[Nursing and suckling behavior and mother-child contacts in domestic rabbits].

Investigations with 34 litters of rabbits breed White New Zealands by the help of infrared videotechnique over 242 day-night-periods (24 hr per period) showed a frequency of 15.1 mother-child-contacts on average of 24 hr (Min: 6, Max: 48 contacts a day). In 38% of all 24-hr-cycles observed one suckling event was found and in 56.6% of all cases two up to five suckling periods were seen (5.4% of all 24-hr-periods were without suckling). Mean suckling frequency per 24 hr was 1.83 with maximum in second suckling week (2.31). Highly significant positive coefficients of correlation (r = 0.33 up to r = 0.89) were found between birth weight, daily gain, milk intake and weaning weight. Mother-child-relations in rabbits (breed White New Zealands) are more intensive as thought up to now so that the separation of mother from her litter represents an intervention into species-specific behaviour.