作者
Jie Huang, Qiangjun Wang, Kehao Zhang, Shuai He, Zhongying Liu, Mingyong Li, Man Liu, Yao Guo, Zhonghong Wu
发表日期
2023/8/28
期刊
Animals
卷号
13
期号
17
页码范围
2742
出版商
MDPI
简介
Simple Summary
Mammals have circadian rhythms that regulate their behavior and physiology. Improper feeding can disrupt these rhythms and harm animal health. This study looked at the effects of feeding time and amount on growing rabbits in northern China during spring. Four groups of rabbits were given different feeding regimens, and the results showed that nighttime diet-unrestricted feeding had the best outcomes. This regimen improved the rabbits’ growth, circadian rhythm, and body temperature while reducing the risk of diarrhea and death. The group that had whole day diet-restricted feeding had higher daytime body temperatures but no significant difference in feed conversion rate. The study aimed to explore the impact of feeding timing (whole day vs. nighttime) and feeding amount (unrestricted vs. restricted) on the growth, behavior, circadian rhythm, and overall well-being of growing rabbits in northern China during spring. It is essential to consider feeding methods when raising animals to maintain their health and well-being.
Abstract
Mammals exhibit circadian rhythms in their behavior and physiological activities to adapt to the diurnal changes of the environment. Improper feeding methods can disrupt the natural habits of animals and harm animal health. This study investigated the effects of feeding amount and feeding time on growing rabbits in northern China during spring. A total of 432 healthy 35-day-old weaned rabbits with similar body weight were randomly assigned to four groups: whole day diet-unrestricted feeding (WUF), whole day diet-restricted feeding (WRF), nighttime diet-unrestricted …
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