Maternal care of rabbits in the lab and on the farm: Endocrine regulation of behavior and productivity

Abstract

Maternal behavior in rabbits has been well described in the wild, the laboratory, and the farm. Salient characteristics include: (a) the construction of a nest (inside an underground burrow or a box), composed of straw/grass and body hair and (b) the display of a single, brief (ca. 3 min) nursing bout per day. The onset and decline of nest-building in mid and late pregnancy are controlled by specific combinations of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and prolactin. Following parturition (kindling) does can mate and become pregnant again. Management strategies have been used on the farm to enhance productivity, impinging on specific reproductive processes (e.g., use of hormones to synchronize estrus, artificial insemination at kindling, doe-litter separation on specific days of lactation to increase sexual receptivity and fertility). Knowledge about the rabbit's reproductive physiology and behavior will be enriched by integrating research coming from the laboratory (where estrus, pregnant-only, or lactating-only animals are the main categories investigated) with studies performed on the farm or research station (where pregnant-lactating rabbits are prevalent). Similarly, the high productivity demands of modern rabbit farms will benefit from the information obtained in the laboratory where specific issues in reproductive neuroendocrinology are explored with methodologies that are not amenable for farm use.