Mortality Pattern Of Broiler Rabbits In An Organized Farm In Bihar, India

Background: The pre and post-weaning mortality in broiler rabbit limits the production potential and lower the income generation through rabbit farming. Therefore, mortality pattern of animals in a farm is very essential clue for future strategy to combat the incidences of various diseases and prevention. Considering the above fact the present study was undertaken to find out the incidences of various rabbit diseases and mortality in an organized institutional farm.Methods: ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna was maintaining a broiler rabbit farm with 364 rabbit comprising Newzealand White (194) and Soviet Chinchilla (170) rabbit breed. During the three years (October, 2011 to September, 2014) study period in total 364 rabbits were under observation. The seasonal variation viz. (pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter, in regards to mortality, disease incidences, young and adults, sex variation, breed, housing system etc were recorded. The incidences of disease and mortality of rabbits were diagnosed through pathological examination and postmortem findings. The descriptive statistics and chi(2) test were used to explain the statistical significance.Result: During the three years study period out of 364 broiler rabbits (Soviet Chinchilla and Newzealand white) in total 63 rabbits (17.31%) were died due to various diseases. The coccidiosis (3.02%), green slime disease (2.20%), haemorrhagic tracheitis (1.92%), enteritis (1.65%), pneumonia (1.37%) and peritonitis (1.37%) were affected more than the other diseases. Apart from these the other ailments that affected broiler rabbits were ear cancer (0.82%), gastroenteritis (0.82%), stomach infection (0.82%), cardinogenic shock (0.55%), stomach impaction (0.55%), kidney infection (0.55%), limb injury (0.27%), ascites (0.27%), cystitis (0.27%), abscess in abdominal cavity (0.27%), rupture of liver and gall bladder (0.27%) as well as injury of eye and blindness (0.27%). The Soviet Chinchilla rabbits were less (7.14%) affected than the Newzealand white (10.16%). It was observed that mortality of male rabbits (6.04%) were less than the female rabbits (11.26%) and mortality of young were higher (11.54%) than the adult rabbits (5.77%). The seasonal variations in mortality of broiler rabbits were observed in present study. In monsoon season mortality was maximum i.e. 6.32% whereas, in post-monsoon it was 5.49%, pre-monsoon 3.02% and in winter season mortality was only 2.47%. The Soviet Chinchilla rabbits were less susceptible and comparatively better performer in regards to disease resistance. It may be concluded that in broiler rabbit farm coccidiosia is a major concern along with other parasitic and bacterial diseases. However, proper hygiene and sanitation along with periodic treatment with coccidiostat and deworming reduces mortality of rabbits.