Abdelsalam Magdy, Fathi Moataz
Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Al-Qassim 51452, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, El-Shatby, Alexandria 21545, Egypt.
Anim Biosci. 2023 Apr;36(4):540-554. doi: 10.5713/ab.22.0354. Epub 2023 Jan 11.
Heat stress is a major challenge to animal production in tropical and subtropical climates. Rabbits suffer from heat stress more than farm animals because they have few sweat glands, and their bodies are covered with thick fur. Intensive farming relies on antibiotics as antimicrobials or growth promoters to increase animals' productivity and health. However, the European Union and many countries have banned or restricted the use of antibiotics in animal feed for human health concerns. Several studies have found that replacing antibiotics in rabbit feed with natural plants or feed additives increases productivity and improves immune capacity, especially under heat stress conditions. Growth performance, immune response, gut microflora, and carcass yield may be increased in rabbits fed a diet supplemented with some natural plants and/or propolis. In this review article, we discuss and summarize the effects of some herbs and plant extracts as alternative feed additives on rabbit productivity, especially for those raised under hot ambient temperatures.
热应激是热带和亚热带气候下动物生产面临的主要挑战。兔子比农场动物更容易遭受热应激，因为它们的汗腺很少，而且身体覆盖着厚厚的毛发。集约化养殖依靠抗生素作为抗菌剂或生长促进剂来提高动物的生产力和健康水平。然而，出于对人类健康的担忧，欧盟和许多国家已经禁止或限制在动物饲料中使用抗生素。多项研究发现，用天然植物或饲料添加剂替代兔饲料中的抗生素可提高生产力并增强免疫能力，尤其是在热应激条件下。在补充了一些天然植物和/或蜂胶的日粮喂养的兔子中，生长性能、免疫反应、肠道微生物群和胴体产量可能会提高。在这篇综述文章中，我们讨论并总结了一些草药和植物提取物作为替代饲料添加剂对兔子生产力的影响，特别是对于那些在炎热环境温度下饲养的兔子。
