Feeding behaviour in rabbits

As a monogastric herbivore, the rabbit presents a unique feeding behaviour compared to other domestic animals, since he belongs to the Lagomorpha order (Leporidae family: rabbits and hares, Grassé and Dekeuser, 1955), and consequently possess a main specificity that is the caecotrophy. For recall (see details in chapter 1), the caecotrophy is a complete behaviour involving an excretion and an immediate consumption of specific faeces, named soft faeces or "caecotrophes". Consequently, daily intake behaviour of the rabbit is constituted of two meals: feeds and caecotrophes. Although rabbit is not a rodent one of its main feeding behaviour features is to gnaw. The informations about the feeding behaviour have been mainly obtained on the domestic rabbit, either bred for meat or fur production, or as a laboratory animal. It basically involved rabbits receiving ad libitum a balanced complete pelleted feed, supplemented or not with dry forages or straw, but most generally without a real food free choice. Regulation of the intake behaviour will be reviewed according to several factors: age, type of feed, etc. The last part will be devoted to feeding behaviour of the wild rabbit and of domestic rabbits in situation of free choice.