabbits/treatment), which were individually subdivided into three replicates (n=3; rabbits/replicate). All rabbits in T1 served as a control treatment and fed basal diet plus orally quaffed a dosage of coconut oil as a carrier material of vitamin E up to 2.0 mL / kg live body weight (LBW) / two times weekly. However, T2 rabbits were fed the same basal diet and orally quaffed a dosage up to 2.0 mL of antioxidant (each mL contain 7 mg of vitamin E) / kg LBW/ two times weekly. The results cleared that, rabbits in T2 significantly (P<0.05) enhanced all growth performance parameters, digestibility coefficient (%), nutritive values (%), carcass characteristics, and serum biochemical measurements compared to those in T1. Oxidative capacity status was significantly improved in T2 rabbits relative to T1 rabbits. The economic efficiency and relative economic efficiency parameters were higher in T2 than T1 rabbits. Conclusively, orally using vitamin E as an antioxidant agent could be a useful tool for improving the productive performance, and physiological, and oxidative status parameters, besides its economic benefits for rearing native black Balady rabbits.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.