Vergleichende Verhaltensstudien an Wild- und Hauskaninchen

Maternal behaviour in peripartum influences preweaning kit mortality in cage-bred wild rabbits

This study describes and models maternal nest-building and parturition behaviour in cage-bred wild rabbits (oryctolagus cuniculus), and its influence on the kits’ pre-weaning mortality. In a total of 91 litters, perinatal mortality was 33%; mortality during the nursing period was 16.05%, and therefore the accumulated mortality up to weaning was 43.94%. These mortality rates, higher than those described in the literature among domestic breeds, were linked to failures in maternal behaviour. Such failures included the non-introduction of straw into the nest box (41.8% of births), a lack of hair lining in the nest (28.6%), births in which one or all of the kits were born outside the nest box (18.7%), and births in which one or all of the kits were cannibalised by the doe (13.2%). Maternal behaviour in relation to the kits’ viability was modelled by performing multiple correspondence and cluster analyses with two dimensions and a 67.2% total inertia. The fi rst dimension (inertia: 0.400) was represented by the presence of hair in the nest box; the place where the kits were born (inside or outside the nest box), and the doe’s previous experience (primiparous or multiparous), while the total number of kits born represents the second dimension (inertia: 0.272). Three maternal behaviour types were identified: types 1 and 3 representing births in which the failure of maternal behaviour at kindling led to high kit mortality. Maternal behaviour type 1 corresponds to primiparous does of parity orders 1 and 2 with a high number of total kits born and of stillborn kits. Type 3 births were characterised by all of the kits died during peripartum, with a high incidence of cannibalism. Type 2 included births of experienced does showing successful development of maternal behaviour, as well as high kits’ survival rates during the peripartum and nursing periods. Although wild rabbits are subject to the same modulating factors in the development of the maternal repertoire as domestic does, showed a lower preweaning viability due to the failure to display maternal behaviour during peripartum.<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>

Welfare assessment in pet rabbits

One million pet rabbits are kept in The Netherlands, but there are no data available on their behaviour and welfare. This study seeks to assess the welfare of pet rabbits in Dutch households and is a first step in the development of a welfare assessment system. In an internet survey, housing systems, general up-keep and behaviour of pet rabbits were reported by their owners. The answers of 912 respondents were analysed with behavioural observations carried out on 66 rabbits in as many households. The rabbits were observed in their home cage and during three fear-related tests: a contact test, a handling test and an open-field test. The survey revealed that the average lifespan of the rabbits is approximately 4.2 years (the maximum potential lifespan is 13 years) and solitary housing appears to reduce lifespan. Close to half of respondents subjected their rabbit(s) to solitary housing and the majority housed them in relatively small cages (< 5,000 cm2). Health risks may arise from a failure to inoculate rabbits and via inappropriate diet. During the contact test, solitary-housed rabbits made more contacts with a human than group-housed rabbits and rabbits in a small housing system made more contacts than those in a large system. Observations in the home cage differed greatly compared with the natural time budget of rabbits, ie displaying increased stereotypic behaviour and decreased foraging and, in solitary-housed rabbits, a complete lack of social behaviour. Nearly 25% of rabbits displayed strong resistance to being picked up, indicating socialisation problems. During the open-field test, solitary-housed rabbits sat up more than social-housed rabbits suggesting increased fearfulness. These findings indicate that the conditions in which pet rabbits are kept often have a negative impact on their welfare, further underlining the need to study this in greater detail.