Environmental Enrichment

Ice cube treats for swine

The frozen Veggie Bite ice cube treat is hung inside the swine chain-link type enclosure with a Carabineer hook. ... Because swine avoid objects that are contaminated with feces, suspending this enrichment treat encourages more interaction, while incorporating food, making...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Hoffman, H. 2013. Ice cube treats for swine. Enrichment Record 16, 23-24.

Enrichment of Göttingen Minipigs: Models of human hepatocellular carcinoma

Social or pair-housing is our main form of swine enrichment. The minipigs are group-housed in stalls that have sliding divider doors/panel which allow separation of animals for feeding and study procedures, as needed. Ideally, enrichment is designed to draw out...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Gehlot, P. 2013. Enrichment of Göttingen Minipigs: Models of human hepatocellular carcinoma. Newsletter Ellegaard 40, 4-5.

The naked truth: Breeding performance in nude mice with and without nesting material

In laboratories, mice are housed at ambient temperatures between 20 and 24 C, which is below their lower critical temperature of 30 C, but comfortable for human workers. Thus, mice are under chronic thermal stress, which can compromise many aspects...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Winnicker, C., Garner, J. P. et al. 2013. The naked truth: Breeding performance in nude mice with and without nesting material. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 143(2-4), 110-116.

Getting on the same page: Using a checklist to communicate environmental enrichment

Multiple species, study protocols and user needs make it difficult to develop a one-size-fits-all approach to standardizing enrichment. Fortunately, it turns out that there is a very simple solution to the complex issue of getting everyone on the same page—literally!...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Dragon, M. 2013. Getting on the same page: Using a checklist to communicate environmental enrichment. Enrichment Record 15, 5-6.

Individually ventilated cages impose cold stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability

Individual ventilated cages (IVC) are increasing in popularity. Although mice avoid IVC in preference testing, they show no aversion when provided additional nesting material or the cage is not ventilated. Given the high ventilation rate in IVC, we developed 3...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: David, J. M., Knowles, S., Lamkin, D. M. et al. 2013. Individually ventilated cages impose cold stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability. JAALAS 52(6), 738-744.

Individually ventilated cages impose cold-stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability

Individual ventilated cages (IVC) have recently been increasing in popularity. Based on the high rates of ventilation with IVCs, we developed 3 hypotheses: first, mice housed in IVCs experience significantly more cold-stress than mice housed in static cages; second, the...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: David, J. M., Stout, D. 2013. Individually ventilated cages impose cold-stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 610 (Abstract #PS10).

Benefits of an enhanced enrichment program for a canine research colony

The overall benefits of an enrichment and exercise program for research canines has been well documented and is a required element, by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), of any institution's Animal Care and Use Program. However, some research...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Sposato, M. 2013. Benefits of an enhanced enrichment program for a canine research colony. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 669 (Abstract #P176).

Does the presence of a human affect the preference of enrichment items in young, isolated pigs?

Pigs may be housed individually in both production and research settings. Gregarious by nature, pigs kept in isolation may show behavioural and physiological signs of stress. In this study we investigated the preference of individually housed pigs, for social and...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: DeBoer, S. P., Garner, J. P., Lay Jr, D. C. et al. 2013. Does the presence of a human affect the preference of enrichment items in young, isolated pigs? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 143(2-4), 96-103.

Stainless steel puzzle feeder

This NHP puzzle feeder was designed and manufactured with the assistance of a local metal fabricating company. The need for a custom feeder arose following the use of several types of commercially available NHP puzzle feeders, all of which had...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Ferraro, A. S. 2013. Stainless steel puzzle feeder. Enrichment Record 17, 5-6.

Rope toy

One of our Non-Human Primate's (NHP) favorite enrichment devices is a hanging rope toy. The toy is made up of natural jute rope 12 to 14 inches in length and 3 inches in girth. The rope is secured by non-toxic...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Donnelly, M. J. 2013. Rope toy. Enrichment Record 14, 7.