KEEPING OF NON-REPRODUCTING FEMALE RABBIT S CAGED IN PAIRS

From the age of three months 16 young females of the Hybrid strain ZIK A were kept in pairs in a cage which measured 60 x 68 x 56 cm and whic h had an elevated tier (30 x 60 cm). Over a period of seven months the se pairs were observed (2 h) and examined morphologically once a month . A video recording during 24 h was conducted. These observations show ed that the frequency of aggressive and sexual behaviours was not very high and was not the same with all pairs. The frequence of aggressive , sexual and subdominant behaviour varied during the investigation, so metimes even within a month. There were a lot of amicable behaviour pa tterns (allogrooming, friendly nose-to-nose, nose-to-body contacts) an d the females spent a lot of time in body-contact. Except with one pai r there were hardly found any injuries despite the observed aggressive encounters. The dominance hierarchy in die different pairs was clear from the beginning and remained so during the experiment. The dominant females showed aggressive and sexual behaviour more frequently, all s ubdominant animals went away more frequently. The results suggest that keeping females in pairs before breeding starts or keeping them in pa irs as laboratory rabbits is basically possible though the relation ha s to be checked all the time. Sufficient possibilities for occupation and a good structure of room are important. Because the degree of sexu al influence of the females is not clear yet, further clarifications a re needed.