Mortality and early removal of breeding female rabbits reduce farm productivity and animal welfare. We tracked the fecal microbiota in does, comparing healthy females with those that later died or were culled for infertility. We also followed how a mother’s mortality/culling and microbiota might affect the survival of her kits. Microbiota information was obtained from soft feces samples and analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Females that were close to death or culling showed a drop in microbial richness. Using microbial information, we could classify a female’s future fate with up to 99% accuracy (Area Under the Curve), especially when samples were collected within two months of the event (death or culling). Maternal health mattered to the next generation: kits from does that later died had 9% lower survival at weaning than healthy ones, and much of this difference can be explained by the mother’s microbiota profile. These findings position the rabbit fecal microbiota as a non-invasive biomarker to flag high-risk does early and to guide management that improves longevity and litter survival.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.