Injuries in cage-bred wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) caused by the size of the orifices in the cage floor

Redondo, Pedro González

doi:10.1590/s0102-09352009000500034

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Despite the attention paid to the effects of rearing systems on reproductive performance (Parer et al, 1987;Arenas et al, 2006;Guerrero-Casado et al, 2013), welfare (Letty et al, 2006;González-Redondo, 2009), behavioural patterns (Myers, 1958;Fullagar, 1979) and nutrition (Stodart and Myers, 1966), other important aspects remain under-studied, such as activity patterns in captivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural activity of wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) under semi-natural rearing systems: establishing a seasonal pattern

Valle¹,

García-Abad

Garrido

et al. 2013

World Rabbit Sci.

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The activity of 2 populations of wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus, L. 1758), consisting of 14 adults (>9 mo of age) each (4 males and 10 females), was analysed over 2 consecutive years. Rabbits were captured in the wild and kept in 2 separate enclosures of 0.5 ha, with each enclosure divided into 2 zones: a smaller area where warrens were located (breeding area) and a larger area where food and water were provided (feeding area). Seven rabbits in each enclosure were individually tagged with a microchip (2 males and 5 females) and, after installing 2 detection devices, it was possible to identify which of the 2 areas they were located in and record the length of time spent in each. To regulate the size of the breeding population, young rabbits produced in the enclosures were captured and removed regularly. Considering the number of movements between areas and the time spent in the feeding area, a circadian activity pattern was found, reporting 2 maximum activity peaks coinciding with twilight (18.35% of the total movements, 6-8 a.m.) and daybreak (22.95%, 7-10 p.m.) while activity was dramatically decreased during the midday hours (1.86%, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.). Rabbits displayed a seasonal pattern throughout the year, with maximum activity levels during winter (45.76% of the total movements, January-March) and spring (42.91%, April-June), which could be related to higher reproductive activity at this time of the year as a higher breeding output was reported in June and September. The levels of activity exhibited by males (13.44% daily activity rate) were significantly higher than those displayed by females (9.80%). No significant differences were found regarding time spent on the feeding area in relation to season or gender. The average duration of each foray to the feeding area was higher during the summer, higher for females than males and higher during the middle of the night than the rest of the day.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural activity of wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) under semi-natural rearing systems: establishing a seasonal pattern

Valle¹,

García-Abad

Garrido

et al. 2013

World Rabbit Sci.

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“…The captive breeding of wild rabbits has been carried out in intensive systems, but this process is difficult and not very productive: physical injuries (González-Redondo, 2009) and failures in maternal behaviour (González-Redondo and Zamora-Lozano, 2008;González-Redondo, 2010) have been reported, mostly as a result of unsuitable living conditions and high stress levels. Semi-extensive breeding systems have attained higher productivity (Arenas et al, 2006), but the rabbits' lack of acclimation may result in high mortality when they are released into the wild (Rouco et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High rabbit abundance proves detrimental to the population growth rate in European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) extensive breeding enclosures

et al. 2014

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The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) is a key prey species in Mediterranean ecosystems that has declined in its natural ranges as a result of diseases and loss of habitat. This situation has led to the production of wild rabbits in enclosures in which they can acclimate and breed. The efficiency of these enclosures as extensive breeding systems is defined by their population growth rate (PGR). The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of rabbit abundance on the PGR. This has been done by creating general linear models to explain autumn and spring PGR with the use of rabbit abundance estimates, enclosure size, aerial predation and previous PGR as possible explanatory variables. Rabbit abundance and enclosure size negatively affected the autumn PGR, while only rabbit abundance affected the spring PGR in the best-fit models. It is suggested that maintaining rabbit densities at fewer than 30 rabbits per hectare might help to optimise the efficiency inside enclosures.

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Welfare assessment in rabbits raised for meat and laboratory purposes in enclosures with two floor types: Perforated plastic with holes versus slats

Tillmann

Windschnurer

Gamper

et al. 2019

Research in Veterinary Science

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Injuries in cage-bred wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) caused by the size of the orifices in the cage floor

Cited by 4 publications

References 2 publications

Behavioural activity of wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) under semi-natural rearing systems: establishing a seasonal pattern

Behavioural activity of wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) under semi-natural rearing systems: establishing a seasonal pattern

High rabbit abundance proves detrimental to the population growth rate in European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) extensive breeding enclosures

Welfare assessment in rabbits raised for meat and laboratory purposes in enclosures with two floor types: Perforated plastic with holes versus slats

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