Light colour preference of growing rabbits

The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the light colour preference of growing rabbits placed in a free-choice cage. The experiment was carried out on 128 Pannon White growing rabbits weaned at the age of 5 weeks and placed into blocks (2m2) of four cages. The rabbits could move freely among the four cages (0.5m2 each) through swing doors. The cages differed only in the colour of the light applied (white, yellow, green or blue). The lighting schedule was 16L: 8D. From 6 until 10 weeks of age, infrared video recording was performed once a week (24 hours). The number of rabbits in each cage was counted every 15 minutes. Feed consumption was measured weekly. Between 6 and 10 weeks of age the rabbits significantly preferred white light (28.0%). The preference order was the following: yellow (26.3%), blue (23.4%) and green (22.3%) (P<0.001). No significant differences were recorded in the feed consumption among the cages. In conclusion, the cage preference of the rabbits was slightly affected by the light colour.