Kaniners grävbeteende

A survey was conducted to examine the digging behaviour of rabbits in captivity. This survey contained questions for rabbit owners regarding their rabbits´ living environment and digging opportunities. The survey was made available online and after 23 days a total of 337 different individuals had an...

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Autor principal: Harenius, Anna
Formato: First cycle, G2E
Lenguaje:sueco
sueco
Publicado: 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9380/
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author Harenius, Anna
author_browse Harenius, Anna
author_facet Harenius, Anna
author_sort Harenius, Anna
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description A survey was conducted to examine the digging behaviour of rabbits in captivity. This survey contained questions for rabbit owners regarding their rabbits´ living environment and digging opportunities. The survey was made available online and after 23 days a total of 337 different individuals had answered. Nine out of ten respondents thought that domesticated rabbits have a behavioural need to dig. However some of them indicated that the need to dig for rabbits is individual, which could be likely. The majority of the respondents also indicated that they provide their rabbits with digging opportunities on a daily basis. The results nevertheless showed that a small layer of bedding on the bottom of the cage did not provide a sufficient digging opportunity because it was connected with a higher probability of abnormal digging behaviour. The majority of the respondents gave their rabbits’ shavings, straw or hay as litter whilst they responded that peat or earth would be the best digging material for rabbits. The results from the survey supports the literature stating that rabbits may have a need to perform digging behaviour even if they live in captivity. It is however possible that other behavioral needs such as freedom of movement are more important to avoid stereotypic behaviours. Providing the rabbits with opportunities to dig outside or give them big crates filled with a deep layer of peat, earth or sand, should give them opportunity to perform their natural digging behaviour. This ought to be clarified in the animal welfare legislation in Sweden to increase the knowledge and requirements of how rabbits should be kept in a way that benefits natural behaviour.
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spelling RepoSLU93802016-08-18T09:42:12Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9380/ Kaniners grävbeteende Harenius, Anna Animal husbandry A survey was conducted to examine the digging behaviour of rabbits in captivity. This survey contained questions for rabbit owners regarding their rabbits´ living environment and digging opportunities. The survey was made available online and after 23 days a total of 337 different individuals had answered. Nine out of ten respondents thought that domesticated rabbits have a behavioural need to dig. However some of them indicated that the need to dig for rabbits is individual, which could be likely. The majority of the respondents also indicated that they provide their rabbits with digging opportunities on a daily basis. The results nevertheless showed that a small layer of bedding on the bottom of the cage did not provide a sufficient digging opportunity because it was connected with a higher probability of abnormal digging behaviour. The majority of the respondents gave their rabbits’ shavings, straw or hay as litter whilst they responded that peat or earth would be the best digging material for rabbits. The results from the survey supports the literature stating that rabbits may have a need to perform digging behaviour even if they live in captivity. It is however possible that other behavioral needs such as freedom of movement are more important to avoid stereotypic behaviours. Providing the rabbits with opportunities to dig outside or give them big crates filled with a deep layer of peat, earth or sand, should give them opportunity to perform their natural digging behaviour. This ought to be clarified in the animal welfare legislation in Sweden to increase the knowledge and requirements of how rabbits should be kept in a way that benefits natural behaviour. 2016-07-08 First cycle, G2E NonPeerReviewed application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9380/1/Harenius_A_160630.pdf Harenius, Anna, 2016. Kaniners grävbeteende : Analys av grävmöjligheter i fångenskap. First cycle, G2E. Uppsala: (VH) > Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-880.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-5697 swe
spellingShingle Animal husbandry
Harenius, Anna
Kaniners grävbeteende
title Kaniners grävbeteende
title_full Kaniners grävbeteende
title_fullStr Kaniners grävbeteende
title_full_unstemmed Kaniners grävbeteende
title_short Kaniners grävbeteende
title_sort kaniners grävbeteende
topic Animal husbandry
url https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9380/
https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9380/