Energy balance and body reserves in rabbit females selected for longevity

Garreau, Hervé; Larzul, Catherine; Tudela, François; Ruesche, Julien; Ducrocq, Vincent; Fortun-Lamothe, Laurence

doi:10.4995/wrs.2017.5216

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…From 6th parity and 7th AI on, fertility began to decrease, first to 77%, then in the 8th AI to 75%, in the 9th AI to 73%, and so on. Garreau et al [ 69 ] observed a decrease in kindling rate, from 0.78 in the first AI to 0.69 in first parity and second AI and 0.73 in 3rd AI. With regard to age, in a more recent database of 43,803 does examined on 270 rabbitries between 2006 and 2019, the median was five parities (minimum to maximum: 1–39) and the mean, six (results not presented).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive Diseases in Farmed Rabbit Does

Rosell¹,

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Carbajo

et al. 2020

Animals

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In this study, we determined the occurrence of reproductive diseases in does on 1373 visited farms in Spain and Portugal, between 1994 and 2019. The retrospective information obtained was entered in a database classified as follows: apparent infertility (≤70% pregnancy rate), abortions (≥2% of serviced does), high fetal death risk at parturition (≥10%) or dystocia, amongst others. Infertility was the reason for 181 visits. The median of prevalence of apparent infertility in these cases was 35% (minimum to maximum: 25–90%) and the mean, 37.4%. We performed a prospective study to determine risk factors at the individual and farm level, with a second database corresponding to 2014–2019. We carried out pregnancy checks, assessed sanitary status and body condition, and recorded the age of 17,297 rebred lactating does on 142 farms. The median size of the farms was 800 does, and the examined cohorts, 350 does. Predisposing risk factors for infertility were observed: e.g., mastitis had an effect. During the 5-year study, we made a third database with the results from 190,508 does palpated by producers in a subset of 134 farms. In this case, the median of the prevalence of apparent infertility was 14.5% (minimum to maximum: 4.1–50%), which could be considered baseline occurrence when monitoring the theriogenology of rabbit doe farms. Reproductive rhythm was an enabling risk factor: does serviced ≤25 d postpartum were less fertile than at ≥32 d. We made a database with the body condition score (BCS) on a linear scale from 1 (emaciated) to 9 (obese). The pregnancy rate (PR) of underweight and borderline does (4/9) was 73.1%. The PR of overweight and borderline does (6/9) was 82.6% and those classified with a mean BCS (5/9): PR = 79.3%. We may infer that the optimum BCS for reproduction is 6/9, rather than 5/9. Some changes in female rabbit health and husbandry to improve reproductive performance and welfare are highlighted.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive Diseases in Farmed Rabbit Does

Rosell¹,

Fuente

Carbajo

et al. 2020

Animals

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“…Nevertheless, reproductive performance was similar between lines at the 2 nd generation (Garreau et al, 2017). In this experiment, the high longevity line accreted more body reserves at the onset of reproductive life than the low line and thereafter maintained higher body reserves until third delivery.…”

Section: Selection Programmes and Response To Selectionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Genetic factors of functional traits

2021

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Selection of functional traits is a challenge for researchers, but an increasingly necessary objective due to the growing concern regarding animal welfare and overcoming the problems of reducing antibiotic use in rabbit production without undermining the animals’ productivity. The aim of this review is to discuss the genetic control of resistance to diseases, longevity and variability of birth weight within a litter, or litter size variability at birth within doe, describing the selection programmes and the first results from a multi-omics analysis of resistance/susceptibility to diseases. The heritability is around 0.13 for longevity, 0.01 for uniformity in birth weight, 0.09 for litter size variability and around 0.11 for disease resistance. Genetic correlations between functional traits and production traits are mostly no different from zero, or are moderately favourable in some cases. Six selection programmes developed in three countries are reviewed. Line foundation with high pressure for selection or divergent selection experiments are different methodologies used, and favourable responses to selection have been achieved. Genomics studies have revealed associations in regions related to immune system functionality and stress in lines selected for litter size variability. Knowledge of the role of gut microbiota in the rabbit’s immune response is very limited. A multi-omics approach can help determine the microbial mechanisms in regulation immunity genes of the host.

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“…Based on current rabbit breeding programmes, the reproduction rhythm of the rabbit does is generally 42 d, which means that rabbit does spend their productive life either gestating, lactating or both. Females have to simultaneously allocate their resources to maintenance and to milk production, as well as to the developing foetuses (Garreau et al, 2017). This production system is very demanding, and consequently the annual replacement rate in rabbit does is very high (120%) Matics et al (2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This production system is very demanding, and consequently the annual replacement rate in rabbit does is very high (120%) Matics et al (2014). The main causes for doe replacement are health problems, poor prolificacy or fertility and poor body condition (Garreau et al, 2017). Body condition is related to the energy balance of the does, which is positive during the first 3 wk of gestation and results in increased fat reserves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During lactation, although the feed intake is heavily increasing, the energy balance of the does is still negative, which is caused by milk production. A considerable amount of body fat is mobilised, especially in primiparous females, and this phenomenon is indirectly responsible for the reduced lifespan of the rabbit does (Fortune-Lamothe, 2006;Garreau et al, 2017). Changes in the body composition of rabbit does can be monitored using precise in vivo techniques such as CT (Romvári et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Divergent selection for fat index in Pannon Ka rabbits: genetic parameters, selection response

et al. 2020

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<p>The objective of this study was to estimate the response to selection for total body fat content of rabbits measured by computer tomography (CT). A divergent selection experiment was performed using Pannon Ka rabbits, which were previously selected for number of kits born alive. The so-called zero generation consisted of 351 Pannon Ka rabbits, from which the index, total body fat volume (cm<sup>3</sup>) divided by the body weight (kg), was measured. Rabbits with low and high fat index values were selected to form the parent groups of the lean and fat lines, respectively. The lines consisted of 55-72 females and 35-47 males, depending on the line and generation. After three generations, the rabbits were evaluated by means of a single trait animal model. The fat index showed a moderate heritability estimate (0.28±0.03). The magnitude of the common litter effect was small (0.10±0.02). The breeding values averaged per generation provided slightly asymmetrical responses. Based on the results, the divergent selection was successful in confirming that CT is a very suitable method for performing selection for body composition traits.</p>

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Energy balance and body reserves in rabbit females selected for longevity

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

Reproductive Diseases in Farmed Rabbit Does

Reproductive Diseases in Farmed Rabbit Does

Genetic factors of functional traits

Divergent selection for fat index in Pannon Ka rabbits: genetic parameters, selection response

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