Environmental impact of rabbit meat: The effect of production efficiency.

The aim of this trial was to analyse the environmental impact of the rabbit production system, through a cradle to-slaughterhouse gate using a life cycle approach. Since in a rabbit farm the production efficiency depends on the feed conversion and quantity of meat produced, scenarios characterized by different slaughter weights and dissimilar level of mortality during the fattening phase were hypothesized. Climate change determined in the standard rabbit resulted in 3.86 kg CO2 eq/kg live weight, slightly higher than that of broilers and not different from that of pork. High and Low mortality scenarios resulted in impact changes from +5.22 and -2.31%, respectively, compared with the standard system. An increase of environmental impact values (up to 36%) was registered when live weight enhanced from 2.7 to 2.9 kg for standard and heavy rabbits. The results obtained underline the strict link between the ability to convert feed into meat and the environmental sustainability of meat production also in the rabbit system.

Egg quality and productive performance of laying hens fed different levels of skimmed milk powder added to a diet containing Lactobacillus acidophilus.

The current trial was carried out on a commercial poultry farm to study the effect of skim milk powder (SMP) added to a diet containing Lactobacillus acidophilus on performance and egg quality of laying hens from 20 to 49 wk of age. A total of 2,400 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens were housed in 600 unenriched cages (4 hens each) located over 4 tier levels. Animals were assigned to 1 of 3 experimental treatments (0, 3, and 4). The laying hens assigned to treatments 3 and 4 received a diet enriched respectively with 3 and 4% SMP, whereas the animals in treatment 0 were fed a diet without SMP. All diets, moreover, were supplemented with L. acidophilus D2/CSL. Hen performance was determined throughout the experimental period and egg quality was measured on 30 eggs per treatment every week. Results showed that productive performance in terms of egg production, egg weight, and feed conversion ratio was not influenced by SMP at 3 or 4% of the diet. Egg quality was significantly affected by SMP included at 3 or 4% of the diet. Eggs from treatments 3 and 4, in fact, displayed higher shell thickness than those from treatment 0 (P < 0.0001). Likewise, specific gravity, Haugh unit, and shell percentage were significantly affected by the addition of SMP. In conclusion, in our study, SMP added to a diet containing L. acidophilus had no significant effects on the productive parameters of hens during the laying period, whereas significant improvements were found in certain egg quality characteristics.