Investigations on the Influence of Floor Design on Dirtiness and Foot Pad Lesions in Growing Rabbits

The German animal welfare requirements for rabbit housing did not take into account scientific results on the design of the floor. So, a maximum slot width of 11 mm and a degree of perforation of the raised level of 15% was required for growing rabbits. Such a floor was compared with alternative floor types in terms of the frequencies of polluted and injured animals. It could be shown that a floor following the requirements of the German animal protection ordinance led to the highest frequencies of polluted and injured animals compared with the other three floor designs. At the same time, alternatives for an animal-friendly floor, including the elevated platform, were presented under animal welfare aspects. The highest level of cleanliness and the lowest frequency of injured animals was demonstrated on a plastic floor with 5 mm slat width and 13 mm slot width, both on the base and on the elevated level (75% perforation)