The investigation was carried out with altogether 332 growing rabbits （ZIKA） in six rounds of 8 weeks duration respectively （R1-R6） with the following occupational objects： wooden gnawing stick （WGS）, plastic g...The investigation was carried out with altogether 332 growing rabbits （ZIKA） in six rounds of 8 weeks duration respectively （R1-R6） with the following occupational objects： wooden gnawing stick （WGS）, plastic gnawing stick （PGS） and two iron chains connected by a horizontal stick （ICS）, wooden gnawing limb （WGL） and a horizontal iron chain （HIC）. The feeding system varied from pellet feeding ad libitum （in the first rounds, in the following rounds it decreased pro-rata whereas the proportion of the crude fibre feed （loose or pressed in blocks） increased appropriately） to crude fibre feeding ad libitum. The behavior ＂occupation with the tool＂ was infrared video recorded and continuously analyzed and summarized in hour-values per rabbit. The average frequency of occupation per rabbit and hour ranged from 0,13 to 2.19 concerning the rounds and between 0.12 and 1,30 concerning the tools. Altogether, it could be assumed that different occupational tools had an influence on the engaging behavior but the effect of the round which was affected by the feeding system was higher. The investigation showed that rabbits spent less time occupying with the tool when they were fed with an increasing percentage of crude fibre （less pellets） in the ration.展开更多
文摘The investigation was carried out with altogether 332 growing rabbits （ZIKA） in six rounds of 8 weeks duration respectively （R1-R6） with the following occupational objects： wooden gnawing stick （WGS）, plastic gnawing stick （PGS） and two iron chains connected by a horizontal stick （ICS）, wooden gnawing limb （WGL） and a horizontal iron chain （HIC）. The feeding system varied from pellet feeding ad libitum （in the first rounds, in the following rounds it decreased pro-rata whereas the proportion of the crude fibre feed （loose or pressed in blocks） increased appropriately） to crude fibre feeding ad libitum. The behavior ＂occupation with the tool＂ was infrared video recorded and continuously analyzed and summarized in hour-values per rabbit. The average frequency of occupation per rabbit and hour ranged from 0,13 to 2.19 concerning the rounds and between 0.12 and 1,30 concerning the tools. Altogether, it could be assumed that different occupational tools had an influence on the engaging behavior but the effect of the round which was affected by the feeding system was higher. The investigation showed that rabbits spent less time occupying with the tool when they were fed with an increasing percentage of crude fibre （less pellets） in the ration.
