Effect of nursing methods and faeces consumption on the development of the bacteroides, lactobacillus and coliform flora in the caecum of the newborn rabbits

Abstract

-The effect of nursing method and ingestion of maternal faeces on the development of the bacteroides, lactobacillus and coliform flora of the caecum in the first 10 days of life were examined in freely nursed pups having access to maternal faeces (Group FF), pups nursed once a day and having access (Group CF), or having no access (Group CN) to maternal faeces. Colonisation of the caecum by Bacteroides commenced already on day 3 after birth. On day 2 the bacteroides counts were below 100, while on day 4 they were already between 100 and 10 000. In Group CN, the Bacteroides counts were lower (by 14 to 40%) throughout the 10-day period studied than in the groups having access to maternal faeces. Differences between groups were significant only on days 4 and 6. The average number of maternal faecal pellets left behind the doe in Group CN was 3-4 (between 0.5 and 6.4 per doe). In Groups FF and CF the pellets became smaller, crumbled and finally disappeared from the nest box, they were consumed by the pups and could be found in their gastric content. The lactobacillus counts decreased in all three groups with age, from 6.0 to 3.5 log10 CFU·g -1 (FF), 4.6 to 2.8 log10 CFU·g -1 (CF) and 5.1 to 3.1 log10 CFU·g -1 (CN), respectively. The coliform counts were higher in the first 4 days in FF (5.6 log10 CFU·g -1 ) than in CF (< 2 log10 CFU·g -1 ) and CN (2-3.6 log10 CFU·g -1 ) animals. Bacteroides could be cultured from the surface of the vulvar labia (max. 1000 colony count) and the vagina (max. 190 colony count), so young rabbits could become "infected" by them already in the doe's vagina. Thus prevention of ingestion of maternal faeces only slightly influenced the development of the bacteroides flora, the faeces left behind by the doe did not play an exclusive role in their colonisation. newborn rabbit / caecal microflora / bacteroides / controlled and free nursing Ő

The effect of lactating rabbit does on the development of the caecal microbial community in the pups they nurture

“…Through time, coliforms diminish until they disappear and streptococci numbers are reduced, whereas concentratrion of Bacteroides spp. increase following the first two weeks of age (Gouet and Fonty 1979; Kovacs et al. 2006).…”

“…The maturity of the intestinal bacterial profile is attained in successive stages from the initial sterility of the foetal intestine, being the maternal intestinal microbiota and the surrounding environment of the bacterial sources for the sterile neonatal gut. The proximity of the birth canal and the anus is an effective method of ensuring transmission of microbes from one generation to the next around the time of birth (Tannock 1994; Kovacs et al. 2006).…”

Engineering the rabbit digestive ecosystem to improve digestive health and efficacy

“…The prevention of ingestion of maternal faeces by the pups delayed the implantation of Bacteroides compared with pups that had access to mother's faeces in the nest. However, this difference did not persist after 8 days of age (Ková cs et al, 2006). The influence of the caecal microbiota of the nursing mother rather than the biological mother on the pup's caecal microbiota's initial composition was demonstrated by Abecia et al (2007a).…”

“…During the first few weeks of life, the caecal bacterial community is composed of equal numbers of strict anaerobes and facultative anaerobes; then the abundance of the latter falls rapidly and may disappear in some individuals after weaning . Bacteria of the Bacteroides Prevotella group were detected from 2 to 3 days of age (Ková cs et al, 2006;Combes et al, 2011) to reach a peak at 21 days . Moreover, 7 days after birth, archaea are present in the caecum at a significant level (10 5 copies of 16S rDNA/g) .…”

“…It came from the birth canal, gastrointestinal tract and fur of the doe (direct contact and hairs deposited in the nest). Moreover, during nursing, the doe leaves some faecal pellets in the nest that are eaten by the pups (Moncomble et al, 2004;Ková cs et al, 2006). This behaviour may contribute to the early implantation of the microbiota in neonates.…”