Effect of change in nursing method on the performance of rabbit does

[EN] To study the effect of nursing method on reproduction, 232 primiparous and multiparous lactating Pannon White and NZW rabbit does were distributed proportionately among four experimental groups: FF: free nursing from kindling until weaning; FC: free nursing from day 1 to 7 and controlled nursing from day 8 to 17; CF: controlled nursing from day 1 to 7 and free nursing from day 8 to 17; CC: controlled nursing from day 1 to 17. After the 17th day of lactation, free nursing was used in all groups until weaning at 35 days of age. In controlled nursing the females could visit the nest box between 8 and 9 a.m. every day. Artificial inseminations (AI, n = 482) with 42d intervals were performed on day 10 post partum, within 15 minutes after nursing. The results of three consecutive kindlings were evaluated. In conclusion, it is not recommended to follow controlled nursing between 1-17th days of lactation because productivity traits were relatively poorer than in the other groups. The change from controlled to free nursing before AI did not increase productivity parameters. Conversely, the switch over from free to controlled nursing did increase the number of 21 day-old young per insemination (3.0, 4.2, 3.4 and 3.1 for FF, FC, CF and CC, respectively, P<0.05) suggesting that such a change in nursing two days before AI can be an efficient biostimulation tool for improving productivity. However, young body weight at 21 days of age was considerably impaired, especially by numerically larger litters (432, 401, 414 and 417 g in FF, FC, CF and CC, respectively, P<0.05), which suggests that the duration of controlled nursing must be shortened to avoid a detrimental effect on growth. Therefore, further studies are needed to determine the optimum form of controlled nursing and its long term effect on productivity.Financial support for the research was obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development (project no. KF-173/4/00).Eiben, C.; Kustos, K.; Gódor-Surmann, K.; Theau-Clément, M.; Szendrõ, Z. (2004). Effect of change in nursing method on the performance of rabbit does. World Rabbit Science. 12(3):173-183. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2004.572SWORD17318312

Effect of controlled nursing with one-day fasting on rabbit doe performance.

This work studied whether the expected better subsequent reproduction for permanent controlled nursing versus free nursing could be further improved by a caloric biostimulation with temporary fasting and re-feeding of does before artificial insemination (AI) and how it influences the development of current litters. A total of 240 females were randomly assigned at first day of lactation to one of three groups each with 80 does in a balanced manner according to the number of kits, litter weight, newborn kit weight after adjusting to 8 rabbits per litter, doe body weight and parity. Rabbits in the control group (C) were fed ad libitum and nursed freely up to weaning at 35 days of age. In the group of local farm practice (F) females also received a diet ad libitum but controlled nursing was used. That meant once a day nursing for the first 14 days of lactation (8 am to 9 am) with using a metalsheet for doe–litter separation and free nursing afterwards. In the biostimulated group (B) does were subjected to a 24-h fasting between days 8 and 9 (i.e. only drinking was possible between 10 am Monday and 10 am Tuesday) with a 48–50 h ad libitum refeeding before AI (at 11 days, between 10 am and 12 am Thursday) and similar controlled nursing regime to F group. This biostimulation reduced the ratio of does having turgid vulva by 16.9% (46.7 vs. 63.6 and 48.1% for the B, F and C groups, respectively; Pb0.05) and the kindling rate by 6.8% (78.7 vs. 85.5 and 71.1%; Pb0.05) when compared with merely controlled nursing (F). However, biostimulation tended (P=0.152) to increase the total-born by one kit per litter (11.2 vs. 10.2 and 10.3). Individual kit weights and litter weights at weaning were reduced in response to controlled nursing (944, 966 vs. 1033 g; P=0.001 and 7179, 7451 vs. 7900 g; P=0.001). Biostimulation led to 17% lower total weight of 70-day-old rabbits per doe (14.54 vs. 17.53, 17.51 kg; P=0.009) compared to F and C groups due to poorer 35–70 day growth (36.1 vs. 40.5, 40.8 g/day; P=0.001) and higher mortality than for C group (12.3 vs. 7.9%; Pb0.01). In conclusion, this biostimulation worsened the subsequent reproductive performance of does and the development of current litter. Further research is required about the presumable interaction between the nursing system and feeding strategy of does