Social contact or seclusion: what does a doe actually prefer?
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Rabbit wellbeing often gets reduced to having a companion, forgetting that a social animal also needs the option to withdraw when it wants to. A study measured that choice directly instead of assuming it, with a result that shifts sharply depending on context. Our enrichment ideas are gathered in the rabbit toys and enrichment section.
Contents · 5 sections
A choice cage to measure a real preference
Alessandro Dal Bosco, Alice Cartoni Mancinelli, Steffen Hoy, Melania Martino, Simona Mattioli, Elisa Cotozzolo and Cesare Castellini published two experiments in 2020, in the journal Animals, run in Italy and Germany, to measure whether does spontaneously choose contact with other rabbits or seclusion, when both options are freely available. The Italian setup gave nulliparous does free access between a group zone and a seclusion zone; the German setup compared a group-housing system for does with their litters.
An almost even split without kits, a clear choice with them
In does without kits, time spent in the group and time spent alone were almost identical: 49.6% versus 50.4%, a split suggesting both needs, social and solitary, weigh about equally under normal conditions. The result shifts sharply once a doe has kits to care for: she then spends 71.9% of her time alone, a choice the authors link to group hierarchy dynamics, potentially stressful or risky near a litter.
What this changes for setting up an enclosure
Even a well-matched pair or a stable trio of rabbits needs at least one individual hideout each can retreat to without being followed — our guide on rabbit tunnels and hideouts covers how to multiply access points within a given space. A doe that has just given birth deserves particular attention: offering an area set apart from the rest of the group, even temporarily, honours a need this study confirms scientifically rather than anecdotally.
The study's limits
Both experiments involve farmed does, not the pairs or trios of companion rabbits most common in homes, and the Italian protocol doesn't specify the group size tested. The mechanism they document — a particularly strong need for solitude in the presence of kits — nonetheless stays consistent with what's observed in domestic does more broadly.
Frequently asked questions
Should a doe always be separated from her companion after giving birth?
Not necessarily a full separation, but easy access to a space where she can withdraw from the rest of the group is recommended while the kits grow, before considering our guide on adopting one rabbit or two for the next steps of cohabitation.
Does a rabbit that often hides mean it's unhappy?
Not necessarily: this study shows that seclusion and wellbeing aren't opposites — a healthy rabbit naturally splits its time between the two depending on context. Find all our guides on the rabbit hub.
In 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.
