Research-based facts on wire floors
In conjunction with our article explaining why wire floors are not abusive for rabbits, we're collecting links and articles looking at wire floors in comparison with other types of flooring. Please drop us a note about any others you find, with a brief summary or quote so we can tell what the link is about.
Sites such as government, university, scientific or veterinary sources will carry the most weight, as opposed to just pages by people who raise rabbits (although it doesn't hurt to include those as well if they have information that isn't covered elsewhere, especially if they contain references to more credible sources).
There have been a number of scientific papers published about research studies that compared rabbits raised in wire cages vs. on other surfaces.
ALTERNATIVE PEN HOUSING SYSTEM FOR FATTENING RABBITS : EFFECTS OF GROUP DENSITY AND LITTER | LAMBERTINI L., VlGNOLA G., ZAGHINI G. | World Rabbit Science
They concluded, "Growth performances, slaughter results and carcass quality are on the whole better for animals traditionally raised in wire mesh cages." (This study was comparing wire floors to solid floors with litter/bedding.)
http://ojs.upv.es/index.php/wrs/article/view/457/444
* Different rearing systems for fattening rabbits: Performance and carcass characteristics
Carla Lazzaroni, a, , Davide Biaginia and Carola Lussianaa
Department of Animal Science, University of Torino, via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
"80 rabbits (40 males and 40 females) of Carmagnola breed were reared from 9 to 16 weeks of age in individual California type cages (0.12 m2) or in group ground pens (0.25 m2/head) . . . Animals reared in ground pens showed lower productive performances, while, as to slaughtering performances, rabbits reared in cages showed the highest slaughtering weight and also the highest weights for most body parts."
Meat Science, Volume 82, Issue 2, June 2009, Pages 200-204
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=21432141
* Preference testing in intensively kept meat production rabbits for straw on wire grid floor
J. P. Morisse*, E. Boilletot and A. Martrenchar
This study measured rabbits' preference for wire floor vs. straw bedding when allowed to choose, with a control group on wire only.
"The most unexpected result was the low attraction of straw. Rabbits in the littered pens spent most of their time on the wire (89% at 7 weeks and 77% at 10 weeks; P<0.01), especially when they were lying (96% at 7 weeks and 84% at 10 weeks; P<0.01). The most plausible explanation for this preference seems to be that rabbits were attracted to the cleanliness and the dryness of the wire. Reactions to a new environment, and parasitism were not significantly influenced by treatments. On the other hand, final bodyweight, carcass weight and daily gain significantly decreased by 8%, 6.5%, and 10%, respectively in the littered pens compared with the wire pens (P<0.05). These results demonstrated that fattening rabbits kept under intensive conditions preferred a wire floor to a straw deep litter.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
Volume 64, Issue 1, April 1999, Pages 71-80
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159199000234
* Free choice of growing rabbits between deep litter and wire net floor in pens.
Authors Orova, Z.; Szendro, Z.; Matics, Z.; Radnai, I.; Biró-Németh, E.
Book chapter; Conference paper Proceedings of the 8th World Rabbit Congress, September 7-10, 2004, Pueblo, Mexico 2005 pp. 1263-1265
"According to the results, at normal temperature (16-18°C) rabbits prefer wire net floor, compared to deep litter."
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20053160941.html;jsessionid=0E4E48203415C6FACFBD529DD83F241E
* Group housing of growing rabbits: effect of stocking density and cage floor on performance, welfare, and meat quality.
AuthorsTrocino, A.; Xiccato, G.; Queaque, P. I.; Sartori, A.
Book chapter; Conference paperProceedings of the 8th World Rabbit Congress, September 7-10, 2004, Pueblo, Mexico 2005 pp. 1277-1282
"Carcass and meat quality, and bone fracture resistance were unaffected by housing system . . . The effect of the type of cage floor was weak and limited to a slight reduction in feed intake during the last two weeks of trial, and therefore an improvement in feed efficiency throughout the study (P=0.01), by rabbits reared on the wire net floor in comparison with rabbits reared on the slatted floor (179 vs 185 g/d; P=0.08). During the open field test, rabbits reared in cages with wire net floor showed higher exploration activity (P<0.01) without any difference in reactivity during the immobility test."
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20053160944.html
* Rearing rabbits on a wire net floor or straw litter: behaviour, growth and meat qualitative traits
A. Dal Bosco, , C. Castellini and C. Mugnai
"Three hundred hybrid males, 35 days old, were randomly assigned to one of three housing conditions: conventional bicellular cages, a straw-bedded pen or a wire-netted pen. . . . Pen raised rabbits showed lower growth rate, and higher feed:gain ratio and mortality, than those held in cages. . . . rabbits raised in straw-bedded pens gave the poorest results due to straw ingestion and more direct contact with excreta."
Livestock Production Science
Volume 75, Issue 2, June 2002, Pages 149-156
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301622601003074
* TEMPERATURE AND CAGE FLOOR ENRICHMENT AFFECT THE
BEHAVIOR OF GROWING RABBITS
Siloto E.V.1, Zeferino C.P.1, Moura A.S.A.M.T.1*, Fernandes S.1, Sartori J.R.2, Siqueira E.R.1
1Departmento de Produção Animal, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, UNESP - São Paulo State
University, 18618-000 Botucatu, SP, Brazil
"Cages were placed either in a natural temperature chamber or in a refrigerated one. In each chamber, half of the cages had part of the floor surface covered with a wooden board enriched with litter straw such that, in enriched cages, rabbits had free choice between the straw and the wire net floor. . . . In the natural temperature chamber, rabbits preferred the wire net floor over the litter straw (77.9 vs. 22.1%, P<0.01), whereas in the refrigerated chamber they did not show any preference (45.9 vs. 54.1%, P=0.41)."
http://world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2008-Verona/Papers/W-Siloto.pdf
* ALTERNATIVE PEN HOUSING SYSTEM FOR FATTENING RABBITS: EFFECTS OF GROUP DENSITY AND LITTER
LAMBERTINI L., VlGNOLA G., ZAGHINI G.
"In conclusion, group housing systems on litter implies some relevant questions that have to be pointed out, particularly concerning pathology problems (mainly connected to coccidiosis) compared to the intensive breeding in cages. Growth performance, slaughter results and carcass quality are on the whole better for animals traditionally raised in wire mesh cages."
http://ojs.upv.es/index.php/wrs/article/view/457/444
* Rearing rabbits on a wire net floor or straw litter: behaviour, growth and meat qualitative traits
A Dal Bosco Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author, C Castellini, C Mugnai
Purchase
Department of Animal Science, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74-06100 Perugia, Italy
"Pen raised rabbits showed lower growth rate, and higher feed:gain ratio and mortality, than those held in cages. The slaughter traits — dressing out percentage, meat:bone ratio, carcass compactness and fatness — confirmed a lower maturity of these animals. . . . The rabbits raised in straw-bedded pens gave the poorest results due to straw ingestion and more direct contact with excreta."
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301622601003074
An article on the USDA website also quotes a few relevant studies on this topic, as well as many others relating to rabbit care and welfare: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Rabbits/mcnitt_swanson.htm
"Orova, et al. (2004) found that growing rabbits preferred wire net floors rather than deep litter at normal temperatures (16-18EC)"
Some other info. related to cages:
The oft-quoted 1996 Drescher study ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8767192 ) that supposedly proves that keeping rabbits in cages causes spinal deformities is not actually a good source for evaluating the effects of caging in general.
It turns out the cages in the study where rabbits had issues were only 60 x 40 x 32 cm, which is 23.6 inches by 15.7 inches by 12.6 inches--far smaller than what most people keep even dwarf-sized rabbits in. This particular study really doesn't seem relevant to keeping rabbits in standard-sized cages that allow for a normal range of movement. It's equivalent to raising rabbits for their entire lives in travel-sized carrying cages--the long-term extreme limitation of movement that disallowed a normal posture would be the cause of skeletal problems in such a case, not the fact that the rabbits were in cages.
This study which quotes it mentions the cage sizes:
http://world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2008-Verona/Papers/W-Barge.pdf
Using floor mats:
While wire floors are great for keeping rabbits clean and dry, and 14-gauge double-galvanized wire can minimize the chance of sore hocks, there is some evidence that using slotted plastic mats in conjunction with wire floors can be helpful.
Here are a few studies looking at the use of these mats, and how they can help prevent sore hocks, particularly in commercial production does.
EFFECT OF FLOOR TYPE ON FOOTPAD INJURIES IN DOES: A PILOT STUDY
De Jong I.C., Reimert H., Rommers J.M.*
This study looked at floor gauges as well as floor mats on the incidence of sore hocks. 2mm is the equivalent of 14-gauge wire, and 3mm is 12 gauge.
They didn't find a significant difference between these two gauges of wire, but concluded, "Plastic mats seem to have a positive effect on the footpads, but this should be confirmed on more farms. "
"http://www.world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2008-Verona/Papers/W-DeJong.pdf
PERFORMANCE OF RABBIT DOES IN CAGES WITH OR WITHOUT ELEVATED PLATFORM OR PLASTIC FOOTREST
This study is rather flawed because the wire gauges and cage sizes were different in each group, with too many variables in addition to having resting mats or not. But it's still an interesting study.
They said, "Both plastic platform and footrest had positive effect on the prevention of footpad injuries."
http://world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2012-Egypt/Papers/02-Reproduction/R-Miko.pdf
Here is a quote from
Welfare and the intensive production of rabbits
by J.-P. MORISSE and R. MAURICE *
"Types of flooring and foot lesions: . . . .
The adoption of wire-mesh cages was a decisive step in the transition from traditional to specialised husbandry, making it possible to increase the number of animals by reducing the labour requirement.
Wire-mesh walls do not create any special problem, as they even allow social contact between animals (only males require solid walls to prevent conflicts), but flooring has been studied closely to reduce the occurrence of foot lesions.
Such lesions, which are a major cause of culling of breeding stock, commence with skin erosion at the tarsus and usually result in scab formation.
The posture adopted by an affected animal clearly demonstrates the discomfort and suffering produced by this lesion.
Manufacturers of flooring have assisted in solving this problem by adopting strict rules for the flooring of cages for breeding stock, namely:
- abandonment of 19 x 19 mm square mesh
- adoption of 75 x 12.5 mm rectangular mesh, allowing a better sitting posture
- using wire of not less than 2.4 mm in diameter
- removing all roughness from soldered joints.
For their part, breeders have taken into account morphological criteria, such as size and quality of paws, and density of the hair coat to reduce the incidence of foot lesions.
In recent years, breeders have started to use plastic grid floors for males, and often for females as well (Ph. Le Cerf, personal communication), to provide better comfort for the animals and solve the problem of foot lesions."
http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D8877.PDF
Excerpts from the chapter on
Ulcerative Potodermatitis (Sore Hocks) in Rabbits
from The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents, fourth edition; by John E. Harkness, DVM, MS, M. Ed. and Joseph E. Wagner, DVM, MPH, PhD; published by Williams & Wilkins in 1995.
"Etiology
The condition is postulated to be caused by pressure necrosis of the epidermis, primarily on the plantar metatarsal surfaces of large rabbits housed on hard or wet floors and in guinea pigs housed on wire floors. Contamination with urine and feces increases the severity of the lesion.
"Predisposing Factors
Factors that predispose to sore hocks include reduced plantar fur pad thickness, which is inherited or occurs due to wetting or shedding of the fur pad; bruising; pressure from excessive body weight, restraint, inanition, or lack of movement in a small cage; and from abrasions caused by irregular cage flooring. Affected animals should be culled and not used as breeders. The incidence of sore hocks increases with age and weight (more than 5 to 16 lbs) and during hot humid weather, especially in males. It is doubtful that ulcerative pododermatitis is caused or exacerbated by thumping in excessively excitable animals. Rabbits with heavily furred feet, immature animals, or light weight breeds are affected less frequently.
". . . Prevention
Sore hocks can occur in rabbits on both solid and wire floors and in almost any type of cage or confinement device. Prevention is achieved by housing rabbits in clean cages on soft, clean, dry bedding. Selection of breeders with thick plantar mestatarsal fur pads may help also. Eliminating stressful conditions in the environment, providing adequate nutrition and exercise, and guarding against obesity through limited feeding are measures that may help prevent sore hocks. Excessively warm and moist environments may result in a thinner fur coat and a less dense plantar metatarsal pad, leaving the foot more susceptible to ulcers and infections. Wire floors are used commonly because they are self-cleaning. One-half inch by 1-in 14-gauge non-woven welded wire is a commonly recommended flooring. Use of resting boards slightly larger than the rabbits "footprint" may be useful also."
Sites such as government, university, scientific or veterinary sources will carry the most weight, as opposed to just pages by people who raise rabbits (although it doesn't hurt to include those as well if they have information that isn't covered elsewhere, especially if they contain references to more credible sources).
There have been a number of scientific papers published about research studies that compared rabbits raised in wire cages vs. on other surfaces.
ALTERNATIVE PEN HOUSING SYSTEM FOR FATTENING RABBITS : EFFECTS OF GROUP DENSITY AND LITTER | LAMBERTINI L., VlGNOLA G., ZAGHINI G. | World Rabbit Science
They concluded, "Growth performances, slaughter results and carcass quality are on the whole better for animals traditionally raised in wire mesh cages." (This study was comparing wire floors to solid floors with litter/bedding.)
http://ojs.upv.es/index.php/wrs/article/view/457/444
* Different rearing systems for fattening rabbits: Performance and carcass characteristics
Carla Lazzaroni, a, , Davide Biaginia and Carola Lussianaa
Department of Animal Science, University of Torino, via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
"80 rabbits (40 males and 40 females) of Carmagnola breed were reared from 9 to 16 weeks of age in individual California type cages (0.12 m2) or in group ground pens (0.25 m2/head) . . . Animals reared in ground pens showed lower productive performances, while, as to slaughtering performances, rabbits reared in cages showed the highest slaughtering weight and also the highest weights for most body parts."
Meat Science, Volume 82, Issue 2, June 2009, Pages 200-204
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=21432141
* Preference testing in intensively kept meat production rabbits for straw on wire grid floor
J. P. Morisse*, E. Boilletot and A. Martrenchar
This study measured rabbits' preference for wire floor vs. straw bedding when allowed to choose, with a control group on wire only.
"The most unexpected result was the low attraction of straw. Rabbits in the littered pens spent most of their time on the wire (89% at 7 weeks and 77% at 10 weeks; P<0.01), especially when they were lying (96% at 7 weeks and 84% at 10 weeks; P<0.01). The most plausible explanation for this preference seems to be that rabbits were attracted to the cleanliness and the dryness of the wire. Reactions to a new environment, and parasitism were not significantly influenced by treatments. On the other hand, final bodyweight, carcass weight and daily gain significantly decreased by 8%, 6.5%, and 10%, respectively in the littered pens compared with the wire pens (P<0.05). These results demonstrated that fattening rabbits kept under intensive conditions preferred a wire floor to a straw deep litter.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
Volume 64, Issue 1, April 1999, Pages 71-80
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159199000234
* Free choice of growing rabbits between deep litter and wire net floor in pens.
Authors Orova, Z.; Szendro, Z.; Matics, Z.; Radnai, I.; Biró-Németh, E.
Book chapter; Conference paper Proceedings of the 8th World Rabbit Congress, September 7-10, 2004, Pueblo, Mexico 2005 pp. 1263-1265
"According to the results, at normal temperature (16-18°C) rabbits prefer wire net floor, compared to deep litter."
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20053160941.html;jsessionid=0E4E48203415C6FACFBD529DD83F241E
* Group housing of growing rabbits: effect of stocking density and cage floor on performance, welfare, and meat quality.
AuthorsTrocino, A.; Xiccato, G.; Queaque, P. I.; Sartori, A.
Book chapter; Conference paperProceedings of the 8th World Rabbit Congress, September 7-10, 2004, Pueblo, Mexico 2005 pp. 1277-1282
"Carcass and meat quality, and bone fracture resistance were unaffected by housing system . . . The effect of the type of cage floor was weak and limited to a slight reduction in feed intake during the last two weeks of trial, and therefore an improvement in feed efficiency throughout the study (P=0.01), by rabbits reared on the wire net floor in comparison with rabbits reared on the slatted floor (179 vs 185 g/d; P=0.08). During the open field test, rabbits reared in cages with wire net floor showed higher exploration activity (P<0.01) without any difference in reactivity during the immobility test."
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20053160944.html
* Rearing rabbits on a wire net floor or straw litter: behaviour, growth and meat qualitative traits
A. Dal Bosco, , C. Castellini and C. Mugnai
"Three hundred hybrid males, 35 days old, were randomly assigned to one of three housing conditions: conventional bicellular cages, a straw-bedded pen or a wire-netted pen. . . . Pen raised rabbits showed lower growth rate, and higher feed:gain ratio and mortality, than those held in cages. . . . rabbits raised in straw-bedded pens gave the poorest results due to straw ingestion and more direct contact with excreta."
Livestock Production Science
Volume 75, Issue 2, June 2002, Pages 149-156
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301622601003074
* TEMPERATURE AND CAGE FLOOR ENRICHMENT AFFECT THE
BEHAVIOR OF GROWING RABBITS
Siloto E.V.1, Zeferino C.P.1, Moura A.S.A.M.T.1*, Fernandes S.1, Sartori J.R.2, Siqueira E.R.1
1Departmento de Produção Animal, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, UNESP - São Paulo State
University, 18618-000 Botucatu, SP, Brazil
"Cages were placed either in a natural temperature chamber or in a refrigerated one. In each chamber, half of the cages had part of the floor surface covered with a wooden board enriched with litter straw such that, in enriched cages, rabbits had free choice between the straw and the wire net floor. . . . In the natural temperature chamber, rabbits preferred the wire net floor over the litter straw (77.9 vs. 22.1%, P<0.01), whereas in the refrigerated chamber they did not show any preference (45.9 vs. 54.1%, P=0.41)."
http://world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2008-Verona/Papers/W-Siloto.pdf
* ALTERNATIVE PEN HOUSING SYSTEM FOR FATTENING RABBITS: EFFECTS OF GROUP DENSITY AND LITTER
LAMBERTINI L., VlGNOLA G., ZAGHINI G.
"In conclusion, group housing systems on litter implies some relevant questions that have to be pointed out, particularly concerning pathology problems (mainly connected to coccidiosis) compared to the intensive breeding in cages. Growth performance, slaughter results and carcass quality are on the whole better for animals traditionally raised in wire mesh cages."
http://ojs.upv.es/index.php/wrs/article/view/457/444
* Rearing rabbits on a wire net floor or straw litter: behaviour, growth and meat qualitative traits
A Dal Bosco Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author, C Castellini, C Mugnai
Purchase
Department of Animal Science, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74-06100 Perugia, Italy
"Pen raised rabbits showed lower growth rate, and higher feed:gain ratio and mortality, than those held in cages. The slaughter traits — dressing out percentage, meat:bone ratio, carcass compactness and fatness — confirmed a lower maturity of these animals. . . . The rabbits raised in straw-bedded pens gave the poorest results due to straw ingestion and more direct contact with excreta."
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301622601003074
An article on the USDA website also quotes a few relevant studies on this topic, as well as many others relating to rabbit care and welfare: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Rabbits/mcnitt_swanson.htm
"Orova, et al. (2004) found that growing rabbits preferred wire net floors rather than deep litter at normal temperatures (16-18EC)"
Some other info. related to cages:
The oft-quoted 1996 Drescher study ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8767192 ) that supposedly proves that keeping rabbits in cages causes spinal deformities is not actually a good source for evaluating the effects of caging in general.
It turns out the cages in the study where rabbits had issues were only 60 x 40 x 32 cm, which is 23.6 inches by 15.7 inches by 12.6 inches--far smaller than what most people keep even dwarf-sized rabbits in. This particular study really doesn't seem relevant to keeping rabbits in standard-sized cages that allow for a normal range of movement. It's equivalent to raising rabbits for their entire lives in travel-sized carrying cages--the long-term extreme limitation of movement that disallowed a normal posture would be the cause of skeletal problems in such a case, not the fact that the rabbits were in cages.
This study which quotes it mentions the cage sizes:
http://world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2008-Verona/Papers/W-Barge.pdf
Using floor mats:
While wire floors are great for keeping rabbits clean and dry, and 14-gauge double-galvanized wire can minimize the chance of sore hocks, there is some evidence that using slotted plastic mats in conjunction with wire floors can be helpful.
Here are a few studies looking at the use of these mats, and how they can help prevent sore hocks, particularly in commercial production does.
EFFECT OF FLOOR TYPE ON FOOTPAD INJURIES IN DOES: A PILOT STUDY
De Jong I.C., Reimert H., Rommers J.M.*
This study looked at floor gauges as well as floor mats on the incidence of sore hocks. 2mm is the equivalent of 14-gauge wire, and 3mm is 12 gauge.
They didn't find a significant difference between these two gauges of wire, but concluded, "Plastic mats seem to have a positive effect on the footpads, but this should be confirmed on more farms. "
"http://www.world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2008-Verona/Papers/W-DeJong.pdf
PERFORMANCE OF RABBIT DOES IN CAGES WITH OR WITHOUT ELEVATED PLATFORM OR PLASTIC FOOTREST
This study is rather flawed because the wire gauges and cage sizes were different in each group, with too many variables in addition to having resting mats or not. But it's still an interesting study.
They said, "Both plastic platform and footrest had positive effect on the prevention of footpad injuries."
http://world-rabbit-science.com/WRSA-Proceedings/Congress-2012-Egypt/Papers/02-Reproduction/R-Miko.pdf
Here is a quote from
Welfare and the intensive production of rabbits
by J.-P. MORISSE and R. MAURICE *
"Types of flooring and foot lesions: . . . .
The adoption of wire-mesh cages was a decisive step in the transition from traditional to specialised husbandry, making it possible to increase the number of animals by reducing the labour requirement.
Wire-mesh walls do not create any special problem, as they even allow social contact between animals (only males require solid walls to prevent conflicts), but flooring has been studied closely to reduce the occurrence of foot lesions.
Such lesions, which are a major cause of culling of breeding stock, commence with skin erosion at the tarsus and usually result in scab formation.
The posture adopted by an affected animal clearly demonstrates the discomfort and suffering produced by this lesion.
Manufacturers of flooring have assisted in solving this problem by adopting strict rules for the flooring of cages for breeding stock, namely:
- abandonment of 19 x 19 mm square mesh
- adoption of 75 x 12.5 mm rectangular mesh, allowing a better sitting posture
- using wire of not less than 2.4 mm in diameter
- removing all roughness from soldered joints.
For their part, breeders have taken into account morphological criteria, such as size and quality of paws, and density of the hair coat to reduce the incidence of foot lesions.
In recent years, breeders have started to use plastic grid floors for males, and often for females as well (Ph. Le Cerf, personal communication), to provide better comfort for the animals and solve the problem of foot lesions."
http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D8877.PDF
Excerpts from the chapter on
Ulcerative Potodermatitis (Sore Hocks) in Rabbits
from The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents, fourth edition; by John E. Harkness, DVM, MS, M. Ed. and Joseph E. Wagner, DVM, MPH, PhD; published by Williams & Wilkins in 1995.
"Etiology
The condition is postulated to be caused by pressure necrosis of the epidermis, primarily on the plantar metatarsal surfaces of large rabbits housed on hard or wet floors and in guinea pigs housed on wire floors. Contamination with urine and feces increases the severity of the lesion.
"Predisposing Factors
Factors that predispose to sore hocks include reduced plantar fur pad thickness, which is inherited or occurs due to wetting or shedding of the fur pad; bruising; pressure from excessive body weight, restraint, inanition, or lack of movement in a small cage; and from abrasions caused by irregular cage flooring. Affected animals should be culled and not used as breeders. The incidence of sore hocks increases with age and weight (more than 5 to 16 lbs) and during hot humid weather, especially in males. It is doubtful that ulcerative pododermatitis is caused or exacerbated by thumping in excessively excitable animals. Rabbits with heavily furred feet, immature animals, or light weight breeds are affected less frequently.
". . . Prevention
Sore hocks can occur in rabbits on both solid and wire floors and in almost any type of cage or confinement device. Prevention is achieved by housing rabbits in clean cages on soft, clean, dry bedding. Selection of breeders with thick plantar mestatarsal fur pads may help also. Eliminating stressful conditions in the environment, providing adequate nutrition and exercise, and guarding against obesity through limited feeding are measures that may help prevent sore hocks. Excessively warm and moist environments may result in a thinner fur coat and a less dense plantar metatarsal pad, leaving the foot more susceptible to ulcers and infections. Wire floors are used commonly because they are self-cleaning. One-half inch by 1-in 14-gauge non-woven welded wire is a commonly recommended flooring. Use of resting boards slightly larger than the rabbits "footprint" may be useful also."
*****
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