Rabbit

Comparison of housing and welfare of group housed rabbits

This poster is based on welfare improvements gained from group housing rabbits in floor pens in the new Antibody Production Facility with a focus on development, behaviours and environmental enrichment in both male and female animals. We established floor pens...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Enser, S. 2016. Comparison of housing and welfare of group housed rabbits. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 77-79.

Creatively meeting the standards – taking rabbit housing to the next level

The 8th Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals clarified its language regarding housing social species, specifying that, “Single housing of social species should be the exception…”. This is a challenge for many institutions in...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Marshall, K., Wolford, H., Martin, L. 2017. Creatively meeting the standards – taking rabbit housing to the next level. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(3), 226-228.

Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 1 November 2016 at the University of Edinburgh and was attended by 70 delegates. Presentation topics included refinements in blood sampling rodents, reducing suffering in projects involving...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Disease/Experimental Model, Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., McNeilly, A., Watson, J. et al. 2017. Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 77-86.

Rabbits housed in pens: Do they have an enrichment preference?

Since the antibody production facility at Envigo RMS opened in 2015 we have been offering our rabbits a variety of disposable and non-disposable enrichment in a floor pen arrangement. There is a perception that our rabbits have a preference for...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Devenport, M., Levent, S., Storer, R. 2017. Rabbits housed in pens: Do they have an enrichment preference? Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 130-132.

Social interaction for non-sibling pregnant New Zealand white rabbits on reproductive toxicology

Rabbits are gregarious animals that live in social groups in the wild so individually housing our animals, while meeting the present scientific objectives, restricts their natural social behaviour. How to meet the social needs of our rabbits while maintaining a...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Holmes, J., Waters, D., Maisonave, I. et al. 2017. Social interaction for non-sibling pregnant New Zealand white rabbits on reproductive toxicology. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 139-141.

Improving rabbit enrichment: Developing a rolling enrichment plan

A three-week enrichment preference study trialling different substrates, food and pen structures was carried out in three, group-housed female New Zealand White Rabbits (NZW). Preference results: structural - rabbits spent the most time with a circular table (repurposed empty wooden...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Pearson, K., Gant, J. 2018. Improving rabbit enrichment: Developing a rolling enrichment plan. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 121-123.

Effects of buprenorphine, methylnaltrexone, and their combination on gastrointestinal transit in healthy New Zealand White rabbits

Among the many analgesic agents available, buprenorphine appears to be the analgesic used most often in rabbits. Unfortunately, deleterious side effects of opioids, such as gastrointestinal stasis and anorexia, may discourage the use of these agents. Methylnaltrexone is a peripheral...

Year Published: 2017Topics: AnalgesiaAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Martin-Flores, M., Singh, B., Walsh, C. A. 2017. Effects of buprenorphine, methylnaltrexone, and their combination on gastrointestinal transit in healthy New Zealand White rabbits. JAALAS 56(2), 155-159.

Oral transmucosal detomidine gel in New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Handling and restraining rabbits for routine procedures may be impossible without prior sedation, result in unnecessary stress or injury to the rabbit or handler, and increase experimental variability. Parenteral administration of sedatives can cause stress also, as well as localized...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Anesthesia & SedationAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Williams, M. D., Long, C. T., Durrant, J. R. et al. 2017. Oral transmucosal detomidine gel in New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). JAALAS 56(4), 436-442.

Relocation and hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand White rabbits

To investigate how long relocation modified hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits, 19 rabbits were subjected to a change in their breeding facility at the beginning of the trial and then were kept under stable environmental conditions. Hair...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Peric, T., Comin, A., Corazzin, M. et al. 2017. Relocation and hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand White rabbits. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 20(1), 1-8.

Social behavior of adult male New Zealand White rabbits housed in groups or pairs in the laboratory

Rabbits are usually singly housed in laboratories, but a new emphasis on providing social housing for social species has prompted exploration of alternative housing for this species. However, a paucity of literature on the social behavior of rabbits in captivity...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: DiVincenti, L. Jr., Rehrig, A. 2017. Social behavior of adult male New Zealand White rabbits housed in groups or pairs in the laboratory. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 20(1), 86-94.