Effect of a transitory controlled nursing on days 9–11 or a 24-h fast on the production of free-nursing rabbits

Abstract Altered nursing or nutrition before artificial insemination (AI) can be used as a doe biostimulant to improve lactating rabbits reproduction. The timing of a shift from free to a 3-day controlled nursing to AI or the nursing method at fast-refeeding can affect the efficacy of these stimulations. In an earlier study the effects of a 3-day controlled nursing on days 8, 9 and 10 or in controlled nursing rabbits, the impact of a 24-h fast with 48–50 h re-feeding were investigated. This follow-up work tested a 3-day biostimulation with controlled nursing on days 9, 10 and 11. Another aim was to assess the same doe fast-refeeding but now in free-nursing rabbits. Pannon White does ( n =480) were artificially inseminated 11 days post-partum . Control (C) does nursed freely. Rabbits simulating local farm practice (F) had controlled nursing until day 14 using a metal-plate as separation and then free nursing to weaning (day 35). In biostimulations with altered nursing, there was a shift from free to a 3-day controlled nursing (days 9–11) with a wire-mesh separation (BW), a metal-plate insertion (BM) or nest-tray removal (BN) and return to free nursing on day 12 until weaning. The C, F, BW, BM and BN does were fed ad libitum . At biostimulation with fast-refeeding (BF), the free-nursing does were subjected to a 24 h water-only fast between days 8 and 9 and a 48–50 h ad libitum re-feeding before AI. Doe reproduction and growth of the current litter were differently affected by the treatments. In the C, F, BW, BM, BN and BF does, sexual receptivity was 83, 90, 68, 80, 74 and 85% ( P =0.05), the kindling rate was 79, 76, 74, 89, 68, 70% ( P =0.05), the number of kits born alive was 7.9, 8.0, 8.8, 9.1, 7.9, 6.8 ( P =0.005), kit weight at weaning 982, 991, 953, 986, 955, 964 g ( P =0.012) and at 70 days of age 2383, 2407, 2220, 2350, 2279, 2382 g, respectively ( P =0.001). Among biostimulations with altered nursing, the 3-day controlled nursing with a metal-plate separation (BM) can be advised for the practice because only this method was efficient in this (days 9–11) and previous (days 8–10) studies. There appears to be an interaction between doe nursing and feeding, since the same fast led to different production of free-nursing does compared to those in a previous work that nursed controlled.