Impact of fibre deficiency and sanitary status on non-specific enteropathy of the growing rabbit

Abstract

The effects of a sharp reduction in dietary fibre level (19 to 9% ADF resp. for "S" and "D" diet) were studied on the health status and performances of two groups of rabbits with different sanitary statuses: conventional "C" (n = 224) and specified pathogen free 'SPF' (n = 72) from 28 to 70 days of age. Digestive pathology was monitored daily and individually along the whole fattening period (28-70 d old) to precisely quantify the impact of a fibre deficiency on rabbit health. Diarrhoea was the most common symptom of enteritis due to fibre deficiency (90% of cases). The major digestive lesions were dilatation of the caeco-colic segment (30%) and a watery intestinal and caecal digesta (60%). The digestive troubles had a similar expression with respect to sanitary status or diet effect. The mortality and the Health Risk index (HRi = mortality + morbidity rate) respectively reached 25 and 60% with the fibre deficient diet "D" (28-70 d period) compared to 9 and 41% for the standard diet "S" (P < 0.05). The digestive disturbances appeared mainly during the period 28-42 d for SPF rabbits, and later for the C rabbits (43-56 d). Morbidity, HRi and the duration of diarrhoea were respectively 7, 2 and 3 times higher for C rabbits as compared to the SPF rabbits. A synergetic effect of fibre deficiency and conventional sanitary status was observed on the incidence and intensity of digestive troubles. For individually caged rabbits, morbidity seemed to be mainly linked to the sanitary status of the animal (SPF or conventional), while the mortality level was enhanced by a fibre deficiency. The fibre supply thus seemed to prevent morbidity from evolving into mortality. In conclusion, non-specific enteropathy depends jointly on sanitary and nutritional status of the animals.