AbstrAct:Various parameters of sexual behaviour were studied in 10 male rabbits daily tested with sexually receptive females (ovariectomized, given estradiol benzoate s.c. 5 µg/d). The aim of this study was to analyse rabbit sexual behaviour during successive tests leading to sexual exhaustion. We allowed copulation ad libitum and determined if sexual satiety was reached within 1 d and sexual exhaustion across several days. The pair was allowed to copulate freely until the male failed to show sexual interest in that female for 30 min. The female was then removed and replaced by another; this procedure was repeated using as many does as needed, until the male showed no interest in any female for 2 h. Scent-marking (chinning) was also recorded, before and after the copulation test. This whole procedure was repeated daily until the male showed no sexual behaviour at all on a given day. Within a test, copulation ad libitum led to a gradual increase in the time interval between successive mounts and ejaculations, regardless of the day of testing. Such increments predicted that the buck was reaching sexual satiety. The "miss" rate (i.e., the proportion of mounts that did not culminate in ejaculation) significantly increased from a median of 25 on the 1 st d to 55 on the last day of testing. The mean time to reach copulatory inactivity decreased from 4 h on the 1 st d to 1 h on the last day. The total number of ejaculations within a test decreased from an average of 22 to 6 (first vs. last day, respectively) and the number of chin marks was reduced by 69% compared with pre-mating values, regardless of the day of testing. All bucks eventually stopped copulating after a variable number of days (range=2-15 d). We concluded that, following copulation ad libitum with several females, male rabbits reach sexual satiety (i.e., they are unable to continue copulating on the same day) and, after several days, they also attain sexual exhaustion, a state in which copulation is totally arrested for at least 24 h. Some behavioural parameters can be used as reliable predictors that a buck is approaching sexual satiety and sexual exhaustion.

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<p>Male rabbit sexual behaviour consists of a single mount followed immediately by ejaculation. In young bucks this pattern changes gradually as they reach sexual satiety in a day and sexual exhaustion after several daily tests. Little is known about the characteristics of sexual behaviour in old rabbits (aged 48-54 mo) within a day and across daily tests leading to sexual exhaustion. By using sexually receptive(young) females, changed within a session to maximise copulation, we found that: a) the inter-ejaculatory interval increased between the first and last days of testing; b) test duration was 3.1 h on day 1 and 0.5 h on day 15; c) the “miss rate” (i.e., mounts not accompanied by ejaculation) significantly increased from the first to the last day of testing, regardless of when this occurred in each individual buck; d) the total number of ejaculations displayed in a session significantly decreased between the first and the last day of testing in all males; e) scent-marking (“chinning”) frequency significantly decreased after copulation to satiety, relative to that quantified at baseline, and was restored the following day. Compared with young bucks our results indicate quantitative, rather than qualitative, differences in sexual behaviour associated with age in rabbits. Specifically, on day 1 old bucks spent a shorter time engaged in copulation and displayed a lower number of ejaculations before reaching satiety than young males. In contrast, the interval between ejaculatory events and the “miss rate” increased across test days in both old and young rabbits. These results merit investigating the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the display of such an active sexual behaviour by old rabbit bucks.</p>