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Assessing Ulcerative Pododermatitis of Breeding Rabbits.

Joan M Rosell¹, L Fernando de la Fuente²

¹Cunivet Service, P.O. Box 518, 43080 Tarragona, Spain. jmrosellp@cunivetservice.com.

Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI

|October 22, 2015

Summary

Installing footrests in rabbit cages significantly reduced ulcerative pododermatitis (sore hocks). This simple farm management change improved rabbit welfare and decreased disease prevalence, benefiting both animals and producers.

Keywords:

animal welfare disease prevention footrest rabbit sore hocks ulcerative pododermatitis

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Area of Science:

Animal Science
Veterinary Medicine
Animal Welfare

Background:

Conventional rabbit farming often uses wire mesh cages, leading to ulcerative pododermatitis (sore hocks) in rabbits.
Sore hocks cause pain, reduced productivity, and increased mortality, posing a significant animal welfare issue.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the adoption of footrests as a preventive measure for sore hocks in commercial rabbit farms.
To evaluate the impact of footrests on the prevalence of ulcerative pododermatitis in rabbits.

Main Methods:

A longitudinal study involving 2,331 farm visits across 664 commercial farms in Spain and Portugal (2001-2012).
Morbidity assessment through examination of 105,009 female and 10,722 male rabbits.
Statistical analysis to correlate the presence of footrests with the prevalence of sore hocks.

Main Results:

Farm adoption of footrests increased from 27.8% in 2001 to 75.2% in 2012.
Prevalence of sore hocks in does decreased from 11.4% in 2001 to 6.3% in 2012.
Sore hock prevalence was significantly lower on farms with footrests (4.87%) compared to those without (13.71%) (P < 0.01).

Conclusions:

The installation of footrests is an effective strategy for preventing ulcerative pododermatitis in commercial rabbit farms.
Increased adoption of footrests correlates with reduced disease prevalence, highlighting its importance for rabbit welfare and farm management.