Search

A total number of 72 post-weaned rabbits (aged 35 days, meat line M91 a P91 hybrid rabbits), reared in an intensive breeding in the Slovak Republic, were used in the experiment. The rabbits were randomly divided into 3 similar groups, 24 animals in each group (control -EG1, experimental groups - EG2 and EG3) and kept in standard metal cages, two animals per cage. This study investigated the effects of different feeding on growth performance, chemical composition, fatty acid profile and content of essential amino acids of the Musculus longissimus thoracis and lumborum of growing rabbits. This in vivo study was designed to reveal whether the antimicrobial effect of Enterocin M (produced by non-rabbit origin strain Enteroccocus faecium AL41-CCM8558), is able to influence the meat quality of rabbits. Every day at the same time in the morning the rabbits in EG 2 received 50 µl dose of Ent M per animal per day, administered into their drinking water. The rabbits of experimental group (EG3) had commercial diet enriched with the supplement of 1% natural zeolite (a product of ZEOCEM Company, Bystré, Slovakia) and the drinking water did not contain any coccidiostatic drugs during the experiment. The experiment was lasted for 42 days. The fat of rabbits in the 2EG had a higher (P = 0.05) concentration of n-3 and n-6, MUFA, while the ratio of SFA in the control was lower (32.92%) than in 2EG and 3EG reared rabbits (34.61% vs. 34.71%). Feeding of natural substances to rabbits did not influence biochemical and zootechnical parameters and it had no negative effect on growth performance in rabbits. It had positive effect on health status and it reduced the number of Eimeria spp. Oocysts were not detected in rabbits' intestinal tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Tick abundance and the prevalence of the pathogens they carry have been increasing worldwide in the last decades, and is projected to increase even further. Despite the fact that problem is global, there still remain many gaps in the diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne diseases. The best protection from tick-borne pathogens, therefore, is prevention and avoidance of bites. Ticks mobility is limited so that their spatial distribution is strongly correlated with the presence of, especially with large mammals. In this study, the hypothesis was tested that tick abundance is higher on animal tracks in the forests than in adjacent habitats. This is an important issue because there are still several human habits and practices that can decrease the zoonoses risk. For example, during recreation in forest, people should always walk on the paths (including narrow animal’s tracks) instead of wading through bushes. Materials and method. Flagging of animal trails and near control transects were performed simultaneously. Next, collected ticks were counted, sexed and aged. Results. The abundance of ticks was almost 5-fold (Ixodes ricinus) and 3-fold (Dermacentor spp.) higher on animal trails than on adjacent control transects. Conclusions. The results obtained support the hypothesis that ticks are more abundant on pathways than in adjacent habitats. Most likely, the pattern emerges because large mammals, like deer, which are the most important ticks hosts, use forest paths to move across the landscape and frequently move along the same routes. This research sends an important public message that these forest trails are hotspots of disease risk and should be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]