Ontogeny of the rabbit's circadian rhythms without an external zeitgeber

Jilge, Burghart

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(95)00006-5

Cited by 79 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This would suggest that the welfare of these does might be at stake through this commonly applied management procedure. Although this method is considered to fall within the natural nursing conditions in rabbits (Jilge, 1995), it may lead to frustration expressed as abnormal behaviours. After insemination on day 11 of lactation, does got free access to the nest boxes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cage-enrichment: rabbit does prefer straw or a compressed wooden block

Rommers¹,

Bracke²,

Reuvekamp³

et al. 2014

World Rabbit Sci.

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Abstract:The effect of different food related materials on the behaviour of commercial meat rabbit does was investigated to provide them enrichment. Five different treatments were tested. Control (pens without additional enrichment, C) was compared with pens containing a pinewood stick (Pine), straw in a plastic bin (Straw), a compressed wooden block (Ply) or a combination of straw and a pinewood stick (Straw+Pine). The experiment was conducted on a commercial rabbit farm using 80 cages with multiparous lactating hybrid (Hycole) rabbit does. Behavioural observations were conducted in the first 4 wk of 2 successive lactations of 6 wk each, twice a week from 15:00 to 18:30 h. Once every week the consumption of gnawing materials and soiling of the cages was scored. More does were significantly occupied with Straw and Ply than with Pine (24±20, 11±9 and 4±3% of does, respectively) for a longer duration (4±4, 2±2, 0.1±0.2% of observed time, respectively). In does of Straw+Pine group, the pinewood was barely touched and straw was preferred. It can be concluded that straw (loose material) and wooden block are used by the animals as enrichment material to gnaw or chew on. The materials remain attractive for the 2 lactations which were measured. The pinewood stick as provided in this study was rarely used and it may be questioned whether it is sufficient as enrichment material or if it should be provided in another way than hanging on the roof of the cage. This study provides a first step towards a positive list of enrichment materials that can be used in commercial rabbit farming in The Netherlands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cage-enrichment: rabbit does prefer straw or a compressed wooden block

Rommers¹,

Bracke²,

Reuvekamp³

et al. 2014

World Rabbit Sci.

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“…The findings are also consistent with the fact that rabbits usually give birth during the day but nurse their young at night (Refs. 41,43,45,46; reviewed in Refs. 37,47).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of photoperiod on the mechanical response of the pregnant rabbit uterus to oxytocin

Ninomiya-Alarcon

Hudson²,

Reyes-Guerrero³

et al. 2004

American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comp

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We present findings suggesting that photoperiod is important in determining the sensitivity of the late-pregnant rabbit uterus to oxytocin (OT). Longitudinal myometrial strips were taken from term-pregnant and estrous rabbits and mounted in an organ bath for isometric myographic recording at different times during a 16:8-h light-dark cycle (lights on 0600 -2200; n ϭ 5/group), and the strength of contractions was registered in response to the application of OT or KCl. Strength of contractions was dose dependent and was up to 200 times greater at doses three to four orders of magnitude lower in tissue taken from pregnant animals during the light phase (0700 and 1300) than during the dark phase (2400 and 0400). Strips from nonpregnant estrous females also showed greater sensitivity and contractile force when taken in the light (0700) than in the dark (0400), although the differences were not significant. Consistent with the influence of photoperiod on uterine sensitivity to OT, strips taken from two groups of pregnant females (n ϭ 5/group) maintained on a light-dark cycle advanced 12 h showed significantly greater sensitivity and force in response to OT during the new subjective light than during the new subjective dark phase. The photoperiod-dependent contractile response to OT was specific and not simply the result of a change in general mechanical properties of the muscle, because administration of KCl resulted in dose-dependent contractions of similar magnitude in both the light and dark phase. These results are consistent with the fact that rabbits, like other nocturnal mammals, typically give birth during the day. parturition; electromyographic uterine recording; circadian rhythmicity MUCH EFFORT HAS BEEN DIRECTED to understanding the processes triggering parturition, and although this is still not completely understood, some common features are emerging. One is that parturition has a strong diurnal component such that mammals usually give birth during their species-typical rest period (reviewed in Refs. 14,35,36,54): nocturnal mammals such as the rat during the day (28, 39, 52, 61) and diurnal mammals such as sheep (Ref. 30; own observations), monkeys (15,16,56), and humans (9,10,29,49,55,64) during the night. Moreover, in humans, births occurring at night are typically of shorter duration, require fewer interventions, and have an obstetrically better outcome than births occurring during the day (Refs. 3,9,55,60; reviewed in Ref. 36).A second common feature is the importance of the hormone oxytocin (OT), released at the time of parturition from the posterior pituitary into the bloodstream, in helping to initiate and sustain the uterine contractions necessary for expulsion of the fetus(es) (1, 11, 12, 17, 19, 23-25, 31, 33, 50, 67). In those species in which it has been studied, principally macaque monkeys and humans, there is a diurnal rhythm in circulating levels of OT, with the highest levels at night (18,20,33,34,36,65). This rhythm becomes more pronounced as gestation progresses and is most marked at the...

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“…Moreover, elegant studies from Jilge (1993Jilge ( , 1995 have shown that this behavior occurs in a circadian fashion, that is, with a period of ca. 24 hr, under both constant light or light:dark conditions.…”

Section: What Factors Determine the Duration Of A Nursing Bout?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The litter is born in the nest and, as each young emerges, the mother cleans it, consumes the placenta, nurses all the newborn, and leaves the nest (Hudson, Cruz, Lucio, Ninomiya, & Martínez-Gomez, 1999;Melo & González-Mariscal, 2003). From then onwards the mother-young interaction is restricted to a single nursing bout per day (inside the maternal nest) that lasts around 3 min (Drewett, Kendrick, Sanders, & Trew, 1982;González-Mariscal, DiazSánchez et al, 1994;Zarrow, Denenberg, & Anderson, 1965), and is expressed with circadian periodicity (Jilge, 1993(Jilge, , 1995.…”

Section: How Is Maternal Behavior Expressed In the Rabbit?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mother rabbits and their offspring: Timing is everything

González‐Mariscal

2006

Developmental Psychobiology

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Mother rabbits nurse once every 24 hr for ca. 3 min. The contribution of pup stimulation to the regulation of this process was investigated by: reducing litter size to one pup, covering all the mother's nipples, or taping the mouths of an eight-pup litter. Time inside the nest box with the young significantly increased under all these conditions. Yet, eight pups sucking on a single nipple allowed a normal time in the nest box. Bringing the litter to the mother earlier than usual promoted maternal behavior expression twice in 24 hr; the proportion of responsive females and the time at which they responded depended on the size of the litter suckled. These findings indicate that: (a) suckling determines the time inside the nest box and prevents mothers from responding to further pup stimulation for a variable time; (b) pup exposure promotes maternal behavior, even ''out of phase'' with circadian rhythmicity. ß 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 49: 71-76, 2007.

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Ontogeny of the rabbit's circadian rhythms without an external zeitgeber

Cited by 79 publications

References 32 publications

Cage-enrichment: rabbit does prefer straw or a compressed wooden block

Cage-enrichment: rabbit does prefer straw or a compressed wooden block

Effect of photoperiod on the mechanical response of the pregnant rabbit uterus to oxytocin

Mother rabbits and their offspring: Timing is everything

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