Rabbit palatability lab report
Do rabbits, Lepus curpaeums, have a preference for vegetable or fruit treats?
Introduction
Palatability is when foods or fluids are agreeable to the "palate” and this varies with the state of an individual (Friedman and Stricker, 1976). The domesticated rabbit, Lepus curpaeums, has over 17,000 taste buds (Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011). Taste buds are nerve endings on the tongue and in the lining of the mouth which provide the sense of taste (Nelson, 1998). The receptors at the front of a rabbit’s tongue, the first bit that comes into contact with food, are only able to detect bitterness and saltiness (Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011). This study will be conducted to find out if rabbits do have a preference in food.
In White et el al (1982) study on 15 pygmy rabbits, housed individually, it was reported that there was no preference in the two types of sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana and ssp. Tridentate received every other day. White et el al (1982) concluded their study by clarifying that was no significant correlation between monoterpenoid content and dietary preference of pygmy rabbits. Lumpkin and Lumpkin Seidensticker (2011) however found that rabbits did have a preference in flavours and that the rabbits in his study enjoyed the taste of sucrose and various types of sodium yet disliked the taste of quinine and hydrochloric acids. A preference of potassium sodium to chloride sodium was also discovered. Coinciding with Lumpkin and Seidensticker (2011) findings, Prebbel and Meredith (2014) also found that rabbits did have a preference in food. In the study of 32 Dutch rabbits fed four different pet food diets; nuggets with hay, muesli with hay, hay only and muesli only, it was found selective feeding was in all the rabbits fed muesli, with pellets being rejected, and grains and extrudates selected. In addition to this, hay intake and water intake were much lower when muesli was available. Harcourt-Brown (1996) found that pet rabbits
Introduction
Palatability is when foods or fluids are agreeable to the "palate” and this varies with the state of an individual (Friedman and Stricker, 1976). The domesticated rabbit, Lepus curpaeums, has over 17,000 taste buds (Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011). Taste buds are nerve endings on the tongue and in the lining of the mouth which provide the sense of taste (Nelson, 1998). The receptors at the front of a rabbit’s tongue, the first bit that comes into contact with food, are only able to detect bitterness and saltiness (Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011). This study will be conducted to find out if rabbits do have a preference in food.
In White et el al (1982) study on 15 pygmy rabbits, housed individually, it was reported that there was no preference in the two types of sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana and ssp. Tridentate received every other day. White et el al (1982) concluded their study by clarifying that was no significant correlation between monoterpenoid content and dietary preference of pygmy rabbits. Lumpkin and Lumpkin Seidensticker (2011) however found that rabbits did have a preference in flavours and that the rabbits in his study enjoyed the taste of sucrose and various types of sodium yet disliked the taste of quinine and hydrochloric acids. A preference of potassium sodium to chloride sodium was also discovered. Coinciding with Lumpkin and Seidensticker (2011) findings, Prebbel and Meredith (2014) also found that rabbits did have a preference in food. In the study of 32 Dutch rabbits fed four different pet food diets; nuggets with hay, muesli with hay, hay only and muesli only, it was found selective feeding was in all the rabbits fed muesli, with pellets being rejected, and grains and extrudates selected. In addition to this, hay intake and water intake were much lower when muesli was available. Harcourt-Brown (1996) found that pet rabbits