Nest building as an indicator of health and welfare (2013)

Gaskill, B. N., Karas, A. Z., Garner. J. P. et al.

Abstract

We demonstrate the utility of nest building behavior in laboratory mice as an indicator of welfare. Nest scoring is a sensitive technique that is altered by temperature, illness, and aggression. The time to integrate into nest test (TINT) is a simple cage-side assessment that can detect postoperative pain.