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Updated: Jul 27, 2026

Extraction and Analysis of Cortisol from Human and Monkey Hair
Published on: January 24, 2014
Hair corticosterone concentration as a potential stress marker in pet rabbits
Dana Hube1, Carmen van Meegen2, Swetlana Herbrandt2
1Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
Background:
As a prey species, rabbits tend to hide their illnesses and injuries. Consequently, pet rabbit owners often do not notice that their pet may be suffering.
Methods:
Data on the housing and health of 34 dwarf rabbits were collected from a total of 22 rabbit owners. A score from 0 (not stressed) to 3 (highly stressed) was assigned to each rabbit based on the owners' reports. Afterwards, the hair corticosterone concentration (HCC) of the rabbits was analysed as an indicator of long-term stress.
Results:
The mean HCC of all rabbits was 1.54 ± 0.64 pg/mg. Animals with a stress score of 3 had a higher HCC (2.17 pg/mg) than those with a score of 0 (1.09 pg/mg) or 1 (1.44 pg/mg) (p < 0.05). HCC was not significantly affected by sex or age (p > 0.05).
Limitation:
Only a small number of rabbits were included in the study. Therefore, the findings need to be confirmed in a larger cohort of animals.
Conclusion:
HCC seems to be a promising stress marker in pet rabbits.
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