BIOECONOMIC MODELLING OF REPRODUCTIVE ADDITIVES IN RABBIT NUTRITION: ROI-BASED KIT PRODUCTION ANALYSIS

Rising feed prices and the consumer shift toward antibiotic-free rabbit meat push producers to ask a blunt question: do modern reproductive additives truly pay their way? Guided by that query, the work stitches together data from twelve peer-reviewed nutrition trials published between 2015 and 2025 and folds them into a lean, deterministic partial-budget model. The additives-heat-inactivated postbiotics, plant-derived omega-3 PUFA concentrates, and composite phytogenic blends-were assessed over a single 42-day reproductive cycle. Litter size rose on average 10.8 % with postbiotics, 8.1 % with PUFA, and 7.4 % with phytogenics, kit survival improved in similar yet softer steps. When current European price grids are plugged in, postbiotics returned €2.60 for every euro invested, PUFA €1.90, and phytogenics €1.70. Monte-Carlo resampling of litter gains reinforced that ranking despite biological noise. Feed-price inflation in a ±20 % sensitivity sweep eroded PUFA margins first, confirming the intuitive-though seldom quantified-link between fattyacid cost and energy density. Although the analysis rests on published data instead of fresh farm trials, the convergence of biological and financial signals across diverse breeds hints at robust external validity. In short, postbiotics look set to outstrip the other two additives unless rawmaterial markets tilt dramatically the other way.