Abstract
Growth of suckled rabbit kits depending on litter size at birth
Highlights
Growth of an animal is affected by complex mechanisms, acting in para, endo- and autocrine ways (Migdal et al, 2019) and growth as such is considerably important in rabbit meat production (Blasco et al, 2018)
The litter size was standardized to 8 kits for primiparous and to 9 kits for multiparous does on the first day after birth, the intrinsic litter size of does at kindling had a highly significant effect on the average live weight (LW) of 19-day old suckled kits (P
Values of LW in 19-day old sucked kits of the present study were similar to that (340–353 g) found by Castellini et al (2003) in kits of dams (New Zealand White does) in which the litter size was standardized to 6 kits after kindling
Summary
Growth of an animal is affected by complex mechanisms, acting in para-, endo- and autocrine ways (Migdal et al, 2019) and growth as such is considerably important in rabbit meat production (Blasco et al, 2018). Growth of the new-born rabbit kits depends on the amount of suckled milk, while mainly for a small kit it is important to suck milk immediately after its birth (Szendrö et al, 2019). To achieve good viability of rabbit kits, it is important for new-born kits to display an adequate birth weight compared to their littermates. In this case the kits should occupy a proper warm site in the middle of nest to maintain required body temperature (Bautista et al, 2008) and consume sufficient amount of milk during a short nursing time; these aspects influence considerably their future growth. Rabbit kits with a higher birth weight display a higher live weight (LW) later on (ReyesMeza et al, 2011; Szendrö et al, 2019)
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