The impact of a challenge with moderately pathogenic <em>Escherichia coli</em> O128:C6 on the digestive physiology and gut bacterial community of growing rabbits under two feeding programmes was analysed. Upon weaning (28 d old), 180 rabbits were allocated to four groups (9 cages of 5 rabbits per group) for two weeks: group C100 was non-inoculated and fed <em>ad libitum</em>; C70 was non-inoculated and feed intake was limited to 70% of C100; I100 and I70 were inoculated and fed <em>ad libitum</em> or restricted to 70%, respectively. At the age of 31 d (D0), rabbits were orally inoculated with <em>E. coli</em> (2.2×108 colony forming units/rabbit). The effects of inoculation spiked on D4, with a 28% lower growth rate for I100 than for C100. Limited feed intake reinforced the inoculation’s effects on growth: I70 had a 66% lower growth rate than C70. The morbidity rate peaked at 42% between D4 and D7 for inoculated groups, without significant effect of the feed intake level. <em>E. coli</em> concentration peaked on D5/D6 in the caecum of the I100 and I70 groups. Inoculation reduced by 30% (<em>P</em><0.05) the villus height/crypt depth and villus/crypt area ratios in the ileum, with no significant effect of the intake level. Inoculation was associated with a tenfold increase in serum haptoglobin (<em>P</em><0.001) for both <em>ad libitum</em> and restricted rabbits. On D5, the inoculation modified the structure of the ileal bacterial community (<em>P</em><0.05), but not that of the caecum. The feed intake level did not affect either the structure or diversity of the bacterial community, both in the ileum and caecum.

<p>The studies were carried out on 14 farms which deals with meat race of rabbits breeding. The basic herds had from 14 to 85 rabbits. The studies were carried on West Pomerania ( near Chojna) and warmińsko-mazurskie province (near Elbląg). Faecal samples were collected from examined animals and quali-quantitatively analysed to evaluate presence and number of Eimeria oocysts. In addition, isolated Eimeria oocysts were identified at the species level following sporulation. The study was based on two flotation methods:Willis-Schlaaf for qualitative and McMaster for quantitative analysis, which helped to establish the number of oocysts in 1g of feces (OPG). Ten species of coccidian were found in which 9 were intestinal (<em>E. exigua</em>, <em>E. perforans</em>, <em>E. media</em>, <em>E. magna</em>, <em>E. irresidua</em>, <em>E. coecicola</em>, <em>E. flavescens</em>, <em>E. piriformis</em>, <em>E. intestinalis</em>) and one was living in liver (<em>E. stiedai</em>).The dynamics of coccidia infection in the annual cycle showed large fluctuations. The OPG coefficient reached its maximum in mid-May at 21 100 oocyst / g. Exact knowledge of the biology of protozoan <em>Eimeria</em> will contribute to the development of prevention programs that stop the spread of the disease in rabbits.</p>

<p>Analysis of production systems allows scientists to identify their weaknesses, particularly concerning production practices which require improvements at economic, social, and environmental levels. The present study aimed to characterise rabbit farms in the urban and peri-urban areas of South Benin and assess their sustainability using the DIAMOND method, a multicriteria sustainability assessment tool. Ninety-eight farmers were surveyed and individually interviewed. Categorical principal component and twostep cluster analyses were performed on information collected for a typology of farms. Sustainability scores were generated using the scoring scale of the DIAMOND tool. Five types of rabbit farms were identified as follows: modern extensive polyculture, traditional extensive monoculture, modern extensive monoculture, semi-intensive polyculture, and traditional extensive polyculture. Overall, all the rabbit farms had good scores for the economic sustainability pillar but were socially limited. They were all similar in their economic and environmental performances. In particular, semi-intensive farms were the most socially sustainable, whereas traditional farms (either in polyculture or monoculture) showed the lowest social performances. Furthermore, there were significant differences between farms for criteria relating to consumers’ demands and resource use. Semi-intensive farms responded best to consumers’ demands, whereas the traditional polyculture farm type was the most resource use efficient. Overall, in the urban and peri-urban areas of South Benin, the most sustainable rabbit farms were semi-intensive. Irrespective of farm type, positive coefficients of correlations were recorded among the three pillars of sustainability, being significant between the social and economic pillars on one hand, and between the social and environmental pillars on the other hand. These results suggest that efforts to improve farm social performance would also positively affect their economic and environmental performances and improve overall farm sustainability.</p>

<p>The aim of the study was to examine the effect of hair shearing in growing rabbits reared at high ambient temperature. The live performance and carcass traits of growing rabbits reared at 20°C (not sheared, C, n=50) or at 28°C (not sheared, H, n=50, or sheared at 5, 7 and 9 wk, HS, n=50) were compared. The ambient temperature and relative humidity were 20.5±1.1°C and 54±11% in the 20°C room and 28.8±0.2°C and 35±8% in 28°C room, respectively. Feed intake of H and HS groups decreased by 29.0 and 20.4%, respectively, compared to C rabbits (<em>P</em><0.001). The same data for weight gain were 24.6 and 16.9% (<em>P</em><0.001), and for body weight at 12 wk were 16.8 and 11.5% (<em>P</em><0.001). At the same time, the feed conversion ratio improved (C: 3.53, HS: 3.34, H: 3.31; <em>P</em><0.001). Nevertheless, the mortality rate of rabbits was not affected by the studied treatment and was overall low (0-4%). No differences were observed in dressing out percentages either (ratio of chilled carcass (CC) to the slaughter weight: 61.6-61.9%). The ratio of liver to CC differed among the experimental groups, with the highest value recorded in C group and the lowest in H group; HS rabbits showed intermediate results (C: 4.86%, HS: 4.27%, H: 3.91%; <em>P</em><0.001). Lower ratios of fat deposits to reference carcass were also observed in rabbits kept at high ambient temperature (perirenal fat: C: 2.59%, HS: 1.82%, H: 1.60%; <em>P</em><0.001; scapular fat: C: 0.89%, HS: 0.66%, H: 0.51%; <em>P</em><0.001). It can be concluded that the negative effect of higher ambient temperature (28 vs. 20°C) on production in growing rabbits can be reduced significantly by hair shearing.</p>

<p>The aim of this study was to cast light on the effects of EconomasE™ (EcoE), a patented pre-mixture of nutritional additives consisting mainly of organic selenium (0.15 or 0.30 mg/kg feed; Se) combined with vitamin C (5 and 10 mg/kg feed; VC), compared to DL-α-tocopherol acetate (100 or 200 mg/kg feed; VE) dietary supplementation on rabbit performance and meat quality. In fact, the role of Se supplementation in the rabbit diet has not yet been elucidated in the literature and, more specifically, there are no studies on the possible synergistic action between organic Se compared with VE on lipids, fatty acids (FA) and the oxidative stability of two glycolytic muscles, <em>longissimus lumborum</em> (LL) and <em>biceps femoris</em> (BF). Two hundred and seventy New Zealand White rabbits were divided into five dietary groups of 54 rabbits each: 1) control (basal diet = BD; CTRL); 2) VE100 (BD + VE100 mg/kg); 3) VE200 (BD + VE200 mg/kg); 4) EcoE100 (BD + EcoE100 mg/kg); and 5) EcoE200 (BD + EcoE200 mg/kg). Neither of the antioxidant treatments affected growth performance, carcass traits or meat characteristics. Lipid and fatty acid contents were similar in LL and BF and not influenced by the dietary treatment. Meat oxidative stability was strongly improved by both antioxidants. These findings indicate that both EcoE and VE greatly improved the oxidative stability of LL and BF muscles at the dosage rates which, from an economic point of view, would normally be included in the formulation of feeds for rabbits.</p>

This paper contains recommendations for procedures to be used in applied reproduction trials performed with rabbit bucks and/or semen. The factors influencing sperm production (environment, age, health status and feeding strategies) are described as well as the effects of semen handling (dilution, storage conditions, etc) on spermatozoa characteristics. Basic tools for analysing spermatozoa characteristics are given. Procedures, material and methods to evaluate sperm metabolism are precisely defined in an appendix. The present guidelines have been discussed and approved by a panel of experts (see footnote) in the course of various meetings in the context of COST action 848 sponsored by EU.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the commercial lifespan and optimum wool harvest interval of Angora rabbits. One hundred shorn Angora rabbits were housed in an organised farm to describe the wool production curve. It showed that the optimum wool harvest interval was 75 d, when fibre length reached 55.0 mm. Wool production was lower from the 3<sup>rd</sup> to the 6<sup>th</sup> mo (young stage) than from 7<sup>th</sup> to 28<sup>th</sup> mo and rapidly decreased from 28<sup>th</sup> to 31<sup>st</sup> mo and was the lowest from 31<sup>st</sup> to 33<sup>rd</sup> mo of age. Feed intake-to-wool production ratio was higher from 3<sup>rd</sup> to 4<sup>th</sup> and from 7<sup>th</sup> to 9<sup>th</sup> mo of age than during the adult stage, and increased from 31<sup>st</sup> to 33<sup>rd</sup> mo of age. Daily weight gain was significantly higher from 3<sup>rd</sup> to 4<sup>th</sup> mo of age than in any other periods of the adult stage, and was negative from 23<sup>rd</sup> to 33<sup>rd</sup> mo of age. Therefore, the study reveals that the commercial lifespan of Angora rabbits was approximately 28 mo. Furthermore, wool production was higher in spring and winter than in autumn, and was the lowest in summer. Concomitantly, feed intake-to-wool production ratio was lower in spring than in autumn and winter, and was the highest in summer. Finally, daily weight gain was higher in spring and autumn than in winter, and was the lowest in summer. This indicates that wool production was depending on the season, and decreased significantly in summer. Moreover, the spring provided the best conditions for Angora rabbits.

<p>The housing of farmed animals is increasingly scrutinised by society and thereby subject to a change towards more animal-friendly systems. For rabbits, also kept as pets, there are no EC regulations regarding their housing under farming conditions. In many countries, studies have been carried out to improve their welfare and health under current and alternative housing systems. This paper reviews and integrates the research efforts made since the EFSA report in 2005 on reproducing rabbit does and provides some conclusions, where possible, with special emphasis on animal welfare according to the principles stated by the Welfare Quality® project, i.e. good housing, good health and appropriate behaviour. The use of an elevated platform provides greater opportunities for does and their kits to move, jumping up and down. Management and housing systems (especially flooring) must guarantee good hygienic conditions (all-in, all-out) and separation of the rabbits from their excreta for proper resting places, hygiene and health. Plastic floors and footrests and environmental enrichments (e.g. gnawing material) are also recommended. Continuous group housing systems for reproducing females have been definitively proven to challenge animal welfare by increased aggression and injuries among does and to kits. Part-time group housing systems have proven to have potential, but cannot yet be recommended in farms until major problems of aggression and injuries among animals are solved.</p>

The objective of this study was to determine changes in haematological values of topical administration of selamectin in rabbits with at least one species of naturally acquired ectoparasite infestation (<em>Sarcoptes scabiei</em> var. <em>cuniculi</em>, <em>Psoroptes cuniculi</em>, or <em>Cheyletiella</em> spp). Thirty-five rabbits were enrolled. They underwent physical examination and assessment of ectoparasite infestations on days 0, 14, 28, 56 and 86. Blood for haematology and serum biochemistry was collected on days 0, 14, 28 and 56. Selamectin was topically applied at a dose of 15 mg/kg onto the skin on days 0, 14 and 28, respectively. No ectoparasites or eggs were found in these rabbits from day 28 onwards by skin scraping and/or tape cytology. Haematology and serum biochemistry values were within normal limit throughout the study. However, the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio significantly decreased post-treatment from 2.89 (0.90-5.47) on day 0 to 1.38 (0.56-3.09), and 1.44 (0.42-4.47) on days 14 and 56, respectively. There were no adverse drug reactions or treatment-related mortalities during the study. This study indicated that selamectin was effective and safe in the treatment and prevent re-infestation for at least 58 d post-treatment. Moreover, the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio could be used for monitoring of inflammatory response in rabbits.

This study investigated the chronic effects of relatively low exposure to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on the growth performance, immune situation and reproduction in male rabbits. Bucks (n=32, 4.82±0.22 kg) were individually assigned to 4 treatments (8 replicates each) using a randomised complete block design. Four diets containing 0, 0.02, 0.05, and 0.1 mg AFB1/kg, were provided to bucks for 8 wk. Growth performance and semen quality were measured. Blood, organ and tissue samples were collected to measure haematological indices, liver function, organ weights and immune parameters. Compared to control, AFB1-contaminated diets reduced body weight and average daily gain (<em>P</em><0.05), altered certain haematological indices and liver function with decreased monocytes percentage and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, and increased plateletcrit and albumin (<em>P</em><0.05), slightly impaired reproductive parameters with enhanced ratio of morphologically abnormal sperm cells at early stage and reduced post-stage acrosome integrity, testis weight and serum testosterone concentration (<em>P</em><0.05), decreased immune function with reduced relative liver weight (%) and tumour necrosis factor-α levels in serum and liver tissue, and increased serum 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine levels (<em>P</em><0.05). Furthermore, bucks fed diets with relatively high AFB1 (0.05 and 0.1 mg AFB1/kg) had reduced red blood cell and haematocrit (<em>P</em><0.05) in contrast with the low AFB1 group (0.02 mg AFB1/kg). In conclusion, diets containing 0.05 and 0.1 mg AFB1/kg had negative effects on bucks’ growth performance, haematology, reproductivity and immune function, whereas diet containing 0.02 mg AFB1/kg had only minor effects on the parameters measured.