The interest in dietary prebiotics in rabbit production has increased as a consequence of the search for natural alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters. This study was conducted to evaluate the individual and combined effects of gum Arabic and mannan oligosaccharides on growth performance, physiological health, meat quality and cecal bacterial populations of growing New Zealand White rabbits. Eighty rabbits (5 weeks of age) were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments, for a period of 8 weeks: basal diet (control), basal diet supplemented with gum Arabic (2 g/kg), mannan oligosaccharides (2 g/kg) or their combination (2 + 2 g/kg). The dietary supplementation significantly improved the final body weight, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, carcass yield, serum protein profile, selected serum biochemical indicators related to hepatic and renal status, lipid profile, antioxidant status, immune response, meat quality and cecal microbial balance as compared to the control group. The combined treatment always produced the best improvements with better growth performance, less abdominal fat, higher antioxidant enzyme activity, higher immunoglobulin concentrations, better water-holding capacity and cooking characteristics of meat, higher populations of beneficial Lactobacillus and lower Escherichia coli counts. The combined treatment produced the most favorable responses for several measured variables, although the magnitude and statistical significance of the response varied among traits. These findings suggest that GA and MOS may have potential as dietary supplements for modulating selected productive, physiological, meat-quality, and cecal bacterial parameters in growing rabbits.

Climate change is accelerating the frequency of extreme thermal environments, threatening animal welfare, global herd productivity, and agricultural economics. Heat stress—occurring when the ambient temperature-humidity index (THI) surpasses species-specific thermoneutral thresholds—initiates physiological heat-loss cascades (panting, sweating, and peripheral vasodilation), neuroendocrine disruptions (depressed thyroid hormones, elevated glucocorticoids, and insulin dysregulation), mitochondrial oxidative stress, and gut-barrier breakdown. These systemic disruptions drive substantial performance declines: voluntary dry matter intake drops by 15–25%, average daily gain by 15–30%, milk yield by 10–25%, conception rates by 30–50%, and poultry egg output and shell integrity by 15–25%. Species-specific vulnerability is governed by intrinsic anatomical and metabolic differences, including the substantial fermentation heat increment in ruminants, the lack of functional sweat glands and heavy feather insulation in poultry, and the low cutaneous evaporative capacity of swine. Furthermore, thermal stress induces oxidative damage via free radical accumulation and alters blood composition, triggering severe immunosuppression that heightens susceptibility to mastitis, respiratory complexes, and metabolic endotoxemia. Mitigation requires an integrated solutions matrix combining environmental cooling (tunnel ventilation, pad cooling, and shade), targeted nutrition (antioxidants, organic trace minerals, osmolytes, and rumen-protected fats), genomic selection (SLICK locus and thermotolerant crossbreeding), and real-time Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) monitoring. Addressing these challenges is paramount to ensuring sustainable livestock production, animal welfare, and global food security under impending climate scenarios.