Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding Conditions
The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of housing (deep litter + concrete floor vs. deep litter + ground soil with the possibility to dig burrows), and genotype (Mecklenburg or Hyplus) on aggressive behaviour, social contacts, does’ and kits’ injuries, and progeny mortality. Twelv...
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/8/1357 |
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| author | Ondřej Krunt Lukáš Zita Adam Kraus Ágnes Moravcsíková Martina Frühauf Kolářová Luděk Bartoš |
| author_facet | Ondřej Krunt Lukáš Zita Adam Kraus Ágnes Moravcsíková Martina Frühauf Kolářová Luděk Bartoš |
| author_sort | Ondřej Krunt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of housing (deep litter + concrete floor vs. deep litter + ground soil with the possibility to dig burrows), and genotype (Mecklenburg or Hyplus) on aggressive behaviour, social contacts, does’ and kits’ injuries, and progeny mortality. Twelve groups of six rabbit does (n = 72) were assigned to four treatments (two housing systems and two genotypes). Aggressive behaviour of does, number of injuries on does and kits, and postnatal kit mortality were recorded. The effects of housing and genotype were tested using multivariate GLMM Models. We found that the housing treatment in interaction with the genotype had a significant effect on aggressive behaviours in group housed does (<i>F</i><sub>3,12</sub> = 14.34, <i>p</i> = 0.0003), where the lowest incidence of aggression was in Mecklenburg does housed on ground soil. Reduced aggression was reflected in a lower number of injuries in does (<i>F</i><sub>3,68</sub> = 10.51, <i>p</i> < 0.0001), number of injuries in kits, and kit mortality (<i>F</i><sub>3,1</sub> = 4.59, <i>p</i> < 0.0001, <i>F</i><sub>3,54</sub> = 43.94, <i>p</i> < 0.0001). The results indicate that the proper combination of genotype and housing should be carefully considered for breeding to reduce aggression and injury in group housed does. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:19:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8cb3e4f0e95041e5b19fdeb2d442c009 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:19:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-8cb3e4f0e95041e5b19fdeb2d442c0092023-11-17T18:00:40ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-04-01138135710.3390/ani13081357Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding ConditionsOndřej Krunt0Lukáš Zita1Adam Kraus2Ágnes Moravcsíková3Martina Frühauf Kolářová4Luděk Bartoš5Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech RepublicInstitute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague, Czech RepublicThe objective of the study was to investigate the effects of housing (deep litter + concrete floor vs. deep litter + ground soil with the possibility to dig burrows), and genotype (Mecklenburg or Hyplus) on aggressive behaviour, social contacts, does’ and kits’ injuries, and progeny mortality. Twelve groups of six rabbit does (n = 72) were assigned to four treatments (two housing systems and two genotypes). Aggressive behaviour of does, number of injuries on does and kits, and postnatal kit mortality were recorded. The effects of housing and genotype were tested using multivariate GLMM Models. We found that the housing treatment in interaction with the genotype had a significant effect on aggressive behaviours in group housed does (<i>F</i><sub>3,12</sub> = 14.34, <i>p</i> = 0.0003), where the lowest incidence of aggression was in Mecklenburg does housed on ground soil. Reduced aggression was reflected in a lower number of injuries in does (<i>F</i><sub>3,68</sub> = 10.51, <i>p</i> < 0.0001), number of injuries in kits, and kit mortality (<i>F</i><sub>3,1</sub> = 4.59, <i>p</i> < 0.0001, <i>F</i><sub>3,54</sub> = 43.94, <i>p</i> < 0.0001). The results indicate that the proper combination of genotype and housing should be carefully considered for breeding to reduce aggression and injury in group housed does.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/8/1357aggression suppressionbehaviourburrowsinjurykitssmallholders |
| spellingShingle | Ondřej Krunt Lukáš Zita Adam Kraus Ágnes Moravcsíková Martina Frühauf Kolářová Luděk Bartoš Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding Conditions Animals aggression suppression behaviour burrows injury kits smallholders |
| title | Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding Conditions |
| title_full | Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding Conditions |
| title_short | Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding Conditions |
| title_sort | effects of genotype and housing system on rabbit does aggressive behaviors and injuries in smallholding conditions |
| topic | aggression suppression behaviour burrows injury kits smallholders |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/8/1357 |
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