Comportamiento, miedo y estrés en conejos de engorde: resultados en condiciones de alojamiento inadecuadas

Behaviour, reactivity and corticosterone levels were evaluated in 376 growing rabbits reared in large groups (20-27 rabbits per pen) from weaning to slaughter in pens with two floor types (wooden slat, 3 cm between slats, vs. plastic slat, 0.7 cm between slats). Rabbits reared on the wooden floor spent more time resting (68.5% vs. 67.0% total observation time; P=0.05) with a crouched position (41.3% vs. 35.1%; P<0.001) than those reared on the plastic floor. The floor type did not affect rabbit fear towards humans, but rabbits kept on the wooden floor showed less “bold” behaviours, i.e. they decreased movement (26.0 vs. 31.2 sec; P<0.05) and alert (0.96 vs. 2.32 events; P<0.01) and increased exploration (392 vs 354 sec; P<0.01) in a new environment, and had less contacts with an unknown object (50.3 vs. 87.2; P<0.001). The higher hair corticosterone concentration likely indicated a higher stress level in rabbits reared on the wooden floor than in those reared on plastic (14.0 ng/g vs. 12.5 ng/g; P<0.05).