Special Issue "Feeding and Nutrition of Growing Rabbits"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marco Birolo
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy Food Natural resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Interests: animal science; rabbit science; animal welfare

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Different nutritional and feeding strategies have been applied in growing rabbits to reduce the incidence of digestive diseases and enhance productive performance as well as the global feed conversion ratio. Indeed, the high production costs and the occurrence of digestive disturbances, which are responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates in the fattening sector, represent the major threats to the profitability of rabbit farms. However, the main solution to control digestive diseases in growing rabbits still remains the use of antibiotics, but this approach has critical issues concerning public health and animal welfare. Furthermore, there is an increasing attention by the consumer on the safety, quality and sustainability of foods.

On the other hand, an enhanced farm feed efficiency can be achieved not only by improving genetics and management but also rabbit nutrition. Moreover, the development of new feeding strategies for optimising the gut health, performance and meat quality of growing rabbits is currently required. Thus, the present Special Issue addresses the last advances on rabbit nutrition and feeding for: i) defining nutrients requirements; ii) preventing digestive disturbances in the post-weaning and fattening periods; iii) reducing the environmental pollution; iv) improving growth performance and feed efficiency; v) limiting the impact of environmental stressors; vi) enhancing the end-product safety and quality. Original papers and reviews regarding the effect of prebiotics, probiotics and natural extracts on the health, growth performance and meat quality of rabbits, as well as the use of by-products and innovative row materials in rabbit nutrition are welcome.

Dr. Marco Birolo
Guest Editor

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 papers will be 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 monthly 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 1800 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

  • Rabbit
  • Nutrients requirements
  • Feeding plans
  • Natural extracts
  • Prebiotics
  • Probiotics
  • Gut microbiota
  • Health
  • Growth performance
  • Meat quality
  • Food safety
  • Environmental impact

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Impact of Dietary Supplementation with Moringa oleifera Leaves on Performance, Meat Characteristics, Oxidative Stability, and Fatty Acid Profile in Growing Rabbits
Animals 2021, 11(2), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020248 - 20 Jan 2021
Viewed by 702
Abstract
Moringa oleifera leaves (MOL) have gained great interest as a non-traditional feed ingredient due to their unique nutritional value. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of graded dietary supplementation levels with MOL on performance, carcass characteristics, antioxidant [...] Read more.
Moringa oleifera leaves (MOL) have gained great interest as a non-traditional feed ingredient due to their unique nutritional value. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of graded dietary supplementation levels with MOL on performance, carcass characteristics, antioxidant capacity, blood biochemical constituents, meat quality, and fatty acids profile of growing rabbits. A total of 120 weaned New Zealand white rabbits (6 weeks old) were randomly allotted into 4 dietary groups with 5 replicates each (n = 6), which were fed for 42 days with a basal diet as control or 3 experimental diets supplemented with 5, 10, or 15 g/kg MOL. The results showed that, compared to the control group, the dietary inclusion of MOL at a level of 10 and 15 g/kg DM linearly increased (p < 0.01) final live weight (2403.3 and 2498.2 vs. 2166.6) and average daily weight gain (36.5 and 35.51 g/d vs. 28.72 g/d), and enhanced feed conversion ratio (2.49 and 2.50 vs. 3.14). The dietary supplementation with MOL linearly increased dressing out percentage, spleen index, intestinal length, and decreased abdominal fat index (p < 0.01). Greater serum levels of total protein and globulin, but lower alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were observed in the MOL-fed rabbits (p < 0.01). Serum levels of total triglycerides, cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (p < 0.05) were decreased linearly and quadratically in the MOL groups compared with the control. Glutathione peroxidase activity increased (p < 0.01), whereas malondialdehyde decreased (p < 0.01) linearly and quadratically in both serum and meat, in response to dietary MOL supplementation. Dietary MOL supplementation increased the meat crude protein content but lowered the relative content of ether extract in the meat (p < 0.05). The relative content of the meat n-3 PUFA was increased by about 33.71%, 29.46%, and 24.36% for the MOL0.5%, MOL1%, and MOL1.5% groups compared to control. In conclusion, MOL could be used at a level of 1.5g/kg of the growing rabbits’ diets with beneficial impacts on performance, antioxidant capacity, and the nutritional value of the meat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feeding and Nutrition of Growing Rabbits)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

1. Effect of dietary incorporation of Nannochloropsis oceanica microalgae on rabbit productive performance, carcass and meat traits

Andre Almeida

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