Housing of breeding does in group pens can result in skin injuries and stress due to maternal protective behaviour and hierarchy fights. Aggression can be partly reduced by using single-litter cages during the first weeks of the reproductive cycle and by delaying the grouping of does with their...

The present study compared behaviour, fear and stress levels of 456 crossbred rabbits reared in bicellular wire-net cages (2 rabbits/cage) with top and wire floor or open-top collective pens (20 to 54 rabbits/pen) with wooden slatted floor. The effect of pen size (small vs. large) and stocking...

Societal demands for group housing of social farm animals such as rabbits are increasing due to animal welfare concerns. When breeding does are housed in groups, maternal protective behaviour negatively affects the reproductive performance of the does. In part-time group housing, does are housed in ...

Author reports effect of housing and stocking densities for 76 White New Zealand weaned rabbit does aged 5 weeks and weighing ~550 g. For housing, we reared groups of 10 in straw bed pen (1) or cages (2) with floor of 2 m². For density we reared 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 16 rabbits/m² by cages. Rabbits...

Three housing systems for fattening rabbits were compared using a stocking density of 15 rabbits m^-2. The rabbits were housed in large pens (3.67 m², 50 rabbits), small pens (0.66 m², 10 rabbits) or in conventional standard cages (0.39 m², 6 rabbits) from 31 to 72 days of age. Rabbits housed in...

At 33 d of age, 376 crossbred rabbits of both genders were housed in sex-mixed groups in 16 open-top collective pens (1.68 m2) in a factorial arrangement, with 2 types of flooring (wooden slats vs. plastic grid, W vs. P) and 2 stocking densities (12 vs. 16 animals/m2). Behavioural recordings (time...

In intense breeding programs, rabbits are exposed to numerous stress factors which could affect their welfare and health. It has been suggested that group housing is more comfortable for does and similar to the living conditions of European wild rabbits. In this study, we compared three different ...

Intensive rabbit farming in Germany is subject to the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act and since 2014 also to the special requirements of the Order on the Protection of Animals and the Keeping of Production Animals (German designation: Tierschutz-Nutztierhaltungsverordnung). Due to legally...

The aim of this study was to compare the growth performance, slaughter results, and carcass and meat quality of rabbits reared in different housing systems. To this purpose, 456 Hyplus crossbred rabbits were reared from weaning (35 d of age) until slaughter (77 d) in 40 bicellular wire net cages...

The effects of a (30 cm high) elevated platform as an enrichment structure on the behaviour and performance of fattening rabbits kept in groups were investigated. Three housing systems for fattening rabbits were compared using a stocking density of 15 rabbits m^-2. The rabbits were housed either in...