Influence of dietary copper concentrations on growth performance, serum lipid profiles, antioxidant defenses, and fur quality in growing-furring male blue foxes (Vulpes lagopus).

A 75-d experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of dietary Cu concentrations on growth performance, serum lipid profiles, antioxidant defenses, and fur quality in growing-furring male blue foxes. Seventy-five male blue foxes (5.78 ± 0.09 kg BW) were selected and randomly allocated to 1 of the following 5 dietary treatments: 1) control (basal diet without supplemental Cu; 7.78 mg Cu/kg), 2) 12.22 mg/kg supplemental Cu (Cu20), 3) 32.22 mg/kg supplemental Cu, 4) 72.22 mg/kg supplemental Cu (Cu80), and 5) 152.22 mg/kg supplemental Cu (Cu160). A dry feed that consisted of animal meals, soybean meal, extruded corn, and soybean oil was used as the basal diet and Cu was supplemented as reagent grade CuSO∙5HO. The results showed that Cu supplementation increased the ADG ( < 0.05) and fat digestibility ( < 0.01) and tended to improve G:F ( = 0.09). The ADFI, however, was not affected by dietary Cu ( > 0.10). Additionally, Cu supplementation linearly increased the concentration of fecal Cu, liver Cu, serum total protein, and albumin ( < 0.01). Foxes in the Cu160 group had higher serum Cu concentration than those in the control and Cu20 groups ( < 0.05). The concentration of serum cholesterol decreased with dietary Cu supplementation ( < 0.05). Serum high-density lipoprotein, on the contrary, tended to increase with Cu supplementation ( = 0.09). Copper supplementation increased the activity of glutathione peroxidase ( < 0.05) and tended to increase the activity of serum ceruloplasmin ( = 0.07). For fur quality, skin length in the Cu80 group was greater than that in the control and Cu20 groups. In addition, hair color tended to deepen with the increasing of dietary Cu concentrations ( = 0.08). In conclusion, this study demonstrates that Cu supplementation can promote growth and increase fat digestibility and fur length. Additionally, dietary Cu supplementation can enhance antioxidant capacity and reduce serum cholesterol in growing-furring blue foxes.