ABSTRACT
Fifty male New Zealand White rabbits, aged 6 weeks and average live body weight of 710.74 ± 10 g, were randomly assigned to five groups (10 rabbits each) and fed basal diets containing varying levels of Silver Nano Particles (Ag NPs) for a 14-weeks experimental period. This study evaluated the efficacy of using different levels of Ag NPs as dietary supplementation in growing rabbits.
A completely randomized design was employed, with the first group G1 (control) receiving the basal diet without supplementation. Rabbits in the other groups G2, G3, G4, and G5 were fed the basal diet supplemented with Ag NPs at levels of 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 mg/kg of diet, respectively.
The obtained results indicated that the highest values of live body weight, daily weight gain, hot carcass weight, and dressing percentage were observed in rabbits fed diets supplemented with Ag NPs across all levels compared to the control group. However, nutrient digestibility and nutritive values were not significantly affected by the nanoparticle supplementation. Additionally, feed conversion ratios, net revenue, and economic efficiency values improved in the groups receiving Silver Nano Particles when compared to the control group.
Our findings suggest that the Silver Nano Particles in rabbit diets positively influenced performance and economic efficiency compared to the control group. The optimal results were obtained at 2 mg Ag NPs/kg of diet.