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Animals
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Feeding and Management Strategies for Improving Health, Welfare, Efficiency and...
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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: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 3707

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marco Birolo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
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
Dr. Alice Cartoni Mancinelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
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

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2317 KiB  
Article
Screening of Organic Acid Type and Dosage in Drinking Water for Young Rabbits
by Adrián Ramón-Moragues, Chiara María Vaggi, Jorge Franch-Dasí, Eugenio Martínez-Paredes, Catarina Peixoto-Gonçalves, Luis Ródenas, Maria del Carmen López-Luján, Pablo Jesús Marín-García, Enrique Blas, Juan José Pascual and María Cambra-López
Animals 2024, 14(15), 2177; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14152177 - 26 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1268
Abstract
Organic acids (OAs) are employed in animal feed to regulate gastrointestinal disorders and diarrhoea thanks to their ability to modulate the gastrointestinal environment and their antimicrobial capacity. However, there is not enough evidence regarding the most adequate OA and its effectiveness in rabbit [...] Read more.
Organic acids (OAs) are employed in animal feed to regulate gastrointestinal disorders and diarrhoea thanks to their ability to modulate the gastrointestinal environment and their antimicrobial capacity. However, there is not enough evidence regarding the most adequate OA and its effectiveness in rabbit farming. Therefore, the aim of this study was to screen and evaluate the response of young rabbits to six OAs, administered via drinking water, at three different concentrations (pH levels). Organic acids (acetic, ACET; formic, FOR; propionic, PROP; lactic, LAC; citric, CIT; and butyric, BUT) were tested at three concentrations (pH 3, 4, and 5). A negative control (CON; non-acidified water) was also included. We used 240 weaned rabbits (28 days old) divided into 2 batches. In each batch, animals were randomly allocated to 1 of the 19 experimental treatments and were housed in group cages of 6 animals per cage, treatment, and batch. Among the 240 rabbits, an additional cage with 6 animals was included to determine the initial physiological state of the animals. All animals were fed with commercial pelleted feed throughout the whole experiment. The duration of the study was 7 days, until 35 days of age. At 31 and 35 days of age, in each batch, three animals per day and treatment were slaughtered. The pH of the digestive contents in the fundus, antrum, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and cecum, as well as the gastric pepsin enzyme activity, was measured. Water and feed consumption per cage and individual body weight (BW) were recorded daily. The type and dosage of OAs affected water intake. ACET 3, PROP 3, and BUT 3 reduced water intake compared to CON, negatively impacting feed intake and weight gain. FOR and CIT acids led to the highest BW and weight gain at 35 days, compared to PROP, LAC, and BUT (p < 0.05); showing ACET intermediate values. While OAs had limited effects on gastric and small intestine pH, acidified water at pH 4 and 5 lowered ileum and caecum pH (p < 0.05) compared to pH 3. Acidified water at pH 4 showed the highest (p < 0.05) pepsin activity compared to pH 3 and pH 5. Considering the limited sample size and short-term assessment period of our screening test, the OAs with the highest potential for use in post-weaning rabbits were FOR, ACET, and CIT at pH 4. The selected combinations did not exhibit any early adverse effects in young rabbits. These results should be further confirmed in a broader population of animals. It would also be advisable to extend the application of OAs over longer periods to evaluate their effects throughout the entire growing period of rabbits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feeding and Management Strategies for Improving Health, Welfare, Efficiency and Sustainability in Rabbit Production)
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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
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1852
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
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feeding and Management Strategies for Improving Health, Welfare, Efficiency and Sustainability in Rabbit Production)
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