Regular handling early in the nursing period eliminates fear responses toward human beings in wild and domestic rabbits

Bilkó, Ágnes; Altbäcker, Vilmos

doi:10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(200001)36:1<78::aid-dev8>3.0.co;2-5

Cited by 46 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Stress responses were altered due to neonatal handling in an Amazon parrot (Collette et al 2000) in such a way that they were more willing to perch on a finger and differed in corticosterone levels compared to non-handled birds. In rabbits handled after nursing time, repeated, but minimal, human contact was found to be sufficient to decrease sensitivity to human contact (Bilko and Altbacker 2000;Csátadi et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of repeated handling and bleeding in wild caught Great Tits Parus major

Oers

Carere

2007

J Ornithol

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Handling and bleeding are frequently used procedures in avian research and several studies show that they can exert short-term effects, such as elevation in corticosterone levels. However, the long-term effects of exposure to such manipulations are largely unknown, but could have important implications, especially for much of the long-term research on birds and experiments that involve longitudinal assessments. In this study, we evaluated the effect of handling and bleeding on some physiological and behavioural parameters. Hand-reared Great Tits Parus major originating from wild nests were used in two different experiments for other purposes. In these experiments, the birds were exposed to different frequencies of bleeding and handling events across a period of 45 days. The ''high stress'' group experienced a total of seven times handling and five times bleeding, while a ''low stress'' group was handled three times and bled only once. Thirty days after the experiments, when caught and handled from a cage, individuals of the high stress group were easier to catch, displayed significantly higher breath rates, and were more docile than individuals of the low stress group. No differences in body mass were detected. These results indicate that repeated manipulations cause evident long-term changes in coping with such procedures, which are likely due to learning effects, and provide empirical evidence that the past experimental history of an animal has to be taken into account in subsequent experiments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of repeated handling and bleeding in wild caught Great Tits Parus major

Oers

Carere

2007

J Ornithol

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“…2006) and, via extensive human handling, habituation of animals to humans and laboratory procedures (e.g. Jones & Waddington 1992; Bilko & Altbacker 2000). The latter motivation for hand rearing is particularly prevalent in recent studies of nondomesticated passerine bird species that rely on well-habituated experimental subjects (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Hand rearing affects emotional responses but not basic cognitive performance in European starlings

Feenders

Bateson

2013

Animal Behaviour

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Hand rearing is a common procedure in behavioural research on birds. While likely to produce tamer experimental animals, there is a risk that it could induce pathological changes in brain and behaviour similar to those seen in mammals that have experienced maternal separation. We explored the effects of hand rearing on the cognitive and behavioural development of European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, to assess the generality of results obtained from hand-reared animals. Two groups of age-matched birds were created from the same wild population: one hand-reared from 10 days posthatch and one brought into the laboratory as independent juveniles. These groups were compared on a battery of neuropsychological tasks designed to probe different aspects of cognitive function including learning, perseverative cognition, interval timing, neophobia and impulsivity. There was no evidence for cognitive impairment in the hand-reared birds. They did not have reduced learning speed, impairments in accuracy or precision of interval timing or pathological perseverative cognition compared to the wild-caught birds. Additionally, there was no evidence that birds that developed stereotypies in laboratory cages (predominantly the wild-caught birds) had any cognitive impairments, although this may be because no birds had severe, crystallized stereotypies. There was some evidence that hand-reared birds were less neophobic and less impulsive than wild-caught birds, suggesting that hand rearing might alter emotionally mediated decision making in a direction usually associated with reduced developmental stress in mammals. This study therefore supports the use of hand rearing as an experimental procedure in behavioural research on passerine birds.

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“…Pongrácz and Altbäcker (1999) found that the behaviour and welfare of caged rabbits can be positively affected by repeated handling and that the kits become fearless of humans only if they have been handled close to the time of the maternal visits. Bilkó and Altbäcker (2000) showed that the fi rst week postpartum is a sensitive period for successful handling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bilkó and Altbäcker (2000) found that kits handled around nursing become tame at weaning, but this procedure was efficient only if it was conducted within 30 min after nursing in the first week of the kit's life.…”

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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Regular handling early in the nursing period eliminates fear responses toward human beings in wild and domestic rabbits

Cited by 46 publications

References 32 publications

Long-term effects of repeated handling and bleeding in wild caught Great Tits Parus major

Long-term effects of repeated handling and bleeding in wild caught Great Tits Parus major

Hand rearing affects emotional responses but not basic cognitive performance in European starlings

Effect of handling in pre-weaning rabbits

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