Digestion physiology of rabbits
1994
Kermauner, A. (Biotechnical Faculty, Ljubljana (Slovenia). Zootechnical Dept.)
Rabbits are herbivorous nonruminants with enlarged cecum in which a vast microbial degradation takes place. Aside hard feces, rabbits produce soft feces called cecotrophs and eat it (cecophagy). Degradation products and cecum microorganisms return to the beginning of digestion system by the mean of cecotrophy and cecophagy, thus increasing feed digestibility. Forage intake of rabbits is quite high due to the special nutritional strategy. Nutritional needs of rabbits are covered from well digestible part of forage, this being enabled by mechanism of separation of large and small parts in large intestine. Following traits are described: anatomy and physiology of a rabbit, gastrointestinal tract, mechanism of separation of large and small parts in large intestine and cecotroph production. Microbial population in cecum as well as main products of microbial metabolism are described.
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