Maternal Milk Contains Antimicrobial Factors That Protect Young Rabbits from Enteropathogenic
            <i>Escherichia coli</i>
            Infection

Gallois, Mélanie; Gidenne, T.; Tasca, Christian; Caubet, Cécile; Coudert, Cécile; Milon, Alain; Boullier, Séverine

doi:10.1128/cvi.00468-06

Cited by 37 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The higher mortality rate of early-weaned rabbits presumed a higher sensitivity to digestive disturbances. This agreed with the recent results of Gallois et al (2007) showing the protective effect of milk intake in the young rabbit challenged with an enteropathogenic strain of Escherichia coli.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Adaptability of the digestive function according to age at weaning in the rabbit: I. Effect on feed intake and digestive functionality

Gallois

Huërou‐Luron

Fortun-Lamothe

et al. 2008

Animal

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The functional adaptability of the digestive system to the level of feed intake was investigated in the young rabbits by comparing two groups of 12 litters each, weaned at 21 (W21) or 35 (W35) days of age. From 14 days onwards, rabbits were fed a pelleted feed (NDF: 332 g/kg, CP: 177 g/kg, starch: 98 g/kg, as-fed basis). Until 49 days of age, the profile of digestive enzymes was weekly determined in the small intestinal content and mucosa, as well as caecal fermentation traits and fibrolytic activities. In the W21 group, the solid feed intake was increased by 57% between 21 and 35 days (P , 0.01), while the daily body growth was lower from 21 till 42 days (217%, P , 0.05) when compared with the W35 group. Activities of enzymes of pancreatic origin were only scarcely influenced by the weaning age. In the W21 group, amylase activity tended to be lower at 28 days of age (236%, P 5 0.064), and trypsin activity was decreased by 31% at 49 days of age (P , 0.01). Lipase activity was similar in both weaning groups. Duodenal and jejunal activities of maltase and aminopeptidase N (APN) were higher on day 28 in the W21 group as compared with the W35 group (31.4 to 32.4, respectively, P , 0.05). On day 35, duodenal APN activity was twice as higher in the W21 group than in the W35 group (P , 0.01). In caecum, major differences between both weaning groups were observed at 28 days of age with a decrease in ammonia concentration (243%, P , 0.01) in W21 compared with W35 rabbits. Conversely, the acetate proportion was 5% higher in the W21 group (P , 0.01) on day 28. In conclusion, the digestive tract of early-weaned rabbits showed some adaptative properties in response to nutritional environment changes, but they were insufficient to maintain their growth rate.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Adaptability of the digestive function according to age at weaning in the rabbit: I. Effect on feed intake and digestive functionality

Gallois

Huërou‐Luron

Fortun-Lamothe

et al. 2008

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The higher mortality rate of early weaned rabbits presumed a higher sensitivity to digestive disturbances. This agreed with the recent results of Gallois et al (2007) showing the protective effect of milk intake in the young rabbit challenged with an enteropathogenic strain of Escherichia coli. In addition, enteropathies (a disease of the intestine, especially the small intestine) are frequently seen during weaning of rabbits.…”

Section: Effect Of Weaning Age On Performancesupporting

confidence: 82%

The gene expression of weaning age and its effect on productive performance of rabbits

El-Sabrout

Aggag

2017

World Rabbit Sci.

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Weaning age for mammals remains a topic of debate and an interesting subject of research. The literature data reflect opposite views on the recommended weaning age of rabbits. Thus, we determined the optimal weaning age for average commercial rabbit lines by studying one of these lines, the V-line. Gene expression of weaning age was studied in this research to reach the optimal weaning age for efficient rabbit growth and survival. The effect of weaning age on growth and mortality rates was investigated in young rabbits by comparing 3 groups (kits of 10 V-line does for each group), weaned at 23 (W23), 28 (W28) and 33 (W33) days of age. Rabbits weaned at 23 d of age had significantly (P<0.05) lower body weight at the age of 63 d (market age) than those weaned at 28 and 33 d of age. The weaning age also influenced survival; mortality rate was highest in rabbits weaned at 23 d of age, followed by those weaned at 28 and 33 d of age. Morphometric parameters reflect the integral effect of all factors influencing digestive tract growth and development. From the results, it seems that the small intestine length did not have a clear effect on different weaning ages. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis is an important tool to monitor changes in gene expression in animals such as rabbits. We used this approach to measure intestinal insulinlike growth factor-1 (IGF-1) mRNA level and observed that the expression levels of IGF-1Ea, IGF-1Eb and IGF-1R were nearly the same in W28 and W33 rabbits, while they were the lowest in W23 rabbits. Serum IGF-1 concentrations tended to present significant differences (P<0.05) with different weaning ages. We found that levels of IGF-1 in rabbits weaned at 28 and 33 d of age were convergent and higher than the IGF-1 levels in rabbits weaned at 23 d of age. Moreover, the early weaning of rabbits has a negative impact on growth. This therefore suggests that moderate weaning (28W) will be suitable for the farm economy and will improve rabbit production better than early or late weaning.

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“…On the one hand, this might be due to the protective effects of milk against infections with E. coli, as it has been shown experimentally by Gallois et al (2007). On the other hand, it might be also considered that prolonged nursing could reduce the ingestion of some kinds of feed.…”

Section: Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of rearing mangement on health in domestic rabbits: a review

Schlolaut¹,

Hudson

Rödel

2013

World Rabbit Sci.

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High mortality in rearing of domestic rabbits is not only an economic problem but also an animal welfare issue. Among the reasons for this high mortality are some common rearing practices. In this review, we point out several commonly used management practices, which neither represent adequate housing conditions according to the animals' behavioural requirements nor correspond to their nutritional needs. Sometimes, the doe has to build the nursery nest on the cage floor or in a box with a permanently open entrance, often not protected from the light. This can lead to perinatal mortality due to disturbed behaviour of the mother such as failure to build a proper nest, depositing the kits outside the nest, or infanticide. Furthermore, continuous housing of the doe with the kits does not conform to this species' pattern of unusually limited maternal care. Possibly stimulated by olfactory and acoustic signals emanating from the nest, the doe can disturb the inactivity of the kits by her frequent entries to the nest or attempts to close the entrance. Cooling of the kits caused by maladaptive maternal behaviour under such conditions can also contribute to increased mortality and morbidity during the nursing period. In addition, when the doe is left to nurse the kits longer than four weeks, which does not conform to the reproductive biology of the rabbit, kit morbidity can be increased by the following factors. Although the doe's milk has a high protective role against main digestive disorders, prolonged mother-offspring contact might increase the risk of the kits becoming infected with pathogens such as coccidiosis, EPEC and pasteurellosis persisting in the doe. Pre-disposition of the kits to bacterial enteropathies can be encouraged by the delayed development of the enzymatic system, the delayed establishment of a stable gut flora, as well as by consumption of the doe's feed. The increased energy demands of lactation as well as mastitis incidence due to prolonged suckling by the kits could decrease the fertility and the lifespan of the doe. Feed with a high content of non-fibre carbohydrates (compared to green forage) can promote bacterial enteropathies when given before the development of the kits' digestive functions is completed. The risk of the outbreak of such diseases is enhanced by intestinal coccidiosis and unstable gut flora. Enteropathies are also exacerbated by the use of deep litter as opposed to housing rabbits on perforated floors.

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Maternal Milk Contains Antimicrobial Factors That Protect Young Rabbits from Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Infection

Cited by 37 publications

References 41 publications

Adaptability of the digestive function according to age at weaning in the rabbit: I. Effect on feed intake and digestive functionality

Adaptability of the digestive function according to age at weaning in the rabbit: I. Effect on feed intake and digestive functionality

The gene expression of weaning age and its effect on productive performance of rabbits

Impact of rearing mangement on health in domestic rabbits: a review

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