World Rabbit Science - Vol. 18 (4)-2010
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- Clinical, pathological and microbiological profiles of spontaneous enteropathies in growing rabbits
- Effect of dietary soluble fibre level and protein source on growth, digestion, caecal activity and health of fattening rabbits
- Effect of early feed restriction on performance and health status in growing rabbits slaughtered at 2 kg live-weight
- Preslaughter risk factors associated with mortality and bruising in rabbits
- Metabolic adaptations in neonatal mother-deprived rabbits
- Use of straw and wood shavings as nest material in primiparous does
- Effect of housing system (wire cage versus group-housing) and in-house air quality parameters on the behaviour of fattening rabbits
- Book Review. Nutrition of the Rabbit (2nd Ed.)
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- PublicationBook Review. Nutrition of the Rabbit (2nd Ed.)(Universitat Politècnica de València, 2010-12-30) Pascual, Juan José[EN] BOOK REVIEW: Nutrition of the Rabbit. 2nd Edition. C. de Blas and J. Wiseman (Eds.). CABI Wallingford and Cambridge, Massachusetts (2010). 325 pp. ISBN: 978 1 84593 669 3.
- PublicationEffect of housing system (wire cage versus group-housing) and in-house air quality parameters on the behaviour of fattening rabbits(World Rabbit Science. ICTA. UPV, 2010-12-30) Ribikauskas, Vytautas; Ribikauskiene, Daiva; Skurdeniene, Ina[EN] In the same room of an experimental rabbit house 2 housing systems were compared, namely three pens to keep rabbits on bedding and six wire cages for unbedded rabbit keeping. In total, 69 New Zealand White crossbred rabbits 8-12 wk old were used in the study. The rabbits were kept in groups with 0.6 m2 floor area per animal in pens with thinly scattered straw. Wire cages had no bedding and there were 4 rabbits in each cage and 0.4 m2 floor area per rabbit. The study lasted for 8 wk. Rabbit behaviour was observed once 1 wk for 24 h. Behaviour was recorded using a scan sampling every hour. Results were analysed by calculating the percentage frequency of each behaviour. Behaviour analysis according to the keeping method indicated that rabbits kept on bedding spent on average less time resting and grooming (41.53 % and 5.18 % vs. 53.60 % and 8.48 %) and more time eating (29.86 % vs. 18.03 %, respectively) in comparison with those kept in wire cages. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between environmental temperature, illumination, ammonia and carbon dioxide gas concentrations and activity of rabbits.
- PublicationUse of straw and wood shavings as nest material in primiparous does(World Rabbit Science. ICTA. UPV, 2010-12-30) Blumetto, Oscar; Olivas, Irene; Torres Salvador, Antonio Germán; Villagrá, Arantxa[EN] In rabbit production, several materials such as hay, straw, wood shavings or waste wool and cotton are used as nesting materials during parturition. In this work, straw and wood shavings were studied as potential materials for nest boxes, and a choice test was designed for this purpose. Two replicates of 30 primiparous does each were carried out. Does were housed 10 d before parturition in a double commercial cage, so each doe had access to 2 different nest boxes. One of the nests was filled with 8 cm of barley straw and the other with 8 cm of wood shavings, so the doe could choose which of them she prepared and gave birth in. During the 24 h prior to parturition, the state of the nest was assessed, according to the mixing of the material and the doe's hair and the preservation of the original material, as well as the chosen nest box. When the does gave birth, the number of live and dead newborn was recorded. In the first replicate, 87% of the does chose the straw nest box, while in the second replicate 93% of the does did so. The number of live kits at birth did not differ statistically for straw and wood shavings nests (8.36+-1.74 vs. 6.85+-3.44), but litters reared in straw reacted a higher size at weaning (7.98+-1.73 vs. 6.29+-3.35; P<0.05). Finally, all the nests achieved a good level of mixing between the original material and the hair of the doe and only 5% of the does removed the original material (regardless of whether it was straw or wood shavings) and made the nest only with their hair. In conclusion, our results suggest that does might have a strong preference for straw rather than wood shavings as nest material.
- PublicationMetabolic adaptations in neonatal mother-deprived rabbits(World Rabbit Science. ICTA. UPV, 2010-12-30) Brecchia, Gabriele; Zerani, Massimo; Bonano, Adriana; Boiti, Cristiano; Ministero dell'Istruzione dell'Università e della Ricerca, Italia[EN] In order to study the metabolic adaptation in response to 48 h transient doe-litter separation (DLS) in young rabbits (5 rabbits/d group) between postnatal 9 and 11 d, plasma concentrations of thyroid hormones T3 and T4, insulin, leptin, glucose, triglycerides (TG), and free fatty acids (FFA) were examined before (6-8 d), during (9-11 d), and after separation (12-16 d). T3 concentrations in newborn control rabbits gradually increased from 0.6 ng/mL at postnatal 6 d to 1.0 ng/mL at postnatal 16 d, whereas those of T4 remained fairly constant (25 ng/mL) up to postnatal 14 d, when T4 gradually declined to 8 ng/mL. T3 values of DLS newborn rabbits did not differ from those of controls at postnatal 10 and 11 d, but were lower (P<0.05) at postnatal 12 d, while T4 concentrations in DLS animals increased, although not significantly, between postnatal 10 and 12 d compared to controls. Insulin concentrations in young control rabbits ranged between 0.6 and 1.0 mg/L in the early postnatal days, whereas those for leptin averaged 2-3 ng/mL. Insulin and leptin values in DLS newborn rabbits were lower (P<0.05) at postnatal 10 and 11 d, but thereafter rebounded to levels close to those of controls. Glycaemia showed a comparable trend in both groups, ranging between 170 and 190 mg/dL up to postnatal 14 d, but thereafter decreased (P<0.05) to values of 120-130 mg/dL independently of treatment. Concentrations of TG varied greatly from day to day around a mean value of 300 mg/dL, whereas those of FFA remained at approximately the same steady-state levels from postnatal 6 to 16 d, averaging 0.8 mM without any significant differences between groups. In conclusion, these findings confirm that newborn rabbits can cope with the metabolic stress of starvation associated with DLS by lowering insulin and leptin concentrations while maintaining those of thyroid hormones, an overall endocrine response which, together with temporary increase of glucorticoids, successfully maintains an adequate energy balance.
- PublicationPreslaughter risk factors associated with mortality and bruising in rabbits(World Rabbit Science. ICTA. UPV, 2010-12-30) Petracci, M.; Bianchi, M.; Biguzzi, G.; Cavani, C.; Ministero dell'Istruzione dell'Università e della Ricerca, Italia[EN] The aim of this study was to identify and quantify risk factors associated with the mortality and bruising rate prevalence in 975 commercial batches of growing rabbits delivered for slaughter. The effects of environmental temperature, batch size (number of rabbits delivered per batch), journey and lairage duration on dead on arrival (DOA) and bruising prevalence were investigated and expressed as an odds ratio (OR). This value is equivalent to the relative risk, assessing each specific factor relative to its reference category (OR=1). The overall mortality rate of 0.09% was affected by environmental temperature, batch size, journey and lairage duration. A significantly increased DOA risk was associated with very low (<7.3°C; OR=1.28) and very high (>=22.6°C; OR=1.85) environmental temperatures. In addition, a significantly higher odds ratio (OR=1.70) was observed in the largest batches (>=3681 rabbits). Both increasing journey and lairage duration dramatically increased the risk of death during the preslaughter period. Rabbits belonging to batches either transported or laired for a long time had a roughly threefold higher risk of death. The overall prevalence of bruise percentage was 2.13% and was affected by environmental temperature, batch size and journey duration. Environmental temperatures ranging from 7.3 to 12.4°C decreased the risk of bruising (OR=0.90), whereas temperatures from 17.5 to 22.6°C and higher than 22.6°C exhibited significantly higher OR values (1.22 and 1.34, respectively). Moreover OR values were higher for small (734 to 1716 rabbits; OR=1.21) and very small (<734 rabbits; OR=1.36) batches, but also for very large ones (>=3681; OR=1.10). As for journey time, transport duration from 308 to 411 min and longer than 411 min duration increased bruising risk (OR= 1.15 and 1.19, respectively), while this risk was slightly decreased (OR=0.96) for medium journey duration (205 to 308 min). In conclusion, even though average DOA and bruising rates were quite low compared with chickens and turkeys, further logistics and planning improvements should be made in batch harvesting to reduce transport and lairage duration as far as possible in conjunction with extremely low and high environmental temperatures.