Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-fv566 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T17:50:08.476Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of energy intake during pregnancy in doe rabbits on pup birth weight, milk output and maternal body composition change in the ensuing lactation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

G. G. Partridge ,
Y. Daniels  and
R. A. Fordyce
G. G. Partridge
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 SSB
Y. Daniels
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 SSB
R. A. Fordyce
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 SSB
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

A study was made in rabbits on the effects of energy intake during pregnanoy on pup birth weight and survival, and on doe body composition and milk output in the ensuing lactation. In addition the experiment examined the effects of varying crudeprotein intakes during lactation on the rate of fat loss of does and the resultant energetic efficiency of milk production.

Forty-seven multiparous cross-bred does were used. They were offered one of two diets in pregnancy, either diet HE (14·8 MJ digestible energy (DE)/kg D.M.) to appetite or diet LE (12·9 MJ DE/kg D.M.) at maintenance levels. After parturition seven does on each treatment were slaughtered and their body composition analysed (control groups). In lactation the remaining does were evenly allocated to receive either diet LE (195 g crude protein (CP)/kg D.M.) or diet HP (240 g CP/kg D.M.) to appetite. Litter sizes were standardized to six pups and litter growth rates were used as an indirect estimate of milk production. Does were then killed, at random, on day 9 or day 18 of lactation to give an estimate of changes in body composition as lactation progressed.

Does offered diet HE during pregnancy had higher carcass fat levels at parturition than their counterparts offered diet LE (496 cf. 370 g/kg carcass D.M. respectively). Litter size was unaffected by dietary treatment during pregnancy but litter weights at birth were significantly greater in HE does (442 cf. 398 g respectively). Pup mortality at birth, however, was also much higher in these animals (28 cf. 9% respectively). Voluntary food intake in early lactation (day 1—9) was depressed by feeding diet HE during pregnanoy. Milk composition was affected by pregnancy diet, with does offered diet HE producing milk containing significantly higher fat levels (HE 123 g fat/kg milk cf. LE 105 g fat/kg milk).

Doe carcass composition changes revealed that fat was usually mobilized in early lactation and gained as lactation progressed independent of dietary treatment. The protein content of the fat-free dry matter appeared to be relatively unaffected by the dietary treatments imposed. The data were used to derive an estimate of the partial efficiency of dietary energy utilization (fc) for milk output and maternal tissue gain. The line of best fit was described by the equation ER = 0·65 (±0·17) MEI-1–25, where ER = milk energy output + carcass energy change and MEI = metabolizable energy intake in MJ.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 107 , Issue 3 , December 1986 , pp. 697 - 708
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, R. R. (1975). Mammary gland growth in sheep. Journal of Animal Science 41, 118–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (1975), Methods of analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington DC, 12th edition.Google Scholar
Bines, J. A., Suzuki, S. & Balch, C. C. (1969). The quantitative significance of long-term regulation of food intake in the cow. British Journal of Nutrition 23, 695–704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cowie, A. T. (1969). Variations in the yield and composition of the milk during lactation in the rabbit and the galactopoietic effect of prolactin. Journal of Endocrinology 44, 437–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elphick, M. C. & Hull, D. (1977). Incorporation in vivo of l-nC-palmitic acid into placental and fetal liver lipids of the rabbit. Biology of the Neonate 32, 24–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elsley, F. W. H. (1968). The influence of feeding level upon the reproductive performance of pregnant sows. Veterinary Record 83, 93–97.Google Scholar
Forbes, J. M. (1985). Similarities and differences between intake control mechanisms in pigs, chickens and ruminants. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 44, 331–338.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hafez, E. S. E., Gollnick, P. D. & Moustafa, L. A. (1967). Effect of maternal feed intake on body composition of neonatal rabbits before and after withholding of feed. American Journal of Veterinary Research 28, 1837–1841.Google ScholarPubMed
Hammond, J. (1965). The effects of high and low planes of nutrition on reproduction in rabbits. New Zealand Journal of Research 8, 708–717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hytten, F. E. & Leitch, I. (1971). The Physiology of Human Pregnancy, 2nd edition. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Itaya, K. & Ui, M. (1965). Colorimetric determination of free fatty acids in biological fluids. Journal of Lipid Research 6, 16–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kanto, U. & Clawson, A. J. (1980). Effect of energy intake during pregnancy and lactation on body composition in rats. Journal of Nutrition 110, 1829–1848.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lebas, F. (1971). Composition chimique du lait de lapine, evolution au cours de la traite et en fonction du stade de lactation. Annales de Zootechnie 20, 185–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lebas, P. (1975 a). Etude chez la lapine de l'influence du niveau d'alimentation durant la gestation. I. Sur les performances de reproduction. Annales de Zootechnie 24, 267–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lebas, F. (1975 b). Variations in the body reserves of female rabbits during the reproductive oycle. Annales de Zootechnie 24, 147 (abstract).Google Scholar
Lebas, F. & Laplace, J. P. (1974). Mensurations viscerales chez le lapin. III. Variations ohez le femelle au cours d'un cycle de reproduction en fonction du niveau d'alimentation durant la gestation. Annales de Zootechnie 23, 267–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ling, E. R. (1949). Textbook of Dairy Chemistry, vol. 2. London: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Linzell, J. L., Peaker, M. & Taylor, J. C. (1975). The effects of prolactin andoxytocin onmilksecretion and on the permeability of the mammary epithelium in the rabbit. Journal of Physiology 253, 547–563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lu, M. H. & Anderson, R. R. (1973). Growth of the mammary gland during pregnancy and lactation in the rabbit. Biology of Reproduction 9, 538–543.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Partridge, G. G. & Allan, S. J. (1982). The effects of different intakes of crude protein on nitrogen utilisation in the pregnant and lactating rabbit. Animal Production 35, 145–155.Google Scholar
Partridge, G. G., Allan, S. J., Findlay, M. & Corrigall, W. (1984). The effect of reducing the remating interval after parturition on the reproductive performance of the commercial doe rabbit. Animal Production 39, 465–472.Google Scholar
Partridge, G. G., Foley, S. & Corrigall, W. (1981). Reproductive performance in purebred and crossbred commercial rabbits. Animal Production 32, 325–331.Google Scholar
Partridge, G. G., Fuller, M. F. & Pullar, J. D. (1983). Energy and nitrogen metabolism of lactating rabbits. British Journal of Nutrition 49, 507–516.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Partridge, G. G., Lamb, I. C. & Findlay, M. (1985). The use of a synthetic prostaglandin analogue (cloprostenol) to control parturition in the commercial rabbit. Animal Production 42, 281–286.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J. (1982). Pregnancy. In Sheep and Qoat Production. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J. (1986). Changes in body composition during pregnancy and lactation. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 45, 71–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, J. J., Fraser, C. & Bennett, C. (1971). An assessment of the energy requirements of the pregnant ewe using plasma-free fatty acid concentrations. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 77, 141–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rook, J. A. F. & Witter, R. C. (1968). Diet and milk secretion in the sow. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 27, 71–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russel, A. J. F. & Wright, I. A. (1983). The use of blood metabolites in the determination of energy status in beef cows. Animal Production 37, 335–343.Google Scholar
Short, R. E., Peters, J. B. & Casida, L. E. (1968). Effect of two levels of feeding on ovarian activity, embryo survival and ovarian compensatory hyper- trophy in the rabbit. Journal of Animal Science 27, 701–704.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spreadbury, D. (1978). A study of the protein and amino aoid requirements of the growing New Zealand White rabbit with emphasis on lysine and the sulphur-containing amino acids. British Journal ofNutrition 39, 601–613.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stammers, J. P., Elphick, M. C. & Hull, D. (1981). Effects of 3 d feeding with corn oil supplemented diets on foetal lipid stores in rabbits. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 41A.Google Scholar