Mirrors Can Affect Growth Rate, Blood Profile, Carcass and Meat Traits and Caecal Microbial Activity of Rabbits Reared in a “Small Group” Free-Range System

Abstract

The aim of this work was to propose a model of free-range raising for rabbit able to maximize the animal welfare and at the same time the productive performances through the use of mirrors. A total of 81 rabbits were allocated into free-range areas and divided into three groups (nine replicates per group): in the first group (face to face, F2F), the rabbits of each replicate could see each other. In the second group (blind) each replicate was isolated from the others; in the third group (mirrors), the replicates were divided as for the Blind group but two mirrors were placed in a corner of the perimeter. The blind group rabbits showed the lowest final weight (p < 0.05), while rabbits from the mirrors groups showed the best FCR and net dressing out values. The blind group showed the highest production of total short chain fatty acids, acetate (p < 0.05) and propionate (p < 0.01). The F2F rabbits showed higher levels of creatine phosphokinase and lactate dehydrogenase and lower values of blood glucose than those of the other groups, due to the higher locomotion activity. The use of mirrors can improve rabbit’s growth performance and carcass traits by lowering the rabbit’s locomotion activity in comparison to the other tested systems.