Immediate postnatal sucking in the rabbit: Its influence on pup survival and growth

This study was aimed at characterising the impact of immediate postnatal sucking on pup survival and development.The interactive effects of postnatal success with the day 0 weight of pups, the nest-access regimen (controlled or free) or parity of females was investigated.Pups (n = 900) were categorised according to their initial ingestion of colostrum.In primiparous does: (1) pup mortality between d0-d10 was higher for unsuccessful than for successful early suckers; (2) lighter d0-weight reduced survival for unsuccessful but not for successful pups; (3) free nest-access of females annihilated the survival advantage fostered by the initial sucking success.In secondiparous does, these impacts waned.Finally, whatever the does' parity, only d0-weight influenced pup weightgain between d0-21.Thus, pup survival seemed to depend (at least in primiparae) on their ability to suck right after birth, and to display a pattern of energy saving without being disturbed by the females' nest entries.rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) / newborn / sucking / colostrum / survival / growth Résumé -La tétée initiale du lapereau : influence sur la survie et la croissance.L'impact de la première tétée sur la survie et la croissance des lapereaux (L ; n = 900) a été étudié en considérant les effets interactifs du poids néonatal, du régime d'accès au nid (contrôlé ou libre) et de la parité des femelles.Chez les femelles primipares : (1) la mortalité entre J0-J10 est plus élevée pour les L qui échouent à la 1 re tétée ; (2) un faible poids à J0 réduit les chances de survie uniquement des L qui ne Reprod.Nutr.Dev.