Hormones and External Factors: Are They “On/Off” Signals for Maternal Nest-Building in Rabbits?

González‐Mariscal, Gabriela; Cuamatzi, Evelia; Rosenblatt, Jay S.

doi:10.1006/hbeh.1997.1425

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…These observations agree with previous work from our laboratory in which shaved pre-parturient females were provided with several types of hair for nest-building (González-Mariscal et al, 1998). The latencies to collect hair were very short for the female's own and for synthetic hair and were longer for male hair.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

New Zealand White rabbits show non-selective nursing in various types of nests.

González‐Mariscal¹,

Gallegos²

2010

World rabbit sci.

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ABSTRACT:We investigated the capacity of New Zealand White female rabbits to nurse their litter in a nest different from their own (i.e., from another female, in a box containing synthetic or male hair, or in a new box containing part of the original nest material). In females that nursed in their own nest across lactation days 1-3 (one nest-condition) the mere addition of any of the above boxes (without pups) across days 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 provoked an increase in the latency to enter their own nest for nursing (0.05±0 vs. 2±1 min; P<0.01; Group 1A). In the two-nest condition females took a longer time to enter any box for nursing than they did to enter their own. These differences were significant only for the synthetic nest (4±1.5 min; P<0.05). When the two-nest condition began on lactation day 1 (Group 1B) the latency to enter significantly increased only with the male nest (8±4 vs. 1±0 min, own nest; P<0.05). The time inside the nest box devoted to nursing was practically the same under all conditions and within the normal duration (ca. 3 min). Milk production rose steadily across the days of observation, regardless of the type of nest-box the litter was placed in. We also explored the effect of using alien kits, rather than the female's own, on the rabbit's capacity to nurse them in any of the above nest types (Group 2). The only differences between Group 2 and Group 1B were: a) on day 1 females nursing an alien litter produced less milk (48±5 g) than the two groups nursing their own (69±5, 75±8 g; P<0.02); b) the latency to enter the male nest was smaller in Group 2 (2±2 vs. 8±4 min; P<0.05). These results show that, although able to distinguish among different nest types, rabbits can nurse their own or alien kits in several environments. These findings can be useful in small farm rabbit husbandry practices for facing the problems of kit death or nest deterioration in early lactation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

New Zealand White rabbits show non-selective nursing in various types of nests.

González‐Mariscal¹,

Gallegos²

2010

World rabbit sci.

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“…We reasoned that if maternal nest building in the rabbit is homologous to compulsive behavior [32], then nest building behavior and compulsive behavior should be associated with similar prefrontal activation patterns. Detailed observations on rabbit nest building behavior have been carried out in previous studies [19][20][21]32]. These studies demonstrate that hormonal signals during pregnancy alter the rabbit's behavioral responses to specific external stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…By contrast, estradiol levels remain more or less constant throughout pregnancy [49,29,30,10,19]. A series of elegant studies carried out in laboratory rabbits has shown that the mid-pregnancy peak in progesterone stimulates the motivation to dig, while the subsequent decline in progesterone triggers the onset of straw-carrying behavior and, later, hair pulling [66,[19][20][21]31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Activation of the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices during the expression of a naturalistic compulsive-like behavior in the rabbit

Cano-Ramírez

Hoffman

2017

Behavioural Brain Research

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“…The doe's placing of straw or similar materials as a thermal component in the nest (González-Mariscal et al, 1998a) is another element of maternal behaviour (Szendrö et al, 1988). This is a more plastic behaviour pattern than the lining of the nest with hair and improves over time with parity order and as a function of experience, not as the result of external stimuli (Canali et al, 1991).…”

Section: Building a Layer Of Strawmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Redondo

2010

World Rabbit Sci.

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ABSTRACT:This study describes and models maternal nest-building and parturition behaviour in cage-bred wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and its infl uence 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 identifi ed: 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.

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Hormones and External Factors: Are They “On/Off” Signals for Maternal Nest-Building in Rabbits?

Cited by 18 publications

References 18 publications

New Zealand White rabbits show non-selective nursing in various types of nests.

New Zealand White rabbits show non-selective nursing in various types of nests.

Activation of the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices during the expression of a naturalistic compulsive-like behavior in the rabbit

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

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