Health, performance and use of medication in professional Swiss meat rabbit production

Abstract

Health, performance and use of medication in professional Swiss meat rabbit production Husbandry conditions for rabbits in Switzerland are at a high animal welfare level in international comparison. Wire mesh flooring is prohibited and group housing is mandatory up to the age of eight weeks. Despite these animal-friendly husbandry standards, animal losses seem to be a significant problem, although reliable data on professional Swiss meat rabbit production is lacking to date. A herd survey was carried out in 52 rabbit farms to address this situation. At the same time, each new litter and each fattening group was documented with a standardized form focusing on animal death and the use of medication by the farmer over a one year period. In the case of increased mortality or new health problems, dead rabbits were sent to the National Reference Center for Poultry and Rabbit Diseases (Zurich) for pathological examination including bacteriological and parasitological diagnostics. Data from 32 farms were evaluated. The average mortality of young animals (birth to weaning) was 14.9% (1.0-30.0%) and of fattening rabbits (weaning to slaughter) 17.3% (4.3-31.8%). Intestinal diseases, mainly dysentery, intestinal coccidiosis and mucoid enteropathies, were the primary cause of death (68.2%). Eimeria spp., Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens were identified as the most frequent pathogens. Respiratory diseases were found in 18.7% of the examined rabbits, with Pasteurella multocida identified as the most common pathogen. 60.0% of the farms used antibiotics during the study period and a third (34.7%) of all the fattening animals were medicated with at least one antibiotic. The present results confirm that despite high animal welfare standards infectious diseases and mortality rates represent a considerable problem in professional Swiss meat rabbit production. Risk factors of increased morbidity and mortality should be identified to improve rabbit health, to reduce the high mortality rate and the extensive use of antibiotics in professional Swiss meat rabbit production. Practicable management improvements with specific prevention strategies should be developed.

Digestive problems in rabbit production: moving in the wrong direction?

“…Their gastrointestinal tract is complex and the digestive process is sensitive to disruption and subsequent gastrointestinal disease ( 1 – 3 ). Indeed, gastrointestinal disease is common in both pet and production rabbits, and was found to be the primary cause of death of meat rabbits, accounting for approximately two thirds of the mortalities on rabbit farms in Switzerland ( 4 ). The gastrointestinal problems that are seen in meat rabbits can be divided into two main types: those with a clear pathogenic origin [e.g., Escherichia coli ; ( 5 )] and those without a clearly identifiable pathogen involvement [e.g., syndromes like epizootic rabbit enteropathy (ERE); ( 6 )] that are understood less well.…”

Dietary Supplementation of Mixed Organic Acids Improves Growth Performance, Immunity, and Antioxidant Capacity and Maintains the Intestinal Barrier of Ira Rabbits

“…Due to the physiological incompleteness of young rabbits, weak immune function, low resistance, and adaptability to changes in the environment and diet structure, stress reactions such as indigestion, diarrhea, and even death often occur after weaning [2,3]. Although meat rabbits possess a certain degree of resistance during the fattening process and are not as vulnerable as young rabbits, the intestinal health of fattening rabbits should also be emphasized, which is critical for their growth and development [4]. In the past, antibiotics have been used as growth promoters to mitigate the adverse effects of weaning and to maintain intestinal health [5].…”