[Raising pairs of young non-reproducing female rabbits in cages]

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