Research papers on wild rabbits and/or domestic rabbits

[Karla]

So this is what I spent my Friday evening on – going through research papers on rabbits, that I intend to read the next couple of days. Since it has been such a pain going through the extensive list of online articles, I thought I just share my list of articles with you guys, so you don’t have to do the same.

Here goes:

 Misidentification by wild rabbits,Oryctolagus cuniculus, of group members carrying the odor of foreign inguinal gland secretion

A comparison of the effectiveness of the odors of rabbits,Oryctolagus cuniculus, in enhancing territorial confidence

Response of male domestic rabbits (Oryctolagm cuniculus) to inguinal gland secretion from intact and ovarietomized females

Semiochemicals and Social Signaling in the Wild European Rabbit in Australia: I. Scent Profiles of Chin Gland Secretion from the Field

Optimal litter size for individual growth of European rabbit pups depends on their thermal environment

Encephalitozoonosis in rabbits

These articles cost money, but should really be worth it from the abstracts I have found:

 Mother-Young and Within-Litter Relations in the European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus

The Welfare of Laboratory Animals

If anyone has links to other interesting free academic research papers, please post

Good reading to you all.

PS: This is a very interesting article as well although not a research paper per se:

Comfortable Quarters for Rabbits in Research Institutions

[jerseygirl]

Oh you are my Hero! 
I have seen a couple of these. I see there’s a strong theme ^ scent glands!

Quick FYI for those reading term “inguinal gland” above; this is the actual name to what we commonly refer to as the anal glands. The ones that can build up the waxy substance and sometimes need to be cleaned. ;o)

I want to put in a request to anyone with some references to research on the connection of Intact Does & Uterine cancer. There are some sites that claim spay is unnecessary & I’d like to question this with info to back me up. Hopefully current info.

[Karla]

Posted By jerseygirl on 11/26/2010 03:38 PM

Oh you are my Hero! 
I have seen a couple of these. I see there’s a strong theme ^ scent glands!

Quick FYI for those reading term “inguinal gland” above; this is the actual name to what we commonly refer to as the anal glands. The ones that can build up the waxy substance and sometimes need to be cleaned. ;o)

I want to put in a request to anyone with some references to research on the connection of Intact Does & Uterine cancer. There are some sites that claim spay is unnecessary & I’d like to question this with info to back me up. Hopefully current info.

Yeah, I know I went for a theme – apparently the scent glands are different on dominant males, and furthermore, many of the articles were on how the other rabbits turn aggressive towards one if it suddenly smells differently = bonding theme

I’ll see if I can find a research article on your topic. You can find the background of the original study here and with some references to studies:

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/reso…terine.htm

This article is not a research study, but still very interesting.

http://buckysbunnies.tripod.com/UC.html - but bear in mind, it will not serve your purpose

[jerseygirl]

I think I know of that one. Based on NZ rabbit breed?
I found one titled “Uterine adenocarcinoma in pet rabbits” – S.L. Cutler. Not free access by the looks.
I thought I might even ask D. Krempels. Hoping she would be aware of more current studies being a scientist and rabbit advocate.

[Karla]

Posted By jerseygirl on 11/27/2010 02:34 AM
I think I know of that one. Based on NZ rabbit breed?
I found one titled “Uterine adenocarcinoma in pet rabbits” – SL Cutler
I thought I might even ask D. Krempels. Hoping she would be aware of more current studies being a scientist and rabbit advocate.

 All the research studies of this theme cost money as far as I can tell. There are quite a few studies though. Here is a survey although I really miss the methodology!

http://home.earthlink.net/~suzys/results.html - who is behind it?? (Besides Suzy Shuker)

 

[Karla]

Maybe we should do a thread solely on cancer and spays?

Anyways, found a really interesting vet. website – the theme is: Endometrial Adenocarcinoma and other Uterine Neoplasia in Lagomorphs

• More common in some breeds, e.g. Tan, French silver, Havana, Dutch rabbits. (B602.18.w18, J213.5.w1)
• Rare in Polish, Rex and Belgian rabbits. (J34.24.w3)
• In one study, uterine adenocarcinoma was seen in “Beveren, Dutch, English, Himalayan, Havana, Marten, Polish, Sable, Tan and Rexbreed, but not in members of the Belgian, Chinchilla or Silver breeds.” (J494.67.w1)
• Increased incidence in older does, reaching 50-80% in some breeds for individuals over three years of age. (J34.24.w3, J213.7.w1)
• In one study, uterine neoplasia was seen in does of two years and two months to seven years and six months of age, peaking at 4-5 years. (J27.64.w4)
• In a study of more than 80 cases in one laboratory colony, uterine adenocarcinoma never occurred in does younger than two years; there were 20% with onset in their third year, 44% with onset in their fourth year, 15% onset in their fifth year, 9% in their sixth year and 1% in their seventh year. The average age at the time the tumour was found was 45 months. (J494.67.w1)
• May reach an incidence of 60% by four years of age. (B600.14.w14)
• Incidence does not appear to be affected by whether or not the doe has bred. (B614.12.w12, J213.7.w1)
• Note: Neoplasms are found much less frequently in wild lagomophs than in domestic rabbits

http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformatio…abbit.html

http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformatio…ectomy.htm

[Beka27]

WOW! Awesome! I spend so much time looking up research for school, I’ve never given much thought to doing a search for rabbit health and behavior! This is something I’ll have to give a look later this weekend!

[GrumpyBun]

Would it be worth considering making this thread sticky, like the rabbit book thread?

[Beka27]

Good idea Grumpy. I pinned it. I know it’ll take me some time to read thru all of these, and I’d love to see what other papers people can come up with!

[Karla]

More research papers:

Sensitivity of female rabbits to changes in photoperiod as measured by pheromone emission

The rabbit submandibular gland: sexual dimorphism, effects of gonadectomy, and variations across the female reproductive cycle

Myocardial ischaemic/ reperfusion injury in the anaesthetized rabbit: comparative effects of halothane and isoflurane

Opioids and sexual behavior in the male rabbit: the role of central and peripheral opioid receptors

By the way, I found an article, which you have to pay for though, which examined male rabbits after neuters – they can still have sperm cells until 337 days efter the neuter! Quite interesting. I have found so many really interesting articles, but they cost money or you need to have access from a university. If anyone has access to those, it would be really great if you could do abstracts

[Beka27]

337 days!!! WOW! That would definitely influence one’s decision to try and bond a neutered male with an unspayed female! Imagine having to wait a year to start bonding!

[Karla]

Posted By Beka27 on 11/28/2010 12:31 PM
337 days!!! WOW! That would definitely influence one’s decision to try and bond a neutered male with an unspayed female! Imagine having to wait a year to start bonding!

‘Experimental Biology Changes in the accessory sex glands of male rabbits following castration’ by A. G. Bobkov in ‘Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine Volume 49, Number 6’ ( 609-611, DOI: 10.1007/BF00782117)

“Castration in rabbits provokes atrophy of accessory sexual glands with complete closure of the glandular cavities and epithelial atrophy. There was no proliferation of connective tissue or inflammatory phenomena. Sperms may be retained in the ampulla of ductus deferens of castrated animals for prolonged periods of time (up to 337 days).”

[RabbitPam]

Karla, forgive me for a lapse of memory. Are you researching to get a degree? Sounds like masters or doctorate material.
Jersey cracks me up as she sees this as a little light reading.

If any of you are veterinary students out there, or vet school alumni, please share with Karla.

[jerseygirl]

Pish. I skim read and make my own assumptions of what I think everything means.

[Karla]

Posted By RabbitPam on 12/01/2010 04:11 AM
Karla, forgive me for a lapse of memory. Are you researching to get a degree? Sounds like masters or doctorate material.
Jersey cracks me up as she sees this as a little light reading.

If any of you are veterinary students out there, or vet school alumni, please share with Karla.

Nope, but I am a geek addicted to academic research papers  And no one can argue against valid research, so the more knowledge I have of everything regarding bunnies, the stronger my arguments when I want to convince people to consider rabbits as pets.

But like JerseyGirl, I read what I find valuable and skip the parts that are of no concern to me   

[Deleted User]

Thank you, Karla, this is fantastic!!! Great work finding these!!!!

[LoveChaCha]

wow very interesting. this should be must reads for humans

[Lis]

I actually have access to most of these through my school (and my alum, too. They forgot to remove me as a student after I graduated). Even though my degree is in Computer Science. 🙂

[Karla]

Lis, that is great! Do you have access to “the welfare of laboratory rabbits”? The abstracts and references are so interesting. It is about how rabbits who are kept in pairs have a much lower level of stress hormones in their blood compared to single bunnies. I would really love to read it!

https://springerlink3.metapress.com/content/v0774ln2n3434488/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.pdf&sid=54npbfahmsqfc5emvkuvzzun&sh=www.springerlink.com
(Not sure if the title is laboratory rabbits or animals, because they don’t seem to be consistent?

[BunnyBuns7]

Very cool! Looking forward to checking these out!

[Click & Treat Bunny]

Environmental enrichment of New Zealand White rabbits living in laboratory cages
http://www.journalvetbehavior.com/article/PIIS1558787810002479/abstract?rss=yes

I like the fact that researchers were actually looking at enrrichment for the lab bunnies, though I’m not for them used in this way.

Here’s a survey among pet owners of rabbits, mustelids, and rodents. It was interesting aggression was more of an issue than I would have thought.

Behavioral complaints and owners’ satisfaction in rabbits, mustelids, and rodents kept as pets
http://www.journalvetbehavior.com/article/PIIS1558787811000074/abstract?rss=yes

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