Effect of intake level and diet composition on digestibility in nulliparous pregnant rabbit does

Abstract

The high energy requirements for the pregnancy, the maternal tissue growth and the milk production determined in the first reproductive cycle, an energy deficit due to mobilization of tissue deposits (Xiccato, 1996). In the last third of pregnancy, moreover, rabbit does have a lower feed intake as a consequence of the fast growth of foetuses and of the hypertrophied uterus. In previous researches, some authors studied the relationship between the utilization of the diet and the physiological state of dams; particularly, Parigi Bini et al. (1991) found a lower digestibility in pregnant rabbit does in comparison to lactating females, whereas Xiccato et al. (1992) did not observe a significant effect of the physiological state on nutrients digestibility.