Abstract: International audience ; This study investigates the impact of genetic diversity at both individual and group levels on the health of 1,038 growing rabbits raised without antibiotics during the post-weaning period. By increasing diversity at the individual level (crossbreeding) and at the group level (crossfostering), our aim is to reduce the dependance on antibiotics in industrial farming systems. The survival, the visual health score, and the white blood cell counts were monitored. We compared purebred and crossbred rabbits, as well as two cross-fostering strategies: between-and within-genotypes. Results show that crossbreed rabbits exhibit better visual health scores at 64 days, indicating a positive effect of genetic diversity at the individual level. However, increasing genetic diversity at the group level through cross-fostering did not yield favorable outcomes, with more rabbits in the between-genotype strategy classified as diseased. Further investigation into the effects of genetic diversity at the herd level is recommended to understand its potential benefits on the farm health. Overall, this study underscores the complex interplay between genetic diversity and health outcomes in industrial rabbit farming systems.
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