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Rabbits are members of the Leporidae family, indigenous
throughout most parts of the world, and raised in small-holder
and large-scale, commercial production systems.
• Rabbit is marketed as whole or half carcasses, although interest in
cuts and ground meat is increasing.
• Rabbit meat has high nutritional value but in developed countries
continues...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... were capable of reaching remarkable productivity with greater control over production factors (Fig- ure 5). The reasons for the interest in this species are its high prolificacy ( Figure 6) and the capacity of rabbits kept for reproduction to convert 20% of their protein intake into meat. ...
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Citations
... Energy values are important for consumers because that meat is high dietetic with beneficial nutritional and biological value. Energy values in fresh rabbit meat is comparable with red meats [32]. As we do not have an exact explanation for influencing the meat quality using postbiotics, our hypothesis can be based only on an idea of total postbiotic influence (MLS EM 41/3) on, e.g., animal immunity. ...
Nowadays, the use of probiotics, postbiotics, parabiotics and other beneficial natural substances dominate health status sustainability in animals. Mundticin-like substance EM 41/3 (MLS) is a thermo-stable substance of proteinaceous character—a bacteriocin (postbiotic) with a broad antimicrobial (inhibitory) spectrum produced by the horse-derived strain Enterococcus mundtii EM 41/3. The aim of this study was to find if this new one bacteriocin can have an effect and/or a similar effect in rabbits as was achieved previously by using enterocins detected and characterized in our laboratory. In addition, these tests have been conducted to secure the health of rabbits as food-derived animals. Moreover, the aim of this study was also to test the effect of MLS EM 41/3 in broiler rabbits as an animal model before its use in horses. The parameters tested were analyzed by validated methods. Administration of MLS EM 41/3 lead to a significant increase in the non-specific immunity parameter (phagocytic activity, p < 0.05), while microbiota in feces, caecum and appendix were not negatively influenced. However, the total enterococcal count was significantly increased in the EG compared to the CG (p < 0.001). Application of MLS EM 41/3 did not have a negative impact on blood biochemistry. No oxidative stress was noted. However, higher growth parameters were noted and also hydrolytic activity was increased after MLS EM 41/3 application. Finally, to check physico-chemical parameters, no negative influence on rabbit meat quality was noted. Postbiotic MLS EM 41/3 administration seems to be a contributing factor in the feeding strategy for animal health status sustainability.
... Energy values are important for consumers because that meat is high dietetic with beneficial nutritional and biological value. Energy values in fresh rabbit meat is comparable with red meats [32]. ...
Nowadays, animal breeders look for effective innovations to care animal health. Use of probiotics, postbiotics, parabiotics and the other beneficial natural substances are dominated. Mundticin-like substance EM 41/3 is thermo-stable bacteriocin (postbiotic) with a broad antimicrobial spectrum. In this study its effect in broiler rabbits was assessed. Rabbits represent food-derived animal and they are also suitable animal model. The parameters tested were analyzed by validated methods. Administration of MLS EM 41/3 produced by non-autochthonous strain Enterococcus mundtii EM 41/3 lead to significant increase of parameter immunity-phagocytic activity, while it did not influence microbiota composition. It also did not influence blood biochemistry and no oxidative stress was noted. Moreover, higher growth parameters were noted and also stimulated hydrolytic activity. Finally, no negative influence on rabbit meat quality was noted. Postbiotic MLS EM 41/3 administration in feeding strategy seems to be contributing fact for rabbit health status maintaining.
... Rabbit farming has a long history in agriculture, is found on nearly all continents, and global production and demand has increased since the 1970s (Dalle Zotte, 2014). Valued for their prolific reproduction (30-32 days per reproductive cycle), fast growth, and high conversion of protein and energy from feed, rabbits are also an excellent source of nutrition (Dalle Zotte, 2014;Mutsami and Karl, 2020). Although the nutrient content of rabbit meat can rely on the quality of rabbit feed, rabbit meat is generally a rich source of protein, vitamin E, polyunsaturated and essential fatty acids, and is lower in sodium than other meats (Dalle Zotte, 2014). ...
... Valued for their prolific reproduction (30-32 days per reproductive cycle), fast growth, and high conversion of protein and energy from feed, rabbits are also an excellent source of nutrition (Dalle Zotte, 2014;Mutsami and Karl, 2020). Although the nutrient content of rabbit meat can rely on the quality of rabbit feed, rabbit meat is generally a rich source of protein, vitamin E, polyunsaturated and essential fatty acids, and is lower in sodium than other meats (Dalle Zotte, 2014). Rabbit farming contributes other products that can improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers such as leather, fur, rabbit manure and urine for fertilizer, rabbit manure for fish feed, and rabbits sold for breeding stock (Amin, Taleb, and Rahim, 2011;Serem et al., 2013). ...
... The effectiveness of rabbit farming as an agricultural endeavor has evolved over time with the growth of information about best cultivation practices. Overcrowding and disease, optimal cage type, and hygiene and health are common issues to address (Dalle Zotte, 2014). Local and export market demand for rabbit products increases as people become more educated about sustainability and nutrition and adopt the meat as a normal part of the diet (Amin, Taleb, and Rahim, 2011;Borter and Mwanza, 2011;Mutsami and Karl, 2020). ...
Rabbit farming is a form of low input agriculture that has potential to address food security and poverty in East Africa and beyond. For low input agriculture, farmers utilize local and affordable farm resources making it accessible across income levels. Understanding barriers and facilitators to rabbit farming could increase effectiveness of this form of low input agriculture in communities struggling with low food security and poverty, particularly for indigenous, smallholder farms. News media is an available source of data about community perceptions and practices on issues such as rabbit farming, food security, and poverty. For this qualitative study, researchers applied a priori and open coding text analysis to examine recurring themes in news media representations regarding perceptions of rabbit farming in East Africa. Results reveal that community members view rabbit farming as a community strategy that promotes better nutrition and food security while reducing poverty. Important themes included how gender and other cultural norms shaped efforts, and the role of sustainability and climate change on farming practices. Further, the easy cultivation of rabbits, funding, and protective policy and support of indigenous smallholder farms were perceived as facilitators for rabbit farming. Finally, investment in infrastructure for market, production, and knowledge-transfer of best production and business practices were considered critical to success for rabbit farmers throughout East Africa.
... Rabbit husbandry has the potential to be developed as a sector in the Mekong Delta region (Trung and Dong, 2016). Rabbits have the ability to digest fiber and other nutrients well through fermentation in the caecum (Leng, 2006), and are able to convert 20% of the protein in their feed into protein that accumulates in their body (Lebas et al., 1997;Dalle Zotte, 2014). This makes them ideal for taking advantage of natural vegetable sources. ...
The experiment on the growth of rabbits involved a completely randomized design with six treatments and six replications, with two rabbits with balanced sexual distribution per trial unit. The six treatments included different methods of treating soya waste, including cooking it (T1), and five commercial probiotics, namely the biotic probiotic (T2), garlic powder probiotic (T3), M-VS05 probiotic (T4), UV-Bacillus probiotic (T5), and the alive probiotic (T6). The soya waste was anaerobically fermentedin three days before feeding it to the experimental rabbits. The results showed that the use of probiotic treatments improved nutrient intake, nutrient digestibility, digestible nutrients, and nitrogen retention (P>0.05). The T3 treatment resulted in the highest daily weight gain (P<0.05) and economic returns for the experimental rabbits. There were no significant differences in the physiological and biochemical indicators of rabbit blood between treatments (P>0.05). The group of rabbits fed with T1 treatment (without probiotics) had a much higher density of E. coli in their fecesthan the other five groups. These findings indicated that treating anti-nutrients in soya waste with probiotics could replace heat treatment and result in better growth performance, improved daily weight gain, and increased profits for growing rabbits.
... The tradition of eating rabbit meat in European countries dates back to ancient times; more precisely, the first reports of rabbit rearing come from Phoenicia and date back to 1100 BC (Dalle Zotte 2014). Also in modern times, the largest producers of rabbit meat in Europe are the Mediterranean countries such as France, Spain and Italy, where it was from the 1970s onwards that the specialisation and industrialisation of rabbit livestock production began to spread to the rest of the continent (McNitt et al. 2013). ...
Rabbit is a highly adaptable animal, but far-reaching animal improvement, and the use of additives in the form of antibiotics and growth promoters, has resulted in the production of overgrown, often unhealthy individuals. It would be impossible to keep them in a backyard environment or on the increasingly popular organic farms. Hence, less popular rabbit breeds that can provide livestock on farms with extensive production systems are being sought. Literature reports suggest that a breed worthy of consideration is the Tan breed. Scientific studies comparing rearing, fattening and slaugh- ter performance of Black-and-Tan rabbits with New Zealand White rabbits do not indicate that the Black-and-Tan breed is inferior in these traits. The meat obtained from Black-and-Tan rabbits is also of high quality, comparable to that attributed to rabbits of typical meat breeds. In addition, Black-and-Tan rabbits can be a valuable component for commercial crossbreeding, significantly improving the rearing results, slaughter performance and meat quality of the crosses.
... China is the major rabbit meat producer (735,021 metric tons per year), mainly for export, followed by Italy, Spain, Egypt, and France (262,436; 67,775; 56,338; and 52,955 metric tons per year, respectively) [1]. In Italy, rabbit farming is the fourth-leading zootechnical sector, accounting for 9% of the gross domestic product [2]. Animal diseases are one of the general factors that pose restrictions on widespread rabbit farming [1]. ...
Eimeria stiedae (E. stiedae) is a common coccidian species that infects the liver and causes economic losses for the rabbit industry. This study aimed to determine the efficiency of green tea aqueous extract (GTE) as a natural treatment for eimeriosis caused by E. stiedae. Male rabbits Cuniculus L. (Oryctolagus) of the New Zealand White rabbit strain (4–4.5 months) were used, as they are suitable for research and conducting experiments. Thirty rabbits were allocated into six groups, with five rabbits in each group; the G1 group (non-infected untreated) served as a negative control group; the G2 group was not infected and treated with 250 mg GTE; the G3 group was not infected and treated with 500 mg GTE; the G4 group was untreated and was infected with 3 × 104 Sporulated E. stiedae oocysts, which served as a positive control group; the G5 group was infected and treated with 250 mg GTE; and the G6 group was infected and treated with 500 mg GTE. The hematological and biochemical analyses of each group of rabbit sera were carried out. Phytochemical analysis was performed to evaluate the active components in GTE leaves using the following methods: IR spectroscopy, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and scanning electron microscopy. The infected rabbit groups treated with GTE at both doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg exhibited a significant decrease in the extent of E. stiedae oocyst shedding compared with the infected untreated group at 14, 21, and 28 days post-infection. Also, treatment with green tea showed improvement in liver weight compared with the enlarged livers of infected, untreated rabbits. The disturbance in serum liver enzymes’ gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST/GOT) levels, as well as serum glucose, potassium, uric acid, cholesterol, and urea levels, were improved after the treatment of infected rabbit groups with green tea compared with the infected untreated group. Moreover, in this study, the images of the egg stages of the parasite were taken using a fluorescence microscope at 25 µm and 26 µm magnifications. This study provides promising results for the effective cell absorption of the aqueous extract of green tea, which was confirmed in the analyzed images using a scanning electron microscope at 5 µm and 20 µm magnifications.
... Goats were totally reared for meat purpose as mutton has a high demand. Rabbits were reared as a pet to overcome the farm family stress conditions even though rabbits are mainly reared for meat purposes in many other countries (Zotte, 2014). ...
Purpose: Indigenous species and non-popular species are referred to as micro-livestock (ML). Micro-livestock farming provides numerous socio-economic benefits. However, attention for ML rearing is low. Hence the purpose of this study is to find the present status of ML farming in Anuradhapura district in order to provide suggestions to popularize ML as a livelihood and income-generation option among rural communities.Research Method: A survey was conducted with 72 ML farmers selected from multi-stage random sampling in the Anuradhapura district. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-economic status of farmers and production details of ML farming. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the drives of ML farmers’ decisions on market participation.Findings: Village chicken was the most popular due to high demand for eggs. Feeding was the least cost component in ML farming. Potentials to expand ML rearing were low labour cost and cost of production and availability of market and infrastructure. Majority of the farmers sell their products to retailer shops. Marketing of ML products is influenced by gender, age, training and distance to market. Lack of technical support and markets, poor extension, diseases, predators and climatic change were identified as constraints for ML rearing.Research Limitations: Micro-livestock farming is the least considered farming practice in the area. The farmers were scattered and they kept ML as a secondary activity. Originality/value: There is a potential to expand ML farming in the area as a remedy for malnutrition and poor income in rural households especially the females.
... Daging kelinci digolongkan sebagai daging rendah lemak (lean) atau tipe daging putih [10] [11] yang memiliki tekstur yang lembut dan sangat berpotensi sebagai pengganti daging ayam [10]. Daging kelinci bahkan direkomendasikan sebagai jenis pangan bagi penderita penyakit kardiovaskular, hipertensi, baik pada anak-anak, dewasa, wanita hamil, khususnya bagi kondisi konsumen terkini yang memiliki gaya hidup makanan sehat [12]. ...
Konsumsi daging kelinci belum begitu populer di kalangan masyarakat Indonesia, padahal nilai nutrisi dan sifat fungsionalnya sangat baik. Oleh karena itu, perlu diversifikasi olahan daging kelinci untuk mempopulerkan konsumsi daging kelinci. Melalui olahan abon yang sudah sejak lama menjadi makanan olahan yang lazim dikonsumsi masyarakat, abon daging kelinci dapat menjadi potensi pengembangan konsumsi daging kelinci lokal. Penelitian ini bertujuan melakukan evaluasi sifat fisikokimia dan organoleptik abon daging kelinci lokal. Penelitian dilakukan dengan memberikan perlakuan kombinasi daging kelinci dengan daging ayam broiler dalam pembuatan abon. Kemudian dilakukan pengukuran sifat fisikokimia dan organoleptik pada abon. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa abon daging kelinci 100% memiliki kadar air terendah dibanding perlakuan yang lain. Hasil uji hedonik hanya menunjukkan atribut warna yang memiliki perbedaan nyata, sedangkan pada uji mutu hedonik hanya atribut warna dan rasa yang berbeda nyata. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa abon daging kelinci memiliki potensi yang baik sebagai pangan olahan baru ditinjau dari kadar air yang sesuai SNI. Namun dari segi uji hedonik dan mutu hedonik, warna abon daging ayam memiliki nilai tertingi, sedangkan hasil uji mutu hedonik rasa abon kombinasi ayam dan kelinci 1:1 memiliki nilai tertinggi.
... Rabbit meat is particularly recommended for young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and individuals suffering from hypertension. It is also associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome (Dalle, 2014). Rabbit meat contains high levels of both essential and non-essential amino acids. ...
With increased consumer knowledge about the relationship between diet and a healthy lifestyle in recent decades, there has been an increase in awareness and demand for efficient protein sources. Rabbit meat is rich in easily digestible protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), vitamins, and minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc), as well as being low in fat, sodium, and cholesterol, which makes it of good edible and nutritional value, so it needs to be handled properly. Rabbit meat, on the other hand, has been associated with the spread of microbial contamination (such as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Salmonella species) that may originate from the animal itself, equipment, workers, or the surrounding environment. Each effort must be made to keep rabbit meat free of contaminants that could be harmful to humans. Few studies had been conducted, either internationally or in Egypt, to examine the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of rabbit meat. We shall compile existing data on the quality of rabbit meat in this review. Furthermore, the potential hazards that influence the physicochemical and microbiological qualities and shelf life, as well as the proposals for decontamination trials to enhance the sensory attributes and shelf life of rabbit meat, will be presented.
... Over a long period of biological evolution, the cecum of rabbits has acquired functions similar to those of the rumen, allowing better absorption and utilization of nutrients [15]. Rabbits have a high feed conversion rate, which can convert approximately 20% of the protein in the fiber-rich feed into edible meat, making rabbit farming an excellent and sustainable industry [16]. However, intensive feeding management often causes physiological stress in rabbits, leading to high morbidity and mortality rates of up to 24%. ...
In this study, we investigated the effects of probiotics on growth performance, immunity, intestinal flora, and antioxidant capacity of rabbits. Three hundred New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into four groups. Groups A, B, C, and D were the lactobacillus group, compound probiotic group, control group, and antibiotic group, respectively. The results showed compared with the control group, the average weight of groups A, B, and D increased by 14.88%, 12.33%, and 11.97%, respectively. Moreover, the index of immune organs and the IgG and IgM in serum of group B were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in group B and catalase (CAT) in group A were significantly increased (P < 0.05). At week 5, the contents of rabbit cecum were taken for metagenome sequencing, and the results showed probiotics increased the relative abundance of Akkermansia, and decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroides. According to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database, we found probiotics could enrich metabolic pathways such as carbohydrates, amino acids, and lipids. According to the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD), we found antibiotic resistance ontology (ARO) in cecum mainly included β-lactamases, macrolide 2′-phosphotransferase II, and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance protein. Among them, there were 1964, 2105, and 1982 types of ARO in group B, group D, and groups A and C, respectively. These results showed probiotics played a beneficial role in maintaining or enhancing the health and growth of rabbits and could replace antibiotics under certain feeding conditions.
