Environmental Enrichment

Artificial grooming during early life could boost the activity and human affinity of Holstein female calves

Early cow-calf separation management induced various welfare problems for dairy calves. We mimicked the maternal licking by manually brushing right after the Holstein female calves were born and during their first week of life, termed artificial grooming (AG). The behavior...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Li, C., Wang, J., Jin, S. et al. 2020. Artificial grooming during early life could boost the activity and human affinity of Holstein female calves. Animals 10(2), 302.

Assessing the motivation to learn in cattle

Cognitive challenges may provide a form of enrichment to improve the welfare of captive animals. Primates, dolphins, and goats will voluntarily participate in learning tasks suggesting that these are rewarding, but little work has been conducted on livestock species. We...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Meagher, R. K., Strazhnik, E., von Keyserlingk, M. et al. 2020. Assessing the motivation to learn in cattle. Scientific Reports 10, 6847.

Comparisons of activity budgets, interactions, and social structures in captive and wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Chimpanzees in zoos with sufficient and appropriate environmental enrichment devices are expected to exhibit behaviors, interactions, and societies similar to those in the wild. In this study, we compared the activity budgets of each observed behavior, characteristics of social grooming,...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Inoue, N., Shimada, M. 2020. Comparisons of activity budgets, interactions, and social structures in captive and wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Animals 10(6), 1063.

Conspecific density and environmental complexity impact behaviour of turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri)

Fish models are essential for research in many biological and medical disciplines. With a typical lifespan of only 6 months, the turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) was recently established as a time- and cost-efficient model to facilitate whole-life and multigenerational studies...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Thoré, E. S. J., Brendonck, L., Pinceel, T. 2020. Conspecific density and environmental complexity impact behaviour of turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri). Fish Biology 97(5), 1448–1461.

Development of a rabbit enrichment program and contribution to a culture of transparency and care

The Becton Dickinson (BD) Research Animal Care Program has developed an acclimation and enrichment program that has enhanced animal welfare for studies requiring single housing, contributed to a culture of care, increased transparency, and improved compassion satisfaction for the animal...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Worlds, T., Kearney, M., De La Garza, F. et al. 2020. Development of a rabbit enrichment program and contribution to a culture of transparency and care. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(6) (November/December), 38-40.

Development of bed-building behaviors in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Implication for critical period hypothesis and captive management

Wild great apes build beds for sleeping by combining tree branches or other vegetation, but the development of this behavior is poorly understood. We investigated the development of bed-building behaviors by conducting complementary cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of captive chimpanzees....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Yamanashi, Y., Bando, H., Matsunaga, M. et al. 2020. Development of bed-building behaviors in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Implication for critical period hypothesis and captive management. Primates 61(5), 639-646.

DIY: Enrichment items

This article with photos describes how to make a cat ball toy using empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls.

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Buchanan, K. 2020. DIY: Enrichment items. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(1) (January/February), 38.

DIY: Foraging balls

This article describes the steps for making a DIY guinea pig or rabbit cardboard foraging ball. Pictures are provided for each step as well as the completed ball. These cardboard foraging balls can be made as large as you want,...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Buchanan, K. 2020. DIY: Foraging balls. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(3) (May/June), 51.

DIY: Frozen chicken broth treats

This article gives the recipe for making dog treats. These treats are not only refreshing for dogs, but also easy to make. Mix and match dog friendly fruits and veggies to make many treat varieties.

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Buchanan, K. 2020. DIY: Frozen chicken broth treats. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(6) (November/December), 37.

DIY: Peanut butter pumpkin yogurt pops

This article with photos describes how to make a snack for dogs.

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Buchanan, K. 2020. DIY: Peanut butter pumpkin yogurt pops. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(2) (March/April), 49.