THE EFFECT OF SUPPLEMENTING GROWING NEW-ZELAND WHITE RABBIT DIETS WITH LEMON GRASS OIL DURING HEAT STRESS IN EGYPT

Document Type : Original Article

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Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

This study was aimed to evaluate the impact of supplementing growing New-Zeland rabbit diets with lemon grass oil (LGO) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass traits and meat quality during heat stress. Ninety New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits were randomly divided into three groups, each in three replicates and fed diets supplemented with 0,100 and 150 mg LGO /kg diet during summer season in Egypt. Diets and water were allowed ad-libitum to rabbits and the experiment lasted for 8 weeks. The results showed that supplemented LGO significantly improved final body weight; body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. The addition of LGO significantly improved DM, CP, CF and NFE digestible coefficients and the nutritive value (TDN and DCP) compared with control group. Supplemented growing rabbit diets with LGO significantly increased carcass, dressing, giblet, liver and heart percentages and significantly decreased abdominal fat and shoulder fat percentages compared with control group. The meat content of total protein was significantly increased, while total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly decreased compared to control. Supplemented diet with LGO suppressed MDA concentration in rabbit meat. Both drip loss and cooking loss percentages in meat were significantly decreased. The results concluded that supplementing growing New-Zeland White rabbit diets with lemon grass oil alleviated the adverse effects of heat stress on all experimental parameters.

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