J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr. 2017;1–10. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jpn | 1 © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH Received: 7 October 2016 | Accepted: 3 May 2017 DOI: 10.1111/jpn.12759 ORIGINAL ARTICLE The effect of stress on haematologic response and physicochemical parameters of muscle meat in rabbits V. Reséndiz-Cruz 1 | J. E. Ramírez-Bribiesca 1 | D. Mota-Rojas 2 | I. Guerrero-Legarreta 3 | R. G. Cruz-Monterrosa 4 | D. Hernandez-Sanchez 1 1 Colegio de Postgraduados, Programa de ganadería, Texcoco, Mexico 2 Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Xochimilco, Coyoacan, Mexico 3 Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, Mexico City, Mexico 4 Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Lerma, Lerma de Villada, Mexico Correspondence Rosy G. Cruz-Monterrosa, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Lerma, Lerma de Villada, Mexico. Email: r.cruz@correo.ler.uam.mx Funding information Colegio de Postgraduados, Mexico, Grant/ Award Number: 167304-2013 Summary Ante-mortem studies of stress in rabbits are few and can potentially impact the hae- matologic response and physicochemical parameters of muscle meat. The aim of this study was to investigate the induction of stress by transport and simulation at two different times. Two hundred rabbits divided in a similar proportion of male and fe- male were stressed by vehicular transportation and with motion simulation, using a vibration platform. They were divided into five groups: Control (without stress), Stress with Short Transportation (30 min), Stress with Long Transportation (60 min), Stress with Short Vibration Platform (30 min) and Stress with Long Vibration Platform (60 min). Transportation caused a decrease in the haematic potassium in both sexes (<5.2 mmol/L). The glucose and lactate concentrations increased in the transported rabbits (>219 and >61 mg/dl respectively). The differences between sexes showed that the P CO 2 in males decreased <8.5 mmHg in stress groups compared to without stress group. Glucose concentration was 61.5 mg/dl for females and 38.0 mg/dl for males (p < .01). We concluded that in rabbits induced stress by transport increased the energetic metabolites in the blood tissue. This increase did not affect the production parameters and the quality of muscle meat. KEYWORDS induced stress, quality muscle meat, rabbits, response haematologic 1 | INTRODUCTION Maintaining high standards of farm animal’s welfare during transporta- tion, lairage and slaughter, requires appropriate equipment and super- vision of employees (Becerril-Herrera, Alonso-Spilsbury, et al., 2009; Becerril-Herrera, Mota-Rojas, et al., 2009; Mota-Rojas et al., 2014). Rabbits are one of the most sensitive domestic animals to stress in- ductions (Liste et al., 2009) and temperature changes (De la Fuente, Díaz, Ibáñez, & González de Chavarri, 2007). The ante-mortem trans- portation of rabbits from the farm to the trail alters both the behaviour and the physiological variables of the organism; presenting signs of fear, anxiety, fasting, dehydration, injuries on the body (Buil, Maria, Villarroel, Liste, & López, 2004), changes of rectal temperature and increase of blood glucose and lactate (Fazio & Casella, 2015). This be- haviour ranges from mild to severe, largely depending on the number of rabbits introduced in the boarding cages, noise and speed as well as the manoeuvering of the vehicle. While undergoing stress induced by transportation, the organism of animals tries to activate physiological mechanisms to stabilise these hemodynamic changes. In recent years, analyses of the physio metabolic profiles have been used to assess the degree and impact of transport-induced stress and the lairage period, prior to slaughter in other species (Becerril-Herrera, Alonso-Spilsbury, et al., 2009; Becerril-Herrera et al., 2010; Becerril-Herrera, Mota- Rojas, et al., 2009; Mota-Rojas et al., 2009, 2011; Uetake, Ishiwata, Tanaka, & Sato, 2011). Some of the physiological constants that have alterations as a result of the stress produced by transportation