Feeding and Management Strategies for Improving Health, Welfare, Efficiency and Sustainability in Rabbit Production

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 969

Special Issue Editors

Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animal and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
Interests: rabbit and poultry feeding and nutrition; rabbit and poultry welfare; fish feeding; fish welfare; aquaponics; aquaculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Science, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74 06121 Perugia Italy
Interests: poultry behaviour and welfare; rabbit behaviour and welfare; fish behaviour and welfare; meat quality in poultry and rabbit
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Feeding and managing strategies play major roles in determining the health, welfare, and performance of farmed rabbits and thus the profitability of farmers. In growing rabbits, the main challenge is to find solutions which reduce the incidence of digestive diseases and the use of antimicrobials while maintaining highly productive performances and feed efficiency. On the other hand, the development of alternative rearing and housing systems is urgently required in view of the upcoming proposal of the European Commission for the gradual overcoming of cage farming systems. Research efforts are also required in order to develop innovative strategies with which to mitigate the effects of climate change in rabbit production and to reduce the environmental impact of rabbit farms.

The main purpose of the present Special Issue is to provide reliable information regarding feeding and managing strategies for: i) improving gut health and feed efficiency in growing fattening rabbits; ii) improving welfare of growing rabbits and rabbit does in alternative housing systems; iii) evaluating and reducing the environmental footprint (life cycle assessment approaches are welcome) of rabbit farms; iv) mitigating the impact of heat stress in rabbit production; and v) enhancing the meat quality traits.

Researchers are welcome to submit both original papers and reviews.

Dr. Marco Birolo
Dr. Alice Cartoni Mancinelli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • growing rabbit
  • rabbit doe
  • feeding plans
  • feed restriction
  • feed additives
  • gut microbiota
  • health
  • growth performance
  • environmental impact
  • housing system
  • housing conditions
  • welfare
  • behavior

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 1227 KiB  
Article
A Trial Comparing Growing Rabbits Differing in 18 Generations of Selection for Growth Rate Reveals a Potential Lack of Effectiveness in the Genetic Selection Progress
by Pablo Jesús Marín-García, Eugenio Martínez-Paredes, Luis Ródenas, Lola Llobat, María Cambra-López, Enrique Blas and Juan José Pascual
Animals 2023, 13(23), 3625; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13233625 - 23 Nov 2023
Viewed by 736
Abstract
A total of 338 weaned rabbits (from the R line, selected for post-weaning growth rate) were used to evaluate the response to 18 generations of selection for increased growth rate on rabbit performance. Animals were obtained from two vitrified populations of the R [...] Read more.
A total of 338 weaned rabbits (from the R line, selected for post-weaning growth rate) were used to evaluate the response to 18 generations of selection for increased growth rate on rabbit performance. Animals were obtained from two vitrified populations of the R line: R19V, belonging to the 18th generation (n = 165), and R37V, belonging to the 36th generation (n = 173), were allocated in individual and collective pens (178 and 160, respectively). A fattening trial was conducted from weaning (28 d of age until 63 d of age). During the trial, the body weight (BW), daily feed intake (DFI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were weekly monitored. Additionally, mortality and morbidity were daily registered. On days 49 to 53, an apparent faecal digestibility trial was also performed (12 animals per generation). Our results indicate that the generation of selection for growth rate did not affect mortality and morbidity. There were no differences in the diet digestibility according to the generation of selection. Regarding performance traits, R37V animals showed higher global BW (+6.7%; p = 0.0011) than R19V animals. R37V animals showed the same BW at weaning; however, R37V animals showed higher BW values in the last three weeks compared with R19V animals. Animals from the R37V generation also showed a higher DFI from 56 to 63 d of age (+12%; p = 0.0152) than R19V animals. However, there were no differences in global ADG and FCR between generations. These results indicate that the selection for growth rate in growing rabbits has slowed down, suggesting a lack of effectiveness in the genetic progress. Full article
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