Frequency of nursing in domestic rabbits under different housing conditions
Autor(es): Selzer, D; Lange, K; Hoy, S
Resumo: Nursing was recorded in 95 litters of 30 multiparous rabbit does (23 New Zealand White and 7 ZIKA hybrids) by infrared video technique during a total of 469 for 24 h periods. The litters were nursed 1.26 times per day for 202.1 +/- 38.7 s (n = 585 nursings). There was a diametrically opposed dynamic of nursing frequency per day and the mean duration of nursing event with the highest nursing activity in the second week of lactation (1.39 nursings per day). There was a moderate tendency to decrease the nursing activity with increasing cage size and the presence of an enrichment tunnel at the entrance to nestbox. The light-dark change in the photoperiod is a timer for nursing activity. Forty-three percent of all nightly nursing events occurred during the first 2 h after the onset of dusk. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Palavras-Chave: Rabbit; Nursing behaviour; Suckling behavior
Imprenta: Applied Animal Behaviour Science, v. 87, n. 3-4, p. 317-324, 2004.
Descritores: Zika virus - Biochemistry
Data de publicação: 2004
