Does a gnawing hay block make young rabbits less fearful of novelty?
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
A rabbit that freezes or refuses to approach something new is a rabbit that copes poorly with the unexpected — a trait that matters as much in farming as it does at home, during a move or a visitor's drop-in. Birolo, Trocino, Zuffellato, Pirrone, Bordignon and Xiccato tested whether a simple gnawing hay block changed this reactivity, in a study published in 2022 in Animals. Our enrichment benchmarks sit in the rabbit toys and enrichment section.
Contents · 4 sections
288 rabbits, eighteen pens, two group compositions
The authors followed two hundred and eighty-eight growing rabbits, from thirty-one to seventy-three days old, housed in eighteen pens of sixteen animals each, with or without a gnawing hay block permanently available. A novel-object test and a novel-environment test measured how the animals reacted to the unexpected.
A better approach to the unfamiliar, with no cost to growth
Rabbits with access to the gnawing block approached the novel object more readily than those without one, a statistically significant difference. The rest of the observed behaviour, however, was only weakly affected by the block's presence, and growth performance stayed comparable between groups: the enrichment cost nothing in weight or development while improving one welfare indicator. The authors recommend using these blocks for that reason alone.
This result contrasts with an older Swedish study, which found classic gnawing sticks disappointing next to loose hay for keeping a rabbit occupied day to day: our article on hay, gnawing sticks, or cardboard covers that finding. The difference likely comes down to what was measured: daily occupation on one side, reaction to novelty on the other — two distinct facets of welfare that do not necessarily line up.
What the study does not show
The study was carried out on growing rabbits, in group pens, in a farming context — not on adult pet rabbits housed alone or in pairs. The novelty test measures a one-off behavioural approach, not a lasting drop in day-to-day anxiety. And nothing here indicates how long a block lasts or how often it needs replacing to keep this effect going over time.
Frequently asked questions
Does a gnawing hay block make a rabbit less fearful?
In this study of growing rabbits, animals with access to the block approached a novel object more readily, without much change to the rest of their day-to-day behaviour.
Does this kind of block hurt a rabbit's growth?
No: growth performance stayed comparable with or without the block, making it an enrichment with no measurable trade-off according to this study.
Should a gnawing block be preferred over loose hay?
They do not measure the same thing: loose hay occupies a rabbit more day to day according to a Swedish study, while the gnawing block here improved the reaction to novelty. Offering both together remains the soundest approach. Find all our guides on the rabbit hub.
An accessory from our shop for this use: Hanging chew garland for rabbits and rodents (€17.90) · the whole shop
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Rabbits universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.
