Main facts in rabbit nutrition and feeding: past and recent perspectives

Available knowledge in rabbit nutrition and feeding guarantees the optimization of productive and reproductive performance of the genetic types used in rabbit commercial farms because nutritional requirements have been largely investigated and are known. Nevertheless, performance alone are not sufficient to maximize global farm feed efficiency, which can be achieved only when animals are in health, i.e. in absence or with minimum losses due to morbidity and mortality. Thus, research has assessed for a long time the effect of the changes in the levels of main dietary constituents (firstly fibre, starch and protein) on performance and health. Now, attention is more and more towards the effects of the different fractions in main nutrients, in particular soluble and insoluble fibre. Relationships and possible synergistic effects among different nutrients and feeding techniques (e.g. feed restriction) are evaluated with a multisciplinary approach, which addresses effects on immune response and gut microbiota as key factors in regulating rabbit health. Current feeding techniques also pay attention to the effects of the dietary changes on environment, in terms of nitrogen excretion