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Dietary Copper Supplementation Increases Growth Performance by Increasing Feed Intake, Digestibility, and Antioxidant Activity in Rex Rabbits

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Abstract

Copper is often used as a growth promoter, at the same time copper is one of the most important essential trace elements for fur animals, especially Rex rabbits. However, too much copper added to the diet may harm animal health, and copper excreted in feces can pollute the environment. In this study, 3-month-old Rex rabbits were randomly divided into four groups and fed a basal diet containing 0, 30, 60, or 120 mg/kg Cu for 5 weeks. The diet supplemented with 30 mg/kg Cu significantly increased (P < 0.05) the average daily feed intake (ADFI) and the average daily gain (ADG) and also the activity of serum Cu–Zn (zinc) superoxide dismutase and the digestibility of ether extract. Supplemental Cu up to 120 mg/kg did not significantly adversely affect the Zn metabolism of growing Rex rabbits. Overall, the data in this study indicate that 30 mg/kg is the optimal level of Cu supplementation in the diet of growing Rex rabbits. The results will provide a reference to improve the breeding of Rex rabbits and possibly other animals. In follow-up studies, the amount of copper in the diet should be reduced as much as possible from the baseline of 30 mg/kg copper.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2018MC025), the Modern Agri-industry Technology Research System (CARS-43-B-1), and the Shandong “Double Tops” Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, People’s Republic of China

    Li Fan, Lei Liu, Chen Xiaoyang, Zhang Bin & Li Fuchang

  2. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology and Disease Control and Prevention, Tai’an, 271018, People’s Republic of China

    Li Fan, Lei Liu, Chen Xiaoyang, Zhang Bin & Li Fuchang

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  1. Li Fan
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Correspondence to Li Fuchang.

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Li, F., Liu, L., Chen, X. et al. Dietary Copper Supplementation Increases Growth Performance by Increasing Feed Intake, Digestibility, and Antioxidant Activity in Rex Rabbits. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 4614–4623 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02568-z

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