Requirements and Metabolism for Calcium, Phosphorus and Vitamin D₃ in the Growing–Furring Blue Foxes

Abstract

A 3 × 3 factorial experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of dietary calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D3 (VD3) supplement levels on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and serum biochemical indices of growing-furring blue foxes. One hundred and thirty-five 120-day-old male blue foxes were randomly allocated into nine groups. The nine treatment diets were supplemented with 0%, 0.4%, or 0.8% Ca, and 1000, 2000, or 4000 IU·kg−1 VD3. The base diet contained 0.8% Ca and 327 IU·kg−1 VD3. The dietary calcium level had a significant effect on the average daily gain (ADG) of blue foxes at 121 to 135 days of age and 136 to 150 days (p 3 level (p p p 3 levels, which affected the digestibility of Ca and P (p 3 for growing-furring blue foxes.

Keywords

• blue fox
• calcium
• growth performance
• nutrient digestibility
• vitamin D₃