Preslaughter feed withdrawal time and its effect on rabbit blood measures, gastrointestinal tract parameters and Longissimus lumborum glycolytic potential
Author
Larivière-Lajoie, Anne-Sophie
Laforge, Pascal
Vincent, Antony T.
Binggeli, Simon
Cinq-Mars, Dany
Guay, Frédéric
Raymond, Frédéric
Saucier, Linda
Publication date
2023-12-26ISSN
1257-5011
Abstract
This study aimed to characterise the physiological response of rabbits to feed withdrawal without stress caused by crating and transport to the slaughterhouse. A total of 72 recently weaned Grimaud rabbits were allocated into 12 cages, each with 6 rabbits (3 females and 3 males, to reflect commercial practices). A preslaughter feed withdrawal time (FWT) was randomly assigned to each of the 12 cages (t=0, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 or 24 h). Blood lactate and cortisol concentrations were measured at exsanguination. These observations did not indicate an elevated level of stress in the rabbits (P>0.05). The maximum Longissimus lumborum glycolytic potential was observed for rabbits that fasted for 3 and 6 h and was relatively stable from 127.78 to 139.04 μmol/g for rabbits with FWT longer than 12 h. As expected, gastrointestinal tract and stomach content weights were lower for rabbits with longer FWT (P<0.0001), while caecum weights did not (P=0.051). Rabbits with longer FWT had lower stomach pH and higher caecum pH (both P<0.0001). Metataxonomic 16S analysis revealed that FWT had a significant effect (all P<0.01) on microbiome beta diversity in faeces and caecum. The polymerase chain reaction analysis using specific primers revealed Enterobacteriaceae presence in the faeces of male rabbits only at 18 and 22 h. Our results suggest that the caecotrophic behaviour of rabbits allows them to be particularly resistant to hunger despite their small size. However, to limit Enterobacteriaceae shedding, the FWT should not exceed 18 h.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
636 - Animal husbandry and breeding in general. Livestock rearing. Breeding of domestic animals
Pages
25
Publisher
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
Is part of
World Rabbit Science
Citation
Larivière-Lajoie, Anne-Sophie, Pascal Laforge, Antony T. Vincent, Simon Binggeli, Dany Cinq-Mars, Frédéric Guay, Frédéric Raymond, Antoni Dalmau, and Linda Saucier. 2023. "Preslaughter feed withdrawal time and its effect on rabbit blood measures, gastrointestinal tract parameters and Longissimus lumborum glycolytic potential". World Rabbit Science 31 (4): 237-261. doi:10.4995/wrs.2023.19177.
Program
Benestar Animal
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2635]
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/