Environmental Enrichment

Use of dynamic and rewarding environmental enrichment to alleviate feather pecking in non-cage laying hens

Feather pecking (FP) can cause feather loss, resulting in physical injuries, which may lead to cannibalism. FP appears to be a redirection of foraging behavior, which intensifies when hens have difficulty coping with stress and fear. Dynamic environmental enrichment (EE)...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Daigle, C. L., Rodenburg, T. B., Bolhuis, J. E. et al. 2014. Use of dynamic and rewarding environmental enrichment to alleviate feather pecking in non-cage laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 161, 75-85.

A committee approach to environmental enrichment

The Department of Comparative Medicine has established an enrichment program committee to provide assessment of animal enrichment. To improve the quality of this committee the members have developed and implemented an effective strategy using good laboratory procedures and the use...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Schaller, T. L. 2014. A committee approach to environmental enrichment. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 534 (Abstract #PS35).

Nonhuman primate enrichment room planning, design, and use

Princeton University continually makes efforts to improve and enhance the quality of life of our NHPs used in research. A part of this effort is to continue to improve our environmental enrichment program, promoting the expression of species-typical behaviors. Having...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Willey, S. 2014. Nonhuman primate enrichment room planning, design, and use. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 539 (Abstract #PS52).

Assessment of foraging devices as a model for decision-making in nonhuman primate environmental enrichment

Continued progress to move evidence-based best practices into community and regulatory animal welfare standards depends in part on developing common metrics to assess cost, benefit, and relative value. Here we describe a model approach to evidence-based evaluation and an example...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Bennett, A. J., Perkins, C. M., Harty, N. M. et al. 2014. Assessment of foraging devices as a model for decision-making in nonhuman primate environmental enrichment. JAALAS 53(5), 452-463.

What is the impact of low testosterone levels on the anatomical and behavioral repertoire of long-term enriched housing of male mice? Behavioral Processes 108, 57-64

Environmental enrichment is a strategy to improve animal welfare, providing brain plasticity with changes at cellular, molecular and behavioral levels. In order to test the long-term effects of enriched housing and the importance of testosterone levels for the expression of...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Environmental Enrichment, ReproductionAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Lima, F. B., de Oliveira, E. S. 2014. What is the impact of low testosterone levels on the anatomical and behavioral repertoire of long-term enriched housing of male mice? Behavioral Processes 108, 57-64.

Effects of group housing on sow welfare: a review

Factors that have been shown to impact the welfare of group-housed sows are discussed in this review. Floor space allowance markedly affects sow welfare. In addition to quantity of floor space, the quality of space is important: spatial separation between...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Verdon, M., Hansen, C. F., Rault, J. L. et al. 2015. Effects of group housing on sow welfare: a review. Journal of Animal Science 93(5), 1999-2017.

Stereotypic mice are aggressed by their cage-mates and tend to be poor demonstrators in social learning tasks

Stereotypic behaviours (SBs) are linked with behavioural inflexibility and resemble symptoms of autism, suggesting that stereotypic animals could have autistic-like social impairments. SBs are also common in caged mice. We therefore hypothesised relationships between stereotypic and social behaviours, predicting that...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Harper, L., Choleris, E., Ervin, K. et al. 2015. Stereotypic mice are aggressed by their cage-mates and tend to be poor demonstrators in social learning tasks. Animal Welfare. 24(4), 463-473.

Effects of experimental housing conditions on recovery of laboratory mice

The beneficial effects of environment and social support during disease recovery in humans are widely accepted. Because laboratory mice are social animals and are highly motivated to interact with each other and with their environment, it is very likely that...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & Companionship, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Jirkof, P. 2015. Effects of experimental housing conditions on recovery of laboratory mice. Lab Animal 44(2), 65-70.

Group housing and nest building only slightly ameliorate the cold stress of typical housing in female C57BL/6J mice

Huddling and nest building are two methods of behavioral thermoregulation used by mice under cold stress. In the laboratory, mice are typically housed at an ambient temperature (Ta) of 20°C, well below the lower end of their thermoneutral zone. We...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Maher, R. L., Barbash, S. M., Lynch, D. V. et al. 2015. Group housing and nest building only slightly ameliorate the cold stress of typical housing in female C57BL/6J mice. American Journal of Physiology 308(12), R1070-R1079.

Laboratory animal behavior

The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for which there was a regulatory...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Human-Animal Interaction, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Baboon, Bird, Capuchin, Cat, Cattle, Chicken, Chimpanzee, Dog, Fowl, Gerbil, Goat, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Mink, Mouse, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent, Sheep, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Bayne, K. A., Beaver, B. V., Mench, J. A. et al. 2015. Laboratory animal behavior. In: Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition. Fox, J. G., Anderson, L., Otto, G., et al. (eds). Elsevier, Inc., Amsterdam, NL. pp. 1617-1651.