ABSTRACT
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different levels of vitamin E
(α-Tocopherol) supplements in the diets of crossbred (NZWhite x Local) rabbits on their
reproductive performance in the Mekong Delta. The experiment was carried out in a completely
randomized design, consisting of four treatments with eight replicates each. Each experimental
unit was a rabbit doe aged between 5-6 months, having an average body weight of 2693±40.3 g.
The treatments comprised of different levels of vitamin E supplementation at 0, 40, 80, and 120 mg/
kg DM feed, namely treatments E0, E40, E80, and E120, respectively. The experiment was carried
out on 2 parities of rabbits. The results indicated that vitamin E supplementation at 80 mg/kg DM
feed tended to improve reproductive parameters in parity 2 compared with parity 1 in terms of the
number of alive newborn kits per litter, the number of weaned kits, and no statistically significant
differences were found between treatments in terms of dead embryos, litter weight at birth/litter;
weaned kits weight/litter and economic efficiency improvement. However, the milk yield, the alive
newborn kits per litter, and the weaned kits per litter decreased at E120.
Keywords: Crossbred rabbit, heat stress, reproductive performances, vitamin E