Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T10:47:47.857Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Lactating performance, water and feed consumption of rabbit does reared under a Mediterranean summer circadian cycle of temperature v. comfort temperature conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2015

M. H. Bakr ,
L. Tusell ,
O. Rafel ,
M. Terré ,
J. P. Sánchez  and
M. Piles
M. H. Bakr
Affiliation:
Animal Breeding and Genetics, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Torre Marimon s/n, 08140 Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
L. Tusell*
Affiliation:
Animal Breeding and Genetics, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Torre Marimon s/n, 08140 Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
O. Rafel
Affiliation:
Animal Breeding and Genetics, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Torre Marimon s/n, 08140 Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
M. Terré
Affiliation:
Producció de Remugants, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Torre Marimon s/n, 08140 Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
J. P. Sánchez
Affiliation:
Animal Breeding and Genetics, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Torre Marimon s/n, 08140 Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
M. Piles
Affiliation:
Animal Breeding and Genetics, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Torre Marimon s/n, 08140 Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The general aim of this research was to study the effect of high ambient temperature on the performance of does during lactation, specifically the following factors: average daily feed (ADFI) and water (ADWI) intakes, daily milk yield (DMY); milk composition: dry matter (DM), CP and gross energy (GE); doe BW (DW); individual kit weaning weight (IWW) and litter survival rate during lactation (SR). The study was undertaken comparing the performance of two groups of contemporary does reared under the same management, feeding regime and environmental conditions, except the environmental temperature and humidity. A total of 80 females were randomly allocated, at 60 days of age, into two identical and continuous rooms. In one room, the temperature was maintained permanently within the thermo-neutral zone (between 18°C to 22°C); thus, environmental conditions in this room were considered as comfort conditions. In the second room, the environmental temperature pattern simulated the daily temperature cycles that were characteristic of the summer in Mediterranean countries (24°C at 0800 h, increasing up to 29°C until 1100 h; maintenance at 29°C to 31°C for 4 h and decreasing to about 24°C to 26°C around 1700 h until 0800 h of the following day), which were considered as thermal stress conditions. Females followed a semi-intensive reproductive rhythm, first artificial insemination at 4.5 months of age, with subsequent 42-day reproductive cycles. Traits were recorded from a total of 138 lactations. Does were controlled up to the 5th lactation. Data were analyzed using linear and linear mixed models. High ambient temperature led to a lower ADFI (−9.4%), DW (−6.2%) and IWW (−8%), but it did not affect ADWI. No significant difference was found either for DMY, milk composition (DM, CP and GE) and SR during the lactation period. Heat stress was moderate, and does were able to adapt to it behaviorally by decreasing feed intake (to reduce heat production), but also live weight, allowing them to preserve milk yield and composition for assuring litter survival. On the other hand, water consumption could not be the main animal mechanism to overcome heat stress.

Keywords

food and water consumptionheat stressmilk yieldmilk compositionrabbits
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 9 , Supplement 7 , July 2015 , pp. 1203 - 1209
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bates, D and Maechler, M 2010. lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using S4 classes. R package version 0.999375-33. Retrieved July 9, 2014, from http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lme4 Google Scholar
Casado, C, Piquer, O, Cervera, C and Pascual, JJ 2006. Modelling the lactation curve of rabbit does: towards a model including fit suitability and biological interpretation. Livestock Production Science 99, 39–49.Google Scholar
Cervera, C and Fernández-Carmona, J 2010. Climatic environment. In The nutrition of the rabbit, 2nd edition (ed. D de Blas and J Wiseman), pp. 273–295. CABI Publishing CAB International, Wallingford, UK.Google Scholar
de Lima, V, Piles, M, Rafel, O, López-Béjar, M, Ramón, J, Velarde, A and Dalmau, A 2013. Use of infrared thermography to assess the influence of high environmental temperature on rabbits. Research in Veterinary Science 95, 802–810.Google Scholar
El-Maghawry, AM, Soliman, AM and Khalil, MH 1993. Doe milk production as affected by some genetic and environmental factors in New Zealand white and Californian rabbit under Egyptian conditions. Egyptian Journal Rabbit Science 3, 141–150.Google Scholar
Fernández-Carmona, J, Cervera, C, Sabater, C and Blas, E 1995. Effect of diet composition on the production of rabbit breeding does housed in traditional building and at 30°C. Animal Feed Science and Technology 52, 289–297.Google Scholar
Fernández-Carmona, J, Alqedra, I, Cervera, C, Moya, J and Pascual, JJ 2003. Effect of Lucerne-based diets on performance of reproductive rabbit does at two temperatures. Animal Science 76, 283–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gómez, EA, Rafel, O and Ramon, J 2002. The Caldes strain (Spain). Options Méditerranéennes: Série B. Etudes et Recherches 38, 193–198.Google Scholar
Gomez-Ramos, B, Ortiz-Rodríguez, R, Becerril-Pérez, CM, Román-Bravo, RM and Herrera Camacho, J 2011. Review. Characterization of the milk production doe with emphasis in the survival and litter growth in the breeds new white and california rabbit. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems 14, 15–33.Google Scholar
Kustos, K, Papp, Z, Szendró, Z and Bálint, A 1998. Effect of environmental temperature and restricted feeding on composition rabbit milk. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on rabbit production in hot climates, September 7–9, 1998, Adana, Turkey, vol. 41, 19–24.Google Scholar
Lebas, F 1968. Mesure quantitative de la production laitière chez la lapine. Annales de Zootechnie 17, 169–182.Google Scholar
Maertens, L and De Groote, G 1990. Comparison of feed intake and milk yield of does under normal and high ambient temperature. The Journal Applied Rabbit Research 13, 159–162.Google Scholar
Maertens, L, Lebas, F and Szendro, Z 2006. Rabbit milk: a review of quantity, quality and non-dietary affecting factors. World Rabbit Science 4, 205–230.Google Scholar
Manzano, J and Torres, A 2005. La instalación de agua en las granjas de conejos. Boletín de Cunicultura 138, 6–17.Google Scholar
Marai, IFM, Ayyat, MS and Abd El-Monem, UM 2001. Growth performance and reproductive traits at first parity of New Zealand White female rabbits as affected by heat stress and its alleviation under Egyptian conditions. Tropical Animal Health and Production 33, 451–462.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marai, IFM, Habeeb, AAM and Gad, AE 2002. Rabbits’ productive, reproductive and physiological performance traits as affected by heat stress: a review. Livestock Production Science 78, 71–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marai, IFM, Askar, AA and Bahgat, LB 2006. Tolerance of New Zealand white and Californian doe rabbit at first parity to the sub-tropical environment of Egypt. Livestock Science 104, 165–172.Google Scholar
Mousa-Balabel, TM 2004. Effect of heat stress on New Zealand White rabbits’ behavior and performance. Minufiya Veterinary Journal 3, 125–134.Google Scholar
Pascual, JJ, Cervera, C, Blas, E and Fernandez-Carmona, J 1996. Milk yield and composition in rabbit does using high fat diets. 6th World Rabbit Congress. Toulouse 1, 259–261.Google Scholar
Prud’hon, M 1975. Le comportamnet alimentaire du lapin dépend beaucup de l’abreuvement. Elevage, No. nors série: Une production d’avenir–Le lapin, 55–59.Google Scholar
R Core Team 2012. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing.ISBN 3-900051-07-0. R Core Team, Vienna, Austria. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.R-project.org/ Google Scholar
Renaudeau, D, Collin, A, Yahav, S, de Basilio, V, Gourdine, JL, Collier, RJ 2012. Adaptation to hot climate and strategies to alleviate heat stress in livestock production. Animal 6, 707–728.Google Scholar
Sabater, C, Tolosa, C and Cervera, C 1993. Factores de variación de la curva de lactación de la coneja. Archivos de Zootecnia 42, 105–114.Google Scholar
Savietto, D, Blas, E, Cervera, C, Baselga, M, Friggens, NC, Larsen, T and Pascual, JJ 2012. Digestive efficiency in rabbit does according to environmental and genetic type. World Rabbit Science 20, 131–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Savietto, D, Cervera, C, Blas, E, Baselga, M, Larsen, T, Friggens, NC and Pascual, JJ 2013. Environmental sensitivity differs between rabbit lines selected for reproductive intensity and longevity. Animal 7, 1969–1977.Google Scholar
Savietto, D, Cervera, C, Ródenas, L, Martínez-Paredes, E, Baselga, M, García-Diego, FJ, Larsen, T, Friggens, NC and Pascual, JJ 2014. Different resources allocation strategies result from selection for litter size at weaning in rabbit does. Animal 8, 618–628.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simonne, AH, Simonne, EH, Eitenmiller, RR, Mills, HA and Cresman, CP 1997. Could the Dumas method replace the Kjeldahl digestion for nitrogen and crude protein determination in foods? Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 73, 39–45.Google Scholar
Szendrö, Z, Papp, Z and Kustos, K 1998. Effect of environmental temperature and restricted feeding on production of rabbit does. Proceedings of the 2nd international Conference on Rabbit Production in Hot Climates, September 7–9, 1998, Adana, Turkey, vol. 41, pp. 11–17.Google Scholar
Wittorff, EK, Heird, CE, Rakes, JM and Johnson, ZB 1988. Growth and reproduction of nutrient restricted rabbits in a heat stressed environmental. The Journal of Applied Rabbit Research 11, 87–92.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Bakr Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material

Download Bakr Supplementary Material(File)
File 21.7 KB
Supplementary material: File

Bakr Supplementary Material

Table S1

Download Bakr Supplementary Material(File)
File 21 KB