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GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
1
Chapter 13
Feeding behaviour in rabbits
Thierry GIDENNE1, * , François LEBAS2 , Laurence Fortun-Lamothe1
1 INRA, UMR1289 Tissus Animaux Nutrition Digestion Ecosystème et Métabolisme, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
2 Cuniculture, 87a Chemin de Lassère, 31450 Corronsac, France
* Corresponding author: thierry.gidenne@toulouse.inra.fr; INRA, Centre de recherche de Toulouse, UMR 1289 TANDEM,
BP 52627, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
Introduction
As a monogastric herbivore, the rabbit presents a unique feeding behaviour compared to other
domestic animals, since he belongs to the Lagomorpha order (Leporidae family: rabbits and
hares, Grassé and Dekeuser, 1955), and consequently possess a main specificity that is the
caecotrophy. For recall (see details in chapter 1), the caecotrophy is a complete behaviour
involving an excretion and an immediate consumption of specific faeces, named soft faeces or
"caecotrophes". Consequently, daily intake behaviour of the rabbit is constituted of two
meals: feeds and caecotrophes. Although rabbit is not a rodent one of its main feeding
behaviour features is to gnaw. The informations about the feeding behaviour have been
mainly obtained on the domestic rabbit, either bred for meat or fur production, or as a
laboratory animal. It basically involved rabbits receiving ad libitum a balanced complete
pelleted feed, supplemented or not with dry forages or straw, but most generally without a
real food free choice.
Regulation of the intake behaviour will be reviewed according to several factors: age, type of
feed, etc. The last part will be devoted to feeding behaviour of the wild rabbit and of domestic
rabbits in situation of free choice.
1 The behaviour of caecotrophy
The cæcotrophy plays an important role in rabbit nutrition, providing proteins and vitamins B
from bacterial source (see chapter 1 for more details). Physiological mechanisms implicated
in the caecotrophy are detailed in chapter 1. The starting of caecotrophy behaviour in young
rabbit is not fully known but probably starts around 25 days of age, when a significant dry
feed intake occurs that leads to a caecal and a colon filling (Gidenne et al, 2002; Orengo and
Gidenne, 2007).
The hard pellets are expelled, but the soft pellets are recovered by the rabbit directly upon
being expelled from the anus. To do this the rabbit twists itself round, sucks in the soft faeces
as they emerge from the anus, and then swallows without chewing them. The rabbit can
retrieve the soft pellets easily, even from a mesh floor. By the end of the morning there are
large numbers of these pellets inside the stomach, where they may comprise three quarters of
the total contents. The intriguing presence of these soft pellets in the stomach was at the
origin of the first correct description of caecotrophy by Morot in 1882, i.e., production of 2
types of faeces and systematic ingestion of one of the 2 types (the soft ones). This makes
caecotrophy different from the coprophagy classically described for rats or pigs were only one
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
2
type of faeces is produced. The quantitative evaluation of the soft faeces intake is detailed in
section 2.2.
2 Feeding behaviour in the domestic rabbit
2.1 Feeding behaviour of young rabbit: from milky way to solid food
The rabbit female give birth to nude and blind young in a nest after 31 days of gestation.
Then, a period of rapid development begins for the young, ending in the weaning around 1
month later. During this period, the kits are going to evolve from a diet almost exclusively
constituted by milk, scarcely available over the day, to several meals of solid food.
2.1.1 Milk intake
The initial nursing occurs during the parturition. The suckling is induced by the mother when
the mother stands motionless over the kits in the nest. She gives no direct assistance to their
offspring to suck (Hudson & Distel 1982; 1983). Therefore, the nipples location and milk
ingestion depend on the kit individual abilities to behave efficiently under the female.
It was demonstrated a long time ago, that the rabbit female suckles her litter for 4–5 min once
a day only, during the 2 weeks after birth (Zarrow et al., 1965). However, more recently, data
suggested that some does (either in wild or domestic rabbit) would nurse their young twice a
day (Hoy and Selzer, 2002), In any case, suckling represents therefore less than 0.35% of the
young spending time. In experimental conditions, if two females different are presented to the
litter, the young are able to suckle twice a day or more (Gyarmati et al., 2000). But double
suckling of kits by their own mother represents few or no nutritional interest: kit's weight at
21 days increased by 4.6% according to Etchegaray-Torres et al. (2004), or clearly not
influenced according to Tudela et Balmisse (2003) .On the contrary, in normal breeding
conditions, it may happen relatively often that one or two kits from the same litter do not gain
milk at one nursing (14% on day 1 according to Coureaud et al., 2007). The first suckling
bouts occurred during the parturition and within the first hour after the birth (colostrum), and
are essential to the subsequent kits survival. Starvation is indeed one of the key-causes
explaining the mortality that usually peaks during the first postnatal days (Coureaud and
Schaal, 2000; Coureaud et al., 2000), in addition to other factors as well as maternal
inexperience and behaviour (Verga et al., 1978, 1986). During suckling, competition for
access to the nipples was very high. Indeed, in rabbit domestic breeds, there are frequently
more kits in the litter than nipples on the mother’s abdomen : 7 to 10 kits per litter according
to breed and selection and generally 4 pairs of nipples (Drummond, 2000; Hudson et al.,
2000; Bautista et al., 2005) even if the number of nipples was increased up to 10-11 and even
12 for some does in breeds or lines selected for prolificacy (Fleischhauer et al., 1985;
Rochambeau et al. 1988, Szendro et al., 1991;Coisne 2000). Without relation with the real
number of nipples available, newborn rabbits do not appropriate a given nipple but change
every 20 seconds, approximately, from one to another nipple within a same sucking bout.
That is contrary to what occurs in other newborn mammals (e.g., kittens, piglets) in which a
newborn keep the same nipple all along the lactation period. Bautista et al. (2005) have
shown that the availability of milk across the eight nipples is equal during the first postnatal
days, but that more milk is available on the two middle pairs by the end of the first postnatal
week.
During the first week following birth, kits drink daily in one nursing session about 15% of
their live-weight in milk and up to 25% for some individuals (around 15 to 25 g of milk
ingested, Lebas, 1969). Their nipple searching behaviour is very stereotyped and controlled
by a pheromonal signal (Schaal et al., 2003). During the first post-natal week of life (between
4 and 6 days of age) the young also consumes some hard faeces deposited by the doe in the
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
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nest, thus stimulating the caecal flora maturation (Kovacs et al., 2004). Thereafter, the
individual milk intake increases gradually to reach a peak of 30 g/day between 17 and 25 days
of age (figure 13.1). During this period, the milk intake is highly variable among kits due to
individual ability, competition between littermates and milk availability (Fortun-Lamothe and
Gidenne, 2000). After day 20-25, the maternal milk production decreases progressively. If
food resources are sufficient, and if female is not fertilised again, milk production can
continue up until 5th 6th weeks after birth, or even for a longer time. On the opposite, if the
female is fertilised just after parturition and sustain concurrent pregnancy and lactation, the
milk production decrease sharply at the end of pregnancy to be stopped 2-3 days before the
following parturition (Lebas, 1972; Fortun-Lamothe et al., 1999). This frequently occurs in
wild conditions in spring, when female is mated again the day of parturition. In that case,
young rabbits could be weaned from 3 weeks of age. But in breeding condition, weaning is
generally carried out between 28 and 35 days of age, although milk production is not
completely stopped.
2.1.2 Solid food intake and evolution of nutritional supply
The young rabbits begin to eat significant quantity of solid food around 16-18 days of age
when there are able leave the nest and to move easily to access a feeder (with pelleted feed)
and a drinker. Nevertheless, first contacts with solid elements occur during the first week of
life when the young consumes some hard faeces deposited by the doe in the nest during
suckling (Moncomble et al., 2004; Kovacs et al., 2004).
At the beginning, the young eat very small quantity of feed (<2g/day/rabbit before 20 days
of age). The solid food intake increases really from 25 days of age to reach 40-50 g of feed
per day at 35 days (Gidenne et al., 2002) by it is highly variable among litters. Consequently,
the feeding behaviour changes greatly in a few days, as the young switches from a single meal
of milk per day to 25-30 solid and liquid (water) meals in 24 hours. The ingestion of solid
food and water exceed that of milk during the fourth week of life.
It is interesting to note that when the sucking rabbits begin to eat solid food, they prefer to eat
at the same feeder than their mother rather than to a young specific feeder (Fortun-Lamothe
and Gidenne, 2003). Such a result suggests that initiation to solid food ingestion implicates
initiation or imitation of the mother. In addition, for the early weaned rabbit, the watering
system (nipple or "open air" drinker) did not affect the solid feed intake, while a too low
diameter of the pellets causes a higher hardness and impairs the feed intake (Gidenne et al.,
2002, 2003).
In parallel to modifications of the feeding behaviour, the nutrients ingested by young rabbits
greatly change between birth and weaning (Figure 13.2). Indeed, the milk of rabbit doe is very
rich in lipids (13g / 100g) and proteins (12g / 100g), but contains only traces of lactose
(Maertens et al., 2006). On the opposite, pelleted feed mainly contains glucids (80g / 100g;
some are highly and some are weakly digestible, as starch or fibres, respectively), some
proteins (15-18g / 100g) and only few lipids (2-5g / 100g) all of vegetable origin. Therefore,
digestive capacities must rapidly evolve in the young during the development, in parallel with
the evolution of its feeding pattern (Gidenne and Fortun-Lamothe, 2002). The ingestion of
vegetable proteins becomes equal to that from the milk at around 25 days of age, and then
exceeds it within a few days. On the other hand, lipids come mainly from milk until weaning.
While the ingestion of glucids is almost nil until 17 days of age (< 0.3g / day), it becomes
significant from day 21, in form of fibres and starch. However, proteins and fat in the milk
constitute the main source of energy until weaning.
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
4
2.1.3 Regulation of the feeding behaviour in young rabbits
The individual feeding behaviour of the young before weaning and its regulation are not easy
to study due to the interactions of each kit with its littermates and with the mother.
Nevertheless, it is well known that the availability of milk is a key regulating factor of the
solid food ingestion before weaning. Thus, if the size of the litter is reduced from 10 to 4 kits
or if the milk production of the mother increases, the beginning of solid food ingestion is
delayed of 2-4 days (Fortun-Lamothe and Gidenne, 2000) and the feed intake of the whole
litter is lowered (Pascual et al., 2001). Similarly, offering a second milking to the young
(using a second doe) delayed the dry feed intake (Gyarmati et al., 2000). On the opposite,
early weaning (before 25 days of age) greatly stimulates and accelerates the dry feed intake
(Xiccato et al., 2005; Gallois et al., 2005).
The influence of the feed nutritional composition on feeding behaviour is poorly known,
although some authors use an original model of cage to measure the intake of the litter
without separation from the mother (Fortun-Lamothe et al., 2000). But, results obtained on
young rabbits indicate contradictory that the variability among litter is very high (up to 45%),
and the control of intake before weaning through the nutrient are not consistent. For instance,
Pascual et al. (1998, 1999) suggest that suckling rabbits regulate their food consumption
according to its digestible energy content, as weaned rabbits. On the opposite, a greater feed
intake was found for a high compared to a moderate-energy diet (Debray et al., 2002;
Gidenne et al., 2004). Finally, other factors, such the form of presentation of food, the pellet
size and their quality (hardness, durability) play probably a key role in the starting of the solid
feeding behaviour.
However, the individual feeding behaviour of the young remained largely unknown
(regulation factors, number of meals, etc…), since no method is presently available to assess
the intake level of young reared collectively (till weaning).
2.2 Feeding behaviour of the growing and adult rabbit.
From weaning (classically between 4 and 5 weeks) the daily feed intake of the domestic
rabbit (fed a complete pelleted feed) increases correlatively to the metabolic live-weight
(figure 13.3) and levelled up at about 5 months of age. Taking as a reference an adult animal
fed ad libitum (140-150 g DM/day, for example, for a 4 kg New Zealand White): at 4 weeks a
young rabbit eats a quarter of the amount an adult eats, but its live weight is only 14% of the
adult's one. At 8 weeks the relative proportions are 62 and 42%; at 16 weeks they are 100 to
110 and 87%. Between the weaning (4-5 weeks) and 8 weeks of age, the weight gain reached
its highest level (table 13.1) while the feed conversion is optimal. Then, the feed intake
increases less quickly as well the growth speed, and the intake levelled up at around 12 weeks
of age for current hybrid lines of domestic rabbit. A rabbit regulates its feed intake according
to energy need, as for other mammals. Chemostatic mechanisms are involved, by means of
the nervous system and blood levels of compounds used in energy metabolism. However, in
monogastric animals the glycaemia plays a key role in food intake regulation, while in
ruminants the levels of volatile fatty acids in blood have a major role. Since rabbit is a
monogastric herbivore, it is not clear which is the main blood component regulating feed
intake, but it is likely to be the blood glucose level. Voluntary intake, proportional to
metabolic live-weight (LW0.75), is about 900-1000 kJ DE/d/kg LW0.75 (DE: digestible energy),
and the chemostatic regulation appears only with a dietary DE concentration higher than 9-9.5
MJ/kg (see chapter 6). Below this level, a physical-type regulation is prevalent and linked to
gut fill.
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
5
The intake of soft faeces increases only till 2 months of age and then remained steady (figure
13.3). Expressed as fresh matter, the soft faeces intake evolved from 10 g/day (1 month old)
to 55 g/day (2 months), thus representing 15 to 35% of the feed intake (Gidenne and Lebas,
1987). However, the classical method to estimate caecotrophy probably underestimates it,
since one adapts a collar around the neck of the rabbit to avoid intake of soft faeces from the
anus that is stressful. Recently, Belenguer et al. (2008) developed methods based on microbial
marker analysis that are more convenient for the animal.
The rabbit fractionates its voluntary solid intake in numerous meals: about 40 at 6 weeks of
age, and a slightly lower number at adulthood (table 13.2). This meal fractionation is probably
linked to the relatively weak storage capacity of the stomach (cf. chapter 1), particularly when
compared to herbivorous animals or even carnivorous or omnivorous ones (such dog or pig).
For 6 weeks old rabbits, fed with a pelleted diet, the time spent on feeding every 24 hours a
little bit more than 3 hours. Then, it drops rapidly to less than 2 hours. If a ground non
pelleted diet is proposed to rabbits, the time spent to eat is doubled (Lebas, 1973).The number
of liquid meals evolved in parallel to that of feed, and the time spent to drink is lower than
that spent to eat. Furthermore, at any age, feed containing over 70% water, such as green
forage, will provide rabbits with sufficient water at temperatures under 20°C and in this case
rabbits may not drink at all. In growing rabbit fed with pellets, the normal ratio between water
and dry matter is about 1.6-1.8. In the adult or the breeding doe it is increased up to 2.0-2.1.
The solid intake fluctuates over a 24 hour period, as shown in figure 13.4. Over 60% of the
solid feed (excluding soft faeces meals) is consumed in the dark period for a domestic rabbit
submitted to a 12L/12D light schedule. The nycthemeral changes of liquid meals is strictly
parallel to that of solid meals for the domestic rabbit fed pellets (Prudh'on et al., 1975b), but
no correlation can be established between time or intervals of solid and water meals. A peak
of intake is observed at the end of the diurnal period, and about one hour before light stops
Prud’hon et al. report a more intense feed consumption in the 6 weeks old rabbit. According
to Horton et al. (1974) and Jolivet et al. (1983), the intake is usually spread into two periods:
one at the end of the night (or early in the day) and another more important at the end of the
day (or early night).
With ageing, the nocturnal feeding behaviour becomes more pronounced. The feeding habits
of wild rabbits are even more nocturnal than those of domesticated rabbits. In fact, the
domestic rabbit is no longer without eating, since it has more than 20 meals of dry feed a day,
and it also has meals of caecotrophes (early morning). Moreover, Hirakawa (2001) pointed
out that leporids (including rabbits) also consumed a part of their own hard faeces that are
masticated contrary to soft faeces that are swallowed. Meals of soft faeces (and sometime
hard) increase in proportion when food availability is insufficient for rabbits.
Obviously, the feed intake level is modulated by the physiological status of the animal. For
instance, a doe's voluntary intake varies greatly during the reproduction cycle (figure 13.5).
The intake during the final days of pregnancy drops off markedly. Some does refuse solid
food just before kindling. Water intake, however, never stops completely. After kindling, the
feed intake increases very rapidly and can exceed 100 g dry matter/kg live weight a day.
Water intake is also increased at that time: from 200 to 250 g a day per kg of live weight.
When a doe is both pregnant and lactating, she eats amounts similar to that observed for a doe
that is only lactating.
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
6
3 External factors modulating the feeding behaviour of the domestic
rabbit
3.1 Feed composition and presentation form
One of the main dietary components implicated in feed intake regulation, after weaning, is the
digestible energy (DE) concentration. The domestic rabbit (fed a pelleted balanced diet) is
able to regulate its DE intake (and thus its growth) when the dietary DE concentration is
between 9 and 11.5 MJ/kg, or when the dietary fibre level is between 10 and 25% ADF (Acid
Detergent Fibre). The intake level is thus well correlated with the dietary fibre level,
compared to the dietary DE content (figure 13.6). However, the incorporation of fat in the
diets, while maintaining the dietary fibre level, increases the dietary DE level, but leads to a
slight reduction of the intake. Other nutrients in the diets are able to modify the food intake,
such protein and aminoacids (Tome, 2004). For example, an excess in methionin reduced by
at least 10% the feed intake of the growing rabbit (Colin et al., 1973; Gidenne et al., 2002).
The diet presentation is an important factor modulating the feeding behaviour in the rabbit.
Compared to meals, pelleted feeds are preferred at 97%, when offered in free choice (Harris et
al., 1983). Furthermore, meals seemed to modify the circadian cycle of feed intake (Lebas and
Laplace, 1977). Pellet size and quality (hardness, durability) are also able to affect the feeding
behaviour (see chapter 14). A reduction in pellet diameter, that also increases the hardness,
reduces the feed intake of the young (Gidenne et al., 2003) or of growing rabbit (Maertens,
1994) and although time budget for feeding was increased.
3.2 Environmental factors affecting the feeding behaviour of the rabbit (see also the
chapter 15)
The rabbit's energy expenditure depends on ambient temperature. Feed intake to cope with
energy needs is therefore linked to temperature. Studies on growing rabbits showed that at
temperatures between 5°C and 30°C intake of pelleted feed dropped from 180 to 120 g/day
and water intake rose from 330 to 390 g/day (table 13.3). A closer analysis of feeding
behaviour shows that as temperature rises the number of solid meals eaten in 24 hours drops.
From 37 solid feeds at 10°C the number drops to only 27 at 30°C (young New Zealand White
rabbits). The amount eaten at each meal drops with high temperatures (5.7 g/meal from 10°C
to 20°C down to 4.4 g at 30°C) but the water intake goes up, from 11.4 to 16.2 g/meal
between 10°C and 30°C.
The negative effect of hot ambient temperatures (29-32°C) on daily feed intake could be
partly counterbalanced by distribution of drinking water refreshed at 16-20°C . With "cold"
water distribution, the average feed intake could be increased by 4-6% for fatteners as for
breeding does with the corresponding improvement of performances (Duperray et al., 1998).
The feed intake was increased up to 11% for 7 weeks old fatteners in the experiment of Selim
et al. (2004) with 6 hours of hot temperature (29-32°C) during each 24h cycle. The feeding
and drinking behaviour of the doe and their litters according to the climatic conditions is
detailed in chapter 15.
If drinking water is not provided and if the only feed available is dry with a moisture content
of less than 14%, dry matter intake drops to nil within 24 hours. With no water at all, and
depending on temperature and humidity, an adult rabbit can survive from 4 to 8 days without
any irreversible damage, though its weight may drop 20-30% in less than a week (Cizek,
1961). Rabbits with access to drinking water but no solid feed can survive for 3 to 4 weeks.
Within a few days they will drink 4-6 times as much water as normal. Sodium chloride in the
water (0.45%) reduces this high water intake, but potassium chloride has no effect (sodium
loss through urination). The rabbit is therefore very resistant to hunger and relatively resistant
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
7
to thirst; but any reduction in the water supply, in terms of water requirements, causes a
proportional reduction in dry matter intake, with a consequent drop in most of the
performance criteria. For example water availability for breeding does limited to 20 min. per
day decreases their feed intake, milk production and kit's growth by about 17-18%, but has
not effect on reproduction parameters or kit's mortality (Carles and Prud'hon, 1980)
Other environmental factors have also been studied in the domestic, such the light schedule or
the housing systems. In absence of light (24h/24 dark), the feed intake of fattening rabbits is
increased when compared to rabbits submitted to a sun light program (Lebas, 1977). In these
conditions of absence of light, rabbits organised their feeding pattern in a regular 23.5-23.8
hours program, with about 5-6 hours devoted to soft faeces ingestion and the remaining part
of the cycle to feed intake. In continuous lighting, the feeding pattern is organized in an about
25 hours program. (Jilge, 1982; Reyne and Goussopoulos, 1984). For breeding does,
reduction of the lighting duration during a 24 hours cycle by introduction 2 folds a 4 hours
period of dark during the normal 12h of lighting in a 12L/12D program (intermittent lighting)
does modify the average daily feed intake despite an increase of the milk production leading
to a better feed efficiency for milk production (Virag et al., 2000).
As previously mentioned, type of caging also influences the daily feed intake and the feeding
pattern of rabbits. For instance, the feed intake is affected by the density of rabbits in the cage.
Increasing the density, which seems to lead to a higher competition for feeders among the
animals, and leads to a reduction of feed intake (Aubret and Duperray, 1993). But this is not
necessarily a result of a competition for feeders since it is also observed with rabbits in
individual cages (Xiccato et al., 1999). In comparisons of cage and pen housing of rabbits,
enlarging the cage size for a group (with or without variation of the density) allows more
movements to the rabbits and reduces the daily feed intake (Maertens and Van Herck, 2000).
At the same density, rabbits caged by 2 or by 6 have the same daily feed intake, but in cages
of 2, rabbits spent a lower proportion of their time budget for feed consumption: 5.8% vs
9.9% of the 10 hours of the lighting period during which they were observed (Mirabito et al.
1999). Finally according to the feeding pattern, the number of places at feeder (1 to 6) for a
group of 10 rabbits did not influence the daily feed intake (Lebas, 1971).
4 Feeding behaviour in situation of choice
All studies at basis of the results above explained were conducted with domestic rabbits,
generally fed with complete and more or less balanced diets. In the wild or in situation of free
choice for caged rabbits, another dimension must be added to the feeding behaviour: how
rabbits select the feeds?
4.1 Feeding behaviour of wild rabbits or rabbits in open situation (grazing rabbits)
First of all the feed resources available for wild rabbits are most generally constituted by a
great range of plant material. Rabbit clearly prefer graminaceous plants (Festuca sp.,
Brachypodium sp. or Digitaria sp.) and graze only few dicotyledons if sufficient grasses are
available (Williams et al., 1974; Leslie et al., 2004). Within the dicotyledonous rabbits graze
especially some leguminous plants and some compositae. But it could be underlined that
grazing pressure on carrots (Daucus carotta) is very light, this plant being out of those
preferred by rabbits (CTGREF, 1978).
Proportion of dicotyledonous species and even mousses may increase during some seasons
depending on the availability of plants (Bhadresa, 1977). In winter time and early spring,
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
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grazing of cultivated cereals by rabbits may completely compromise the crop, especially up to
a distance of 30-100 m of the warren (Biadi and Guenezan, 1992). When rabbits can choice
between winter cereals cultivated with or without mineral fertilisation (phosphorus and/or
nitrogen) they clearly prefer the cereals without artificial fertilisation (Spence and Smith,
1965).
Grazing rabbits may be very selective and for example choice one part of the plant or the type
of plant with the highest nitrogen concentration (Steidenstrücker, 2000). Similarly, wild
rabbits have grazed more intensively one variety of spring barley than 4 others in a test
performed in Ireland, probably in relation with plant's composition. But differences in sugar
content of varieties did not fully explain this varietal selection by grazing rabbits (Bell and
Watson, 1993).
The great winter appetence of rabbits for buds and young stems of some woody plants must
be underlined. Grazing of very young trees or of shoots may completely compromise
regeneration of some forests (CTGREF, 1980), or more specifically the regeneration of
different shrubs like juniper (RSPB, 2004) or common broom (Sabourdy, 1971). In winter
time rabbits like to eat bark of some cultivated trees (not only young stems), specially that of
apple trees and in some extent that of cherry and peach trees. Barks of pear, plum or apricot
trees are generally less attacked (CTGREF, 1980). In forests, rabbits clearly prefer broad-
leaved trees but may also attack bark of conifers (mainly spruce and some types of pines), but
on the contrary when very young trees are available rabbits prefer to eat apical or lateral
sprouts of spruces or firs instead of that of oaks (CTGREF, 1978).
So basic reasons of the choices remain unclear, even if they are constant. It could only be said
that it is under regulation of hypothalamus since hypothalamic lesions modify clearly the
choice pattern of rabbits (Balinska, 1966).
Many experiments were conducted specially in Australia and New Zealand to study the wild
rabbits comportment when different more or less manufactured baits are proposed (the final
objective being the eradication of imported wild rabbits). Many variations were observed
depending on the type of bait, but also of season. For example pollard+bran pellets (5/1 in
weight) are well consumed throughout the year. In contrast, the acceptability of carrots or oats
varies seasonally. Addition of salt (1% or 5% NaCl) or of lucerne meal (15%) the
pollard+bran pellets significantly reduces the baits consumption (Ross and Bell, 1979).
4.2 Free choice for domestic caged rabbit
When a choice is proposed between a control diet and the same diet + an appetiser, rabbits
generally prefer the diet with the appetiser. But when the same 2 diets are offered alone to
rabbits the daily feed intake is exactly the same and the growth performance too (Fekete and
Lebas, 1983). It means that the pleasant smell of the proposed food is not essential for the
feed intake regulation. This was also proved with a repellent diet (addition of formalin)
clearly rejected in the free choice test but consumed in the same quantity in the long term
single food test (Lebas, 1992).
In the same way Cheeke et al. (1977) have demonstrated that rabbits prefer alfalfa with
saponin, a bitter component, up to 3 mg/g of the diet whereas rats always prefer the control
diet without saponin in the range of 0.4 to 5 mg/g (figure 13.7). But when single feeds with
different levels of saponin are offered to rabbits (saponin from 1.8 to 6.4 mg/g of complete
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
9
diet), the feed intake and growth rate are independent of the saponin level (Auxilia et al.,
1983)
On the contrary, when a toxic is present such as aflatoxins, rabbits refuse completely to
consume the diet or consume it in very low quantities (Fehr et al., 1968; Morisse et al., 1981;
Saubois and Nepote, 1994). This regulation may be considered as pertinent to protect the
animal against food injuries.
When a concentrate (low fibre diet compound diet) and a fibrous material are proposed as free
choice to rabbits, they prefer the concentrate. The fibrous material is consumed in only small
quantities and the growth rate may be reduced (Lebas et al, 1997). The consequence is also an
immediate increase of the sanitary risk for rabbits with digestive disorders by lack of fibre
(Gidenne, 2003). This is the consequence of the specific search of rabbit for energetic sources
(scarce in the wild), the dominant regulation system of feed intake in rabbits.
Effectively when 2 energetic concentrates are proposed with free choice as it was done by
Gidenne (1985) with a complete diet and fresh green bananas, the growth rate is equivalent to
that of the control and the digestible energy daily intake identical. Nevertheless it must be
underlined that in this study the proportion of bananas in the dry matter intake decreased from
40% at weaning (5 weeks) to 28% at the end of the experiment 7 weeks later.
In another way, rabbits receiving a diet deficient in one essential amino acid (lysine or sulphur
amino acids) and drinking water with or without the missing amino acid in solution, prefer
clearly the solution with the missing amino acid (Lebas and Greppi, 1980)
To add a last constituent to this chapter on free choice, it could be reminded that in free choice
situation a simple variation of humidity of one component may change the equilibrium in the
rabbit's choice. For example when dehydrated lucerne and normally dried maize grains (11%
humidity are offered ad libitum to rabbit the result of the choice is 65% lucerne/35% maize.
But if the water content of the maize grains is increased up to 14-15%, the proportion of
maize becomes 45-50% (Lebas, 2002). In this case the choice reason of rabbits seems
motivated more by the immediate palatability of the feeds than by their nutritive value.
As it was described above regulation of intake in free choice situation is delicate to predict.
Thus in most practical situations of rabbit production the utilisation of a complete balanced
diet is advisable.
5 Feeding behaviour in situation of feed restriction
5.2 Quantitative limitation
When a limited quantity of pelleted food is distributed to rabbit, the animal consumes its daily
allocation within few hours. For example for rabbits caged individually or by two, a quantity
representing 85% of the ad libitum intake is ingested in a maximum of 16 hours, but if the
quantity is reduced to 70%, the time used to ingest this quantity is reduced to 10 hours
(Bergaoui et al., 2008).
When restricted rabbits are caged in groups, the time spent for feed intake is shorter and
depends of the number of rabbits able to eat pellets at the same time. For example according
to Tudela and Lebas (2006) for fattening rabbits caged by 8, with a restriction at 85%, all the
daily allocation is consumed in 8 hours if only one rabbit has access to the feeder; but if 2
rabbits can accede simultaneously to the feeder only 89% of the daily allocation are consumed
in the same 8 hours. According to the same authors, if the daily allocation is distributed one
half at 8:00 and the other half at 18:00, to groups of 8 fattening rabbits with only one place at
feeder, all the quantity distributed is consumed within the 2 hours following the distribution
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
10
(93% during the first hour), but if 2 rabbit can consume simultaneously 3 hours are necessary
for the ingestion of all the allocation (76% during the first hour).
The restriction at 85% does not induced a real competition for feed intake between the 8
rabbits of the cage as is can be assumed from the identity of live weight, whatever the number
of places at feeder (1 or 2) or the number of distribution per day (1 or 2). More, the within
cage standard deviation of live weight is also independent of these factors and identical to that
of the ad libitum control group. On the contrary, if the feed restriction is more stronger (60%)
the average live weight is not affected by the number of feed distributions, but the standard
deviation of live weight is significantly increased by 20% when compared to that obtained
with groups restricted at 85% or fed ad libitum, a situation which can be interpreted as the
result of a real competition between rabbits for the access to the feeder with a 60% restriction
(Tudela and Lebas, 2006).
5.2 Limitation of the daily access to feeder or drinker
5.2.1. Restricted access to the feeder
If rabbits can accede to the feeder during less than 14-16 hours / 24h, the feed intake is
reduced as demonstrated by the different studies conducted in Hungary (Szendrö et al., 1988;
Tal El Den et al, 1988) and summarized by Lebas (2007) on figure 13.8. For example a time
limited to 8 hours per day induced on average a 80% reduction of feed intake. Nevertheless it
must be underlined that reduction of the duration of the access to feeders induces a stronger
reduction in young rabbits feed intakes than in older fattening rabbits : e.g. reduction to 64%,
73% and finally 81% during each of the 3 weeks following weaning at 32 days of rabbits with
8 hours of access to feeders (Foubert et al., 2007) or 73% reduction with 9 hours per day for
4-5 weeks old rabbits (Matics et al., 2008) and consumption quite identical to ad libitum
control at 12 weeks with continuous 8 hours per days limitation of access (Szendrö et al.,
1988). If a breeder hopes, by reduction of the feeding time, to induce a known quantitative
restriction for a group of fattening rabbits (e.g. 85%, or adjustment to a theoretical curve of
intake), it would be necessary to determine regularly the real feed intake in some cages in
order to adjust once or twice per week the duration of the access to feeders for the whole
group.
The same Hungarian group has also observed the time spent by rabbits to consume their food
in conditions of restricted access to feeders. The total number of meals per day is not affected
by limitation of time (30-35 on average at 12 weeks), but meals are concentrated in the
smaller number of hours "available", without significant increase of the duration of each meal.
Nevertheless, with 9h/24h available for feed intake, the total duration spent for feed
consumption is 1 hour 20 min. per day to be compared to the 1 hour 45 min. per day used by
rabbits of the same age fed ad libitum (Szendrö et al., 1988).
5.2.2. Restricted access to drinking water
Limitation of the time of access to drinkers is also a method to reduce the rabbit feed intake.
A lot of year ago, Prud'hon et al (1975) have demonstrated that after one week of adaptation
rabbit receiving free access to drinking water during only 10 minutes per 24 hours have a feed
intake reduced by 86 to 76% of that of the ad libitum drinking rabbits, depending of the age:
86% for 6-9 weeks old rabbits, 84% for 11-14 weeks old ones and 76% for adults. The
adaptation period was introduced because of the drastic reduction of water and feed intake (-
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
11
63 and -53% respectively) the 1-2 days following the application of the restriction, followed
by a 6-8 days of adaptation to the new situation (Lebas and Delaveau, 1975).
In practical conditions with fattening rabbits, an access to drinking water limited to 1h30 min.
to 4 hours induces a reduction of water intake stronger than that of pelleted food mainly for
short durations of watering, as demonstrated on figure 13.9. As a consequence, the water to
feed ratio is reduced from 1,74 for rabbits fed ad libitum down to 1.54 for those receiving
water during only 2 hours or 1h30 per day.
It must be pointed out that with a restriction of access to drinkers, the water to feed ratio is
always reduced as consequence of the drastic reduction of water intake compared to the ad
libitum control. But when feed intake is reduced even stronger that after water access
restriction (Boisot et al., 2005) the water intake is enhanced clearly above the ad libitum
intake (Table 13.4) and the water to feed ratio is largely increased above that of the control.
Conclusion
The rabbit feeding behaviour is very particular compared to other mammals, with special
features, such the caecotrophy, associated to a particular digestive physiology, intermediate
between the monogastric and the herbivore. As herbivorous, the feeding strategy of the rabbit
is almost opposite to ruminants. The feeding strategy of the latter consists to retain the food
particles in the rumen till they reach a sufficiently low size. The rabbit has adopted a reverse
strategy characterised by a preferential retention of fine digesta particles in the fermentative
segment (caecum and proximal colon), with a quick removal of the coarse particles (such low
digested fibres) in hard faeces. This is associated to numerous meals, thus favouring a quick
digesta rate of passage and the digestion of the most digestible fibre fractions.
Therefore, the rabbit is adapted to various feeding environments, from desert to temperate or
even cold climates, and is able to consume a very wide variety of feeds, from seeds to
herbaceous plants.
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GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
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Table 13.1 : Feeding behaviour of the domestic rabbit after weaning . Mean values from
rabbits (current commercial lines), fed ad-libitum a pelleted diet (89% DM), and having a free
access to drinkable water.
Periods of age (weeks)
5-7 weeks 7-10 weeks
Solid feed intake (g/d) 100-120 140-170
Weight gain (g/d) 45-50 35-45
Food conversion 2.2-2.4 3.4-3.8
Table 13.2: Feeding and drinking behaviour of the domestic rabbit from 6 to 18 weeks old.
Mean values from 9 New Zealand White rabbits, fed ad libitum a pelleted diet (89% DM),
and having a free access to drinkable water (Prud'hon et al., 1975).
Age in weeks
6 12 18
Solid feed (pellets, 89% DM)
Solid feed intake (g/d) 98 194 160
No. of meals per day 39 40 34
Average quantity per meal (g) 2.6 4.9 4.9
Drinking water
Water intake (g/d) 153 320 297
No. of drinks per day 31 28.5 36
Average weight of 1 drink (g) 5.1 11.5 9.1
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
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Table 13.3: Feeding behaviour of the growing rabbit according to ambient temperatures
Ambient temperature 5°C 18°C 30°C
Relative humidity 80% 70% 60%
Pelleted feed eaten 1 (g/day) 182 158 123
Water drunk (g/day) 328 271 386
Water/feed ratio 1.80 1.71 3.14
Average weight gain (g/day) 35. 1 37.4 25.4
Data from Eberhart (1980)
Table 13.4 : Effect of a limitation of daily drinking duration or of a reduction of the quantity
of pellets distributed, on relative water and feed intakes (Boisot et al., 2005) Observation
during the 3 weeks following weaning at 31 days
Feeding and
watering conditions Ad libitum control Water available
1 hour per day
Quantitative feed
restriction
(theoretical 65%)
Feed intake 136 g/d = 100% 78% 66%
Water intake 228 g/d = 100% 56% 136%
Water / feed ratio 1.7 1.2 3.5
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
21
(adapted from Szendrö et al., 1999; and Fortun-Lamothe and Gidenne, 2000)
Mean values, for litters of 7-9 kits, with pelleted dry feed, nipple drinker, and weaned at 30d
(doe remated 11d after kindling).
Figure 13.1: Milk, water and dry feed intake of the young rabbit
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
22
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0-7 7-14 14-21 21-28 28-35
Age (days)
Nutrient intake (g/d)
Fibers (food)
Starch (food)
Lactose (milk)
Proteins from milk
Lipids from milk
Proteins from food
Lipids from food
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0-7 7-14 14-21 21-28 28-35
Age (days)
Nutrient intake (g/d)
Fibers (food)
Starch (food)
Lactose (milk)
Proteins from milk
Lipids from milk
Proteins from food
Lipids from food
Figure 13.2: Evolution of the nutrient composition of food ingested by young rabbits between
birth (day 0) and weaning (day 35) in breeding conditions.
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
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Data from domestic rabbit, fed ad-lib. a pelleted feed (Gidenne and Lebas, 1987)
*: data of caecotrophes excretion obtained on rabbits wearing a collar.
Figure 13.3: Dry matter intake from pelleted feed, caecotrophes, and live-weight from
weaning (28d) till adulthood.
Age, days
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
20 40 60 80 100 120 1400
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
g DM/ rab./day
Live-weight, g
Feed intake
Caecotrophes*
g
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
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Mean values for domestic rabbits (n=6) fed ad-lib. a pelleted feed (daily feed intake= 80 and 189 g/d resp. for 6
and 16 wks old) and bred under a 7:00-19:00 light schedule (Bellier et al., 1995).
Figure 13.4: Circadian pattern of feed intake in growing or adult rabbit.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18 6-wks
16-wks
% of daily
feed intake
2:00 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 2:00
Time (h)
Age
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
25
Figure 13.5: Intake behaviour of a doe* during gestation and lactation
* data from Lebas (1975), domestic rabbit fed a balanced pelleted feed (89% DM)
0
100
200
300
400
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Days post coïtum
Feed intake (g/d)
weaning at 30 days post partum
weaning at
42d
Kindling
covering
1
Pregancy Lactation
Covering 2
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
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Intake and dietary digestible energy level
y = -0.029x + 186.6
R2 = 0.65
60
80
100
120
140
1700 2200 2700 3200
DE (kcal/ kg brut)
DFI g/d
Intake and dietary lignocellulose level (ADF)
y = -0.079x2 + 5.05x + 49.0
R² = 0.92
60
80
100
120
140
5 1015202530
ADF (g/100g)
DFI, g/dj
DFI: daily feed intake measured between weaning (4 wks) and 11 weeks of age.
Figure 13.6: Feed intake prediction in the domestic rabbit, after weaning
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
27
Figure 13.7 : Relative feed intake of a lucerne based diet with various levels of saponin in rats and
rabbits in situation of free choice between this diet and a control diet without saponin
(Cheeke et al., 1977)
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
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Figure 13.8. Pelleted feed intake of rabbit with a limited time of access to the feeder
(synthesis by Lebas, 2007)
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
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Figure 13.9 : Average water and feed intakes of fattening rabbits able to drink water during a
limited duration every day (1.5 to 4 hours/24h) but fed ad libitum, according to Verdelhan et
GIDENNE T., LEBAS F., FORTUN-LAMOTHE L., Chapter 13. Feeding behaviour of rabbits.
de Blas C., Wiseman J., " Nutrition of the rabbit " - 2010 - CAB International Ed., pages 233-252.
30
al. (2004), Boisot et al. (2004) and Ben Rayana et al. (2008). Results expressed as percentage
of the control watered and fed ad libitum.
