Temporal and Behavioral Patterning of Parturition in Rabbits and Rats

Hudson, Robyn; Cruz, Yolanda; Lucio, Rosa Angélica; Ninomiya, Jesús G.; Martı́nez–Gómez, Margarita

doi:10.1016/s0031-9384(98)00331-x

Cited by 57 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Furthermore, we suggest that providing hay outside the nest box (e.g. in a rack in order to prevent contamination with faeces) so as to allow the doe to show her natural behavioural repertoire of grass collection and nest building might also promote the quick birth of the young essential in the rabbit (Hudson et al, 1999) and help to improve maternal behaviour. Comparison of the environmental conditions and the diet of wild rabbit and domestic rabbit kits during early development.…”

Section: Housingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of rearing mangement on health in domestic rabbits: a review

Schlolaut¹,

Hudson

Rödel

2013

World Rabbit Sci.

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High mortality in rearing of domestic rabbits is not only an economic problem but also an animal welfare issue. Among the reasons for this high mortality are some common rearing practices. In this review, we point out several commonly used management practices, which neither represent adequate housing conditions according to the animals' behavioural requirements nor correspond to their nutritional needs. Sometimes, the doe has to build the nursery nest on the cage floor or in a box with a permanently open entrance, often not protected from the light. This can lead to perinatal mortality due to disturbed behaviour of the mother such as failure to build a proper nest, depositing the kits outside the nest, or infanticide. Furthermore, continuous housing of the doe with the kits does not conform to this species' pattern of unusually limited maternal care. Possibly stimulated by olfactory and acoustic signals emanating from the nest, the doe can disturb the inactivity of the kits by her frequent entries to the nest or attempts to close the entrance. Cooling of the kits caused by maladaptive maternal behaviour under such conditions can also contribute to increased mortality and morbidity during the nursing period. In addition, when the doe is left to nurse the kits longer than four weeks, which does not conform to the reproductive biology of the rabbit, kit morbidity can be increased by the following factors. Although the doe's milk has a high protective role against main digestive disorders, prolonged mother-offspring contact might increase the risk of the kits becoming infected with pathogens such as coccidiosis, EPEC and pasteurellosis persisting in the doe. Pre-disposition of the kits to bacterial enteropathies can be encouraged by the delayed development of the enzymatic system, the delayed establishment of a stable gut flora, as well as by consumption of the doe's feed. The increased energy demands of lactation as well as mastitis incidence due to prolonged suckling by the kits could decrease the fertility and the lifespan of the doe. Feed with a high content of non-fibre carbohydrates (compared to green forage) can promote bacterial enteropathies when given before the development of the kits' digestive functions is completed. The risk of the outbreak of such diseases is enhanced by intestinal coccidiosis and unstable gut flora. Enteropathies are also exacerbated by the use of deep litter as opposed to housing rabbits on perforated floors.

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Section: Housingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of rearing mangement on health in domestic rabbits: a review

Schlolaut¹,

Hudson

Rödel

2013

World Rabbit Sci.

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“…(c) Undergoing a first complete maternal cycle may stimulate function of the chemoemission system involved in the production and emission of the pheromonal cues that direct nipple search behaviour and suckling in the offspring [21,22]. Finally, (d) for optimal pup survival and vigor, parturition must proceed very rapidly in the rabbit [23]. Thus, greater parturitional efficiency in multiparous does may result in the birth of more vigorous pups, better able to overcome the adverse effects of missing initial sucking or of nest disturbance than those born to primiparous does.…”

Section: Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During this extremely short period, pups have to quickly find a nipple and suck effectively in a context of severe sibling competition [9]. In the domestic rabbit, pups display nipple search behaviour immediately after being expelled, and they often succeed in gaining colostrum within minutes or even seconds after birth, while the female is consuming the placentae and parturition is still in progress [23]. As pups are born sequentially, first-borns may have greater chances to find and attach to a nipple and ingest colostrum than last-borns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immediate postnatal sucking in the rabbit: Its influence on pup survival and growth

et al. 2000

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-This study was aimed at characterising the impact of immediate postnatal sucking on pup survival and development. The interactive effects of postnatal success with the day 0 weight of pups, the nest-access regimen (controlled or free) or parity of females was investigated. Pups (n = 900) were categorised according to their initial ingestion of colostrum. In primiparous does: (1) pup mortality between d0-d10 was higher for unsuccessful than for successful early suckers; (2) lighter d0-weight reduced survival for unsuccessful but not for successful pups; (3) free nest-access of females annihilated the survival advantage fostered by the initial sucking success. In secondiparous does, these impacts waned. Finally, whatever the does' parity, only d0-weight influenced pup weightgain between d0-21. Thus, pup survival seemed to depend (at least in primiparae) on their ability to suck right after birth, and to display a pattern of energy saving without being disturbed by the females' nest entries. rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) / newborn / sucking / colostrum / survival / growthRésumé -La tétée initiale du lapereau : influence sur la survie et la croissance. L'impact de la première tétée sur la survie et la croissance des lapereaux (L ; n = 900) a été étudié en considérant les effets interactifs du poids néonatal, du régime d'accès au nid (contrôlé ou libre) et de la parité des femelles. Chez les femelles primipares : (1) la mortalité entre J0-J10 est plus élevée pour les L qui échouent à la 1 re tétée ; (2) un faible poids à J0 réduit les chances de survie uniquement des L qui ne Reprod. Nutr. Dev. 40 (2000) 19-32 19

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“…The diameter of the balloon and the duration of the distention can be adjusted to mimic the difficulty of parturition in women. A prolonged parturition can be modeled with VD of greater duration than the duration of parturition in intact rats (19,34). Using the VD model, investigators have demonstrated bladder, urethral, and vaginal hypoxia (9), anatomic and functional damage to the EUS and its innervation (4, 21), and decreases in urethral resistance (26).…”

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confidence: 99%

Neuroanatomic and behavioral correlates of urinary dysfunction induced by vaginal distension in rats

Palacios-Galicia

Juárez

Morán

et al. 2016

American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology

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-The aim of the present study was to use a model of simulated human childbirth in rats to determine the damage to genitourinary structures and behavioral signs of urinary dysfunction induced by vaginal distension (VD) in female rats. In experiment 1, the length of the genitourinary tract and the nerves associated with it were measured immediately after simulated human delivery induced by VD or sham (SH) procedures. Electroneurograms of the dorsal nerve of the clitoris (DNC) were also recorded. In experiment 2, histological characteristics of the bladder and major pelvic ganglion of VD and SH rats were evaluated. In experiment 3, urinary parameters were determined in conscious animals during 6 h of dark and 6 h of light before and 3 days after VD or SH procedures. VD significantly increased distal vagina width (P Ͻ 0.001) and the length of the motor branch of the sacral plexus (P Ͻ 0.05), DNC (P Ͻ 0.05), and vesical nerves (P Ͻ 0.01) and decreased DNC frequency and amplitude of firing. VD occluded the pelvic urethra, inducing urinary retention, hematomas in the bladder, and thinness of the epithelial (P Ͻ 0.05) and detrusor (P Ͻ 0.01) layers of the bladder. Major pelvic ganglion parameters were not modified after VD. Rats dripped urine in unusual places to void, without the stereotyped behavior of micturition after VD. The neuroanatomic injuries after VD occur alongside behavioral signs of urinary incontinence as determined by a new behavioral tool for assessing micturition in conscious animals. external urethral sphincter; dorsal nerve of the clitoris; major pelvic ganglion; micturition MICTURITION consists of two phases: storage and urine expulsion. During storage, the detrusor is relaxed while the bladder neck and urethra are activated, preventing involuntary bladder emptying (11). Extrinsic elements such as the levator ani muscle also contribute to the maintenance of continence (3). When the bladder reaches its threshold volume, spinal and supraspinal reflexes are triggered to induce bladder contraction and urethral relaxation, and urine flows through the urethra (11). Damage to the lower urinary tract and/or its innervation can induce urinary dysfunction (3,29,41).Urinary dysfunction affects the health of many women (60). Stress urinary incontinence has been described as involuntary loss of urine during effort and is the most prevalent urinary disorder related to vaginal childbirth, which is known to injure the pudendal nerve and denervate the external urethral sphincter (EUS) (3, 15, 57).Maternal pelvic viscera and nerve damage results from the difficulty of human childbirth due the large fetal head and brain relative to the maternal pelvis size. Neonates at birth have heads that are close to the size of the maternal birth canal through which they must pass during the second stage of parturition (48). Births of fetuses over 4 kg or fetal malposition often prolong parturition (30), retaining the fetus in the pelvic cavity, the main anatomic resistance to fetal expulsion. Prolonged second stage of parturition...

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Temporal and Behavioral Patterning of Parturition in Rabbits and Rats

Cited by 57 publications

References 29 publications

Impact of rearing mangement on health in domestic rabbits: a review

Impact of rearing mangement on health in domestic rabbits: a review

Immediate postnatal sucking in the rabbit: Its influence on pup survival and growth

Neuroanatomic and behavioral correlates of urinary dysfunction induced by vaginal distension in rats

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