Effects of Genotype and Housing System on Rabbit Does’ Aggressive Behaviors and Injuries in Smallholding Conditions

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The housing of rabbit does in groups is nowadays a subject of study in the scientific literature due to the public’s concerns about animals’ welfare. Group housing of rabbits brings more social contacts and more space for manifesting their species–specific behaviours. However, group living has the potential to be more natural as rabbits live in colonies in nature, but the opposite is true. Problems with aggression among rabbit does are common in this type of housing. In addition, there are direct aggressive attacks by does towards kits from other mothers and this leads to economic losses due to higher kit mortality. There are various efforts to solve aggression among females, but most of them work with the implications of these procedures in intensive breeding, where the purchase prices of technology are very expensive. Therefore, this study deals with the solution to the given issue at the level of small farms, where the attention of the scientific sphere has been minimal. ABSTRACT: The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of housing (deep litter + concrete floor vs. deep litter + ground soil with the possibility to dig burrows), and genotype (Mecklenburg or Hyplus) on aggressive behaviour, social contacts, does’ and kits’ injuries, and progeny mortality. Twelve groups of six rabbit does (n = 72) were assigned to four treatments (two housing systems and two genotypes). Aggressive behaviour of does, number of injuries on does and kits, and postnatal kit mortality were recorded. The effects of housing and genotype were tested using multivariate GLMM Models. We found that the housing treatment in interaction with the genotype had a significant effect on aggressive behaviours in group housed does (F(3,12) = 14.34, p = 0.0003), where the lowest incidence of aggression was in Mecklenburg does housed on ground soil. Reduced aggression was reflected in a lower number of injuries in does (F(3,68) = 10.51, p < 0.0001), number of injuries in kits, and kit mortality (F(3,1) = 4.59, p < 0.0001, F(3,54) = 43.94, p < 0.0001). The results indicate that the proper combination of genotype and housing should be carefully considered for breeding to reduce aggression and injury in group housed does.