The global demand for table eggs has increased exponentially due to the growing human population. To meet this demand, major advances in hen genetics, nutrition, and husbandry procedures are required. Developing cost-effective and practically applicable strategies to improve egg production and quality is necessary for the development of egg industry worldwide. Consumers have shown a strong desire regarding the improvement of hens’ welfare and egg quality. They also become interested in functional and designer foods. Modifications in the nutritional composition of laying hen diets significantly impact egg nutritional composition and quality preservation. According to previous scientific research, enriched egg products can benefit human health. However, producers are facing a serious challenge in optimizing breeding, housing, and dietary strategies to ensure hen health and high product quality. This review discussed several practical strategies to increase egg production, quality, and hens’ welfare. These practical strategies can potentially be used in layer farms for sustainable egg production. One of these strategies is the transition from conventional to enriched or cage-free production systems, thereby improving bird behavior and welfare. In addition, widely use of plant/herbal substances as dietary supplements in layers’ diets positively impacts hens’ physiological, productive, reproductive, and immunological performances.

Rabbits are highly susceptible to environmental stress. Such stress, stemming from conventional housing conditions, can negatively impact well-being and productivity. Some of these negative consequences are increased susceptibility to diseases and infections and reduced growth rates and reproductive performance, as well as increased behavioral issues such as aggression. Environmental enrichment is the modification of the environment in which a domesticated animal lives in order to meet the species’ behavioral needs. The objective of providing enrichment is to facilitate animals in expressing natural behaviors, thereby preventing behavioral frustration and negative affective states. Several inexpensive and safe materials can be used to enrich rabbit enclosures. This review emphasizes the significance of implementing diverse environmental enrichments to alleviate stress in rabbit farming. It summarizes their effects on animal performance and welfare while exploring potential future perspectives in this field.

Oxidative stress can disrupt the body’s ability to fight harmful free radicals, leading to premature aging and various health complications. This study investigated the antioxidant and anti-aging properties of four medicinal and edible mushrooms: Ganoderma lucidum, Hericium erinaceus, Pleurotus ostreatus, and Agaricus bisporus. The antioxidant activity of mushroom extracts was evaluated using (DPPH-ABTS-Reducing power). The anti-aging effects were assessed using Human Skin Fibroblasts (HSF) cells subjected to D-galactose-induced aging (30 g/L/72 h) and treated with mushroom extracts (0.03–0.25 mg/mL/72 h). The results demonstrated that all mushrooms have significant antioxidant and anti-aging properties, with low concentrations of extracts (0.03 mg/mL) effectively promoting cell proliferation at an 87% rate in the Agaricus bisporus extract, enhancing cell cycle progression by reducing the arrested cells in the G0/G1 phase to 75%, and promoting DNA synthesis in S phase by more than 16.36% in the Hericium erinaceus extract. Additionally, the extracts reduced DNA damage and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) levels, protecting cells from oxidative stress and potentially contributing to anti-aging effects. The mushrooms also exhibited immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects by upregulating the IL-2, IL-4, and downregulating IL-6 expression, indicating their potential to promote general health. These findings suggest the potential of mushroom extracts as natural agents for reducing the negative effects of aging while promoting cellular health. Further research is required to explore the specific bioactive compounds responsible for these beneficial effects and to evaluate their efficacy in vivo.

In this study, we examined parts of six growth genes (growth hormone [GH], melanocortin 4 receptor [MC4R], growth hormone receptor [GHR], phosphorglycerate mutase [PGAM], myostatin [MSTN], and fibroblast growth factor [FGF]) as specific primers for two rabbit lines (V-line, Alexandria) using nucleotide sequence analysis, to investigate association between detecting single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of these genes and body weight (BW) at market. Each line kits were grouped into high and low weight rabbits to identify DNA markers useful for association studies with high BW. DNA from blood samples of each group was extracted to amplify the six growth genes. SNP technique was used to study the associate polymorphism in the six growth genes and marketing BW (at 63 days) in the two rabbit lines. The purified polymerase chain reaction products were sequenced in those had the highest and lowest BW in each line. Alignment of sequence data from each group revealed the following SNPs: At nucleotide 23 (A-C) and nucleotide 35 (T-G) in MC4R gene (sense mutation) of Alexandria and V-line high BW. Furthermore, we detected the following SNPs variation between the two lines: A SNP (T-C) at nucleotide 27 was identified by MC4R gene (sense mutation) and another one (A-C) at nucleotide 14 was identified by GHR gene (nonsense mutation) of Alexandria line. The results of individual BW at market (63 days) indicated that Alexandria rabbits had significantly higher BW compared with V-line rabbits. MC4R polymorphism showed significant association with high BW in rabbits. The results of polymorphism demonstrate the possibility to detect an association between BW in rabbits and the efficiency of the used primers to predict through the genetic specificity using the SNP of MC4R.

The rabbit is gaining attention in the biotechnology field because it offers several advantages as a specific experimental model. Both wild and domestic rabbits exist. They are prey, browsers and ecosystem keystone species, and they also exhibit high production. Rabbit biotechnology is a branch of animal biotechnology in which molecular biology techniques are used to modify living organisms and make products. The advances in biotechnology have created new applications in rabbit genetics. These applications have moved from measuring the phenotype to assessing the genotype and are now based on the science of genetic engineering. The novel aspect introduced by biotechnology is the modification of gene sequences that influence the traits of interest. This review integrates recent developments in biotechnology that influence traits of interest in rabbits.

Weaning age for mammals remains a topic of debate and an interesting subject of research. The literature data reflect opposite views on the recommended weaning age of rabbits. Thus, we determined the optimal weaning age for average commercial rabbit lines by studying one of these lines, the V-line. Gene expression of weaning age was studied in this research to reach the optimal weaning age for efficient rabbit growth and survival. The effect of weaning age on growth and mortality rates was investigated in young rabbits by comparing 3 groups (kits of 10 V-line does for each group), weaned at 23 (W23), 28 (W28) and 33 (W33) days of age. Rabbits weaned at 23 d of age had significantly (P<0.05) lower body weight at the age of 63 d (market age) than those weaned at 28 and 33 d of age. The weaning age also influenced survival; mortality rate was highest in rabbits weaned at 23 d of age, followed by those weaned at 28 and 33 d of age. Morphometric parameters reflect the integral effect of all factors influencing digestive tract growth and development. From the results, it seems that the small intestine length did not have a clear effect on different weaning ages. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis is an important tool to monitor changes in gene expression in animals such as rabbits. We used this approach to measure intestinal insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) mRNA level and observed that the expression levels of IGF-1Ea, IGF-1Eb and IGF-1R were nearly the same in W28 and W33 rabbits, while they were the lowest in W23 rabbits. Serum IGF-1 concentrations tended to present significant differences (P<0.05) with different weaning ages. We found that levels of IGF-1 in rabbits weaned at 28 and 33 d of age were convergent and higher than the IGF-1 levels in rabbits weaned at 23 d of age. Moreover, the early weaning of rabbits has a negative impact on growth. This therefore suggests that moderate weaning (28W) will be suitable for the farm economy and will improve rabbit production better than early or late weaning.