Even minimal human contact linked to nursing reduces fear responses toward humans in rabbits

Csatádi, Katalin; Kustos, K.; acute˜cs, E. Szudouble; Bilkó, Ágnes; Altbäcker, Vilmos

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2005.05.002

Cited by 38 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…However, it is recognised that the frequent handling of rabbits reduces their fear towards humans during immobility or contact tests (Csatá di et al, 2005;Verwer et al, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Housing of growing rabbits in individual, bicellular and collective cages: fear level and behavioural patterns

Trocino

Majolini

Tazzoli

et al. 2013

Animal

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During growth (27 to 75 days of age), a total of 384 rabbits were kept in 72 individual cages, 48 bicellular cages (2 rabbits/cage) and 24 collective cages (9 rabbits/cage). To evaluate the effects of the housing system on the fear level and behavioural patterns of rabbits at the two ages (39 to 45 days and 66 to 73 days), a tonic immobility test and an open-field test were conducted and their behaviour was video recorded. In the tonic immobility test, the number of attempts to induce immobility (1.38) was lower, and the duration of immobility (47.8 s) was higher (0.05 , P , 0.01) in the rabbits housed in individual cages than in those kept in bicellular (1.72 attempts and 25.0 s of immobility) and collective cages (1.99 attempts and 25.0 s of immobility). During the open-field test, the rabbits from individual and bicellular cages showed higher latency (38.8 and 40.3 v. 27.0 s), a lower number of total (73.3 and 81.7 v. 91.9) and central displacements (3.6 and 2.8 v. 5.4) and a shorter running time (11.8 and 13.6 s v. 17.7 s) and the time biting the pen (5.5 and 9.1 s v. 28.2 s) compared with the rabbits kept in collective cages (0.05 , P , 0.001). During the 24-h video recording, the rabbits in individual and bicellular cages spent less time allogrooming (0.34% and 0.19% v. 1.44%), moving (0.74% and 0.60% v. 1.32%) and running (0.08% and 0.03% v. 0.21%) than the rabbits in the collective cages (0.01 , P , 0.001). The lowest numbers of alerts and hops were observed in the rabbits kept in bicellular cages. With increasing age, a lower number of rabbits were sensitive to the immobility test and more rabbits entered the pen spontaneously during the open-field test (P , 0.001). In conclusion, the rabbits in individual cages exhibited the highest fear level and incomplete behavioural patterns; the rabbits housed in collective cages showed the lowest fear levels and had the possibility of expressing a wider range of behaviour; and the rabbits in bicellular cages exhibited an inconsistent pattern of fear in the tonic immobility and open-field tests. Probably, these rabbits were in a less stressful condition compared with animals in individual cages because social contacts were allowed, even if freedom of movement was more limited.Keywords: housing system, fear level, behaviour, growing rabbits ImplicationsPeople are concerned about the welfare status of rabbits reared for meat production in small cages. This paper demonstrates that housing rabbits in individual or bicellular cages threatens their welfare by increasing their fear level and by limiting their possibility of expressing normal behaviour. In collective cages (9 rabbits/cage), social contacts and movements are permitted, and both fear response and behavioural patterns improve. The tonic immobility and the open-field tests can be used to compare the fear level of rabbits in different housing systems.

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“…However, it is recognised that the frequent handling of rabbits reduces their fear towards humans during immobility or contact tests (Csatá di et al, 2005;Verwer et al, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Housing of growing rabbits in individual, bicellular and collective cages: fear level and behavioural patterns

Trocino

Majolini

Tazzoli

et al. 2013

Animal

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“…In fact, Gallup (1977) and Jones (1986a,b) found that fewer numbers of induction attempts and higher duration time in TI test were correlated to higher fear level. Moreover, many studies (Jones and Faure, 1981;Kersten et al, 1989;Grigor et al, 1995;Pongrácz and Altbäcker, 2003;Csatádi et al, 2005) emphasise that regular handling may reduce the level of fear towards human beings. Bilko and Altbäcker (2000) suggest that early handling results in olfactory imprinting when kits may imprint the odour of humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In kits, even minimal human contact is effective in reducing rejection of the caretaker, so handling could be a useful tool to reduce stress and improve welfare even under intensive farming conditions (Csatádi et al, 2005). Kersten et al (1989) found that early handling seems most effective in reducing emotionality if applied after the 10 th d of life, while Jiezierski and Konecka (1996) recorded higher growth rates and higher activity levels in rabbits handled from day 10 to 10 wk of age.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of handling in pre-weaning rabbits

et al. 2012

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ABSTRACT:The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of regular daily handling in the first week after birth on weight gain and the fear reaction towards a new environment and human beings in domestic kits (Tonic Immobility test: TI, Emergence test: ET). Two groups in the same environment and fed the same diet were analysed: handled group and control (17 litters, 9 kits/litter per group). No differences in weight gain were recorded. During ET at 33 d of age, handled kits took less time to enter the arena than control group kits. TI duration was shorter in handled kits, which required more inductions than the control group. It was found that minimal human contact imposed before nursing reduced the fear of humans in rabbit kits. Our handling method requires minimal contact and can be used to reduce fear and improve welfare in rabbits. Moreover, the short length of the handling procedure allows stockpersons to produce tamer rabbits, reducing stress levels.

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“…Positive interactions with humans at an early stage in life could reduce their level of fearfulness. It has been shown that, in an apparent sensitive period, even minimal human contact is effective in reducing avoidance of the caretaker, and thus handling might be a useful tool to reduce stress and improve welfare even under intensive farming conditions (Csatadi et al, 2005). It has also been shown that handled rabbits approached humans significantly sooner than non-handled ones (Csatadi et al, 2007) and that frequent handling of young rabbits not only changes their behaviour in terms of reducing fear of humans but also positively influences the growth rate and reduces the mortality rate (Jezierski and Konecka, 1996).…”

Section: Means Of Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion Concerning the Welfare of Animals during Transport

2011

EFSA Journal

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The Scientific Opinion on the welfare of animals during transport reviewed the most recent scientific information concerning the main farm species. New scientific evidence and consequent conclusions and recommendations were arranged following the structure of Annex I of EC Regulation 1/2005 5 . On fitness for transport, recommendations for cattle and poultry were focused on repeated humane handling and careful inspection prior to transport. On the means of transport, use of partitions in horse transport, compulsory fasting of pigs with provision of water at stops, and temperature limits for poultry were major recommendations. Maintaining stability of animal groups was recommended as good practice, with special emphasis on the need to avoid mixing unfamiliar pigs or goats. On watering and feeding intervals, journey times and resting periods, journey duration should not exceed 12 hours for horses and 29 hours for cattle. Horses should be supplied with water one hour before and one hour after transport, and for cattle there should be a 24 hour recovery period with access to food and water. For rabbits, time spent inside the containers during lairage should be considered journey time. Space allowance for horses should be given in terms of kg/m 2 instead of m 2 /animal. For cattle and sheep, it is recommended that space allowances should be calculated according to an allometric equation relating size to body weight. Limits for stocking densities of broilers in containers should be related to thermal conditions. On the navigation systems, temperature monitoring systems should be incorporated. Minimum standards should be established regarding data type to be recorded, the 4 The changes do not affect the overall conclusions of the opinion. To avoid confusion, the original version of the opinion has been removed from the website, but is available on request, as is a version showing all the changes made.

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Even minimal human contact linked to nursing reduces fear responses toward humans in rabbits

Cited by 38 publications

References 17 publications

Housing of growing rabbits in individual, bicellular and collective cages: fear level and behavioural patterns

Housing of growing rabbits in individual, bicellular and collective cages: fear level and behavioural patterns

Effect of handling in pre-weaning rabbits

Scientific Opinion Concerning the Welfare of Animals during Transport

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