Use of Gnawing Hay Blocks: Effects on Productive Performance, Behavior and Reactivity of Growing Rabbits Kept in Parks with Different Sex-Group Compositions

Birolo, Marco; Trocino, A.; Zuffellato, A.; Pirrone, Fabrizio; Bordignon, Francesco; Xiccato, Gerolamo

doi:10.3390/ani12091212

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous studies have also shown positive effects of consumable cage enrichment, such as the introduction of gnawing blocks, which reduced nest box inspections by does and decreased nervousness in fattening rabbits (34,35). In the study of Birolo et al (36), growing rabbits housed in groups exhibited active and Rabbit activity scores (as a proxy for social unrest) averaged per multi-litter cage (N = 15 per treatment) treatment and observation day (1, 3, 6, 8, and 10 days after grouping). Higher activity scores represent a higher amount of movement and thus a higher rate of social unrest in the cage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Previous studies have also shown positive effects of consumable cage enrichment, such as the introduction of gnawing blocks, which reduced nest box inspections by does and decreased nervousness in fattening rabbits ( 34 , 35 ). In the study of Birolo et al ( 36 ), growing rabbits housed in groups exhibited active and positive responses toward new environments and objects when their cages were provided with compressed hay blocks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cage enrichment to minimize aggression in part-time group-housed female breeding rabbits

Van Damme,

Ipek,

Verwaeren

et al. 2024

Front. Vet. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In most rabbit farms, breeding does kindle and nurse their kits in single-litter cages throughout their entire reproduction cycle. However, the protective behavior can lead to aggressive displays and injuries when the does are housed in groups. This study aimed to evaluate cage enrichment for reducing the agonistic behavior in part-time group-housed does. A total of eighty does with their 22-day-old kits were allocated to 20 multi-litter cages, with each cage housing four does and their litters for 10 days. Each multi-litter group was subjected to one of four treatments: alfalfa blocks as distraction material (A), wooden panels underneath the platforms (P), both alfalfa and wooden panels (AP), or no extra enrichment (controls, C). This experiment was replicated for three consecutive reproduction cycles. The skin injuries of the does and the kits were scored with a tagged visual analog scale before grouping and at one, three, six, eight, and 10 days after grouping. Computer vision techniques were used to continuously monitor rabbit activity and agonistic behavior (aggression and fleeing/chasing) during the first 24 h after grouping, specifically during light hours. During the first day in the group, 67.2% of the does and 13.4% of the kits acquired new injuries. This increased to 82.0 and 33.2%, respectively after 10 days in the group relative to the onset of grouping. The injury scores of the does increased toward the sixth day after grouping compared to the first (p < 0.001) and were highest on the tenth day for the kits (p < 0.001). On all the observation days, the number of injured does was higher in C compared to A (p = 0.04) and AP treatment (p = 0.005). There were no other treatment effects observed on the doe or kit skin injuries. Rabbit activity was highest after grouping but decreased after the first and second days (p < 0.001). The agonistic interactions between the does involved more fleeing/chasing behavior (62.0%) rather than aggression (38.0%). Although hierarchy fights are likely when unacquainted does are group-housed, the many animals that sustained injuries and the high injury scores confirm that part-time group housing for does is challenging and possibly inevitable. This study has shown that alfalfa, with or without wooden panels, can slightly reduce the number of injured does.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Previous studies have also shown positive effects of consumable cage enrichment, such as the introduction of gnawing blocks, which reduced nest box inspections by does and decreased nervousness in fattening rabbits ( 34 , 35 ). In the study of Birolo et al ( 36 ), growing rabbits housed in groups exhibited active and positive responses toward new environments and objects when their cages were provided with compressed hay blocks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cage enrichment to minimize aggression in part-time group-housed female breeding rabbits

Van Damme,

Ipek,

Verwaeren

et al. 2024

Front. Vet. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Measuring on-farm welfare in rabbits: a review with emphasis on animal-based indicators

Trocino,

Tolini

2024

World Rabbit Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Based on current definitions, animal welfare has to be linked to a life worth living, as perceived by animals, thanks to positive experiences rather than to the mere absence of negative ones. The measure of on-farm welfare of livestock is crucial to improve farming systems, identify critical points and compare different farming systems in view of welfare labelling protocols. To this end, species-specific protocols are necessary, which should use different types of indicators, i.e. resources-based indicators, management-based indicators and, especially, animal-based indicators. These indicators should work under different farming systems and for different animal categories and can be used to assess welfare in the short term or during the productive life of the animal. Last but not least, indicators should be able to measure the affective state of animals in terms of positive emotions. In this scenario, rabbits are quite unique, as little information is available about i) their behavioural needs under farming conditions; ii) the degree of suffering associated with the behavioural restrictions that can occur under farming conditions; iii) the indicators to be used in the very different housing and management conditions in which rabbits can be farmed; and iv) the relationships between emotions and affective states of animals as well as the effect on resiliency of rabbits under different conditions. In this context, the present review is aimed at summarising the state of the art and designing a road map for assessing on-farm rabbit welfare based on the most recent knowledge and approaches with special emphasis on candidate animalbased indicators for measuring both negative and positive affective states of rabbits. The identification of positive welfare indicators is a big challenge, given the biological and behavioural characteristics of rabbits. Accordingly, a comprehensive and robust assessment of rabbit welfare on farms cannot do without structure- and management-based indicators, which should be included in validated and standardised protocols using a multi-indicator approach.

show abstract

Use of Gnawing Hay Blocks: Effects on Productive Performance, Behavior and Reactivity of Growing Rabbits Kept in Parks with Different Sex-Group Compositions

Cited by 2 publications

References 36 publications

Cage enrichment to minimize aggression in part-time group-housed female breeding rabbits

Cage enrichment to minimize aggression in part-time group-housed female breeding rabbits

Measuring on-farm welfare in rabbits: a review with emphasis on animal-based indicators

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About