Environmental Enrichment

Effects of horizontal distance between perches on perching behaviors of Lohmann Hens

Perching is a highly-motivated natural behavior of laying hens that has been considered as one of the essential welfare requirements. The objective of the study was to evaluate perching behaviors of laying hens as affected by horizontal distance (HD) between...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Liu, K., Xin, H. 2017. Effects of horizontal distance between perches on perching behaviors of Lohmann Hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 194, 54-61.

Behavioral preference for different enrichment objects in a commercial sow herd

Increased public concern about farm animal welfare is driving both legislative initiatives and market forces to change how sows are housed and managed. This study investigated the use and preference for enrichment items at a 5600 sows commercial sow farm...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Horback, K. M., Pierdon, M. K., Parsons, T. D. 2016. Behavioral preference for different enrichment objects in a commercial sow herd. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 7-15.

Effects of different enrichment devices on some welfare indicators of post-weaned undocked piglets

Two experimental trials were carried out in order to test the effectiveness of different environmental enrichments in improving the welfare of weaned pigs. A total of 120 undocked piglets was used. In trial one, group C1 received a metal chain...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Nannoni, E., Sardi, L., Vitali, M. et al. 2016. Effects of different enrichment devices on some welfare indicators of post-weaned undocked piglets. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 25-34.

Does enrichment improve reptile welfare? Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) respond to five types of environmental enrichment

Animal welfare is a high priority for pet owners and accredited zoos and aquariums. Current approaches to measuring welfare focus on identifying consensus among behavioral and physiological indicators of positive and negative emotions. Environmental enrichment is a common strategy used...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile

Citation: Bashaw, M. J., Gibson, M. D., Schowe, D. M. et al. 2016. Does enrichment improve reptile welfare? Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) respond to five types of environmental enrichment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 150-160.

Is behavioural enrichment always a success? Comparing food presentation strategies in an insectivorous lizard (Plica plica)

Staggering food availability through a delivery device is a common way of providing behavioural enrichment as it is usually thought to increase the amount of natural behaviour due to the unpredictability of the food source. Tree-runner lizards (Plica plica) are...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile

Citation: Januszczak, I. S., Bryant, Z., Tapley, B. et al. 2016. Is behavioural enrichment always a success? Comparing food presentation strategies in an insectivorous lizard (Plica plica). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 183, 95-103.

Personality predicts the responses to environmental enrichment at the group but not within-groups in stereotypic African striped mice, Rhabdomys dilectus

Environmental enrichment is used to enhance the well-being of captive animals and to prevent or reduce stereotypic and other abnormal behaviours. However, environmental enrichment does not always succeed in its intended purpose. We investigated whether personality (i.e. consistent individual variation...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Joshi, S., Pillay, N. 2016. Personality predicts the responses to environmental enrichment at the group but not within-groups in stereotypic African striped mice, Rhabdomys dilectus. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 44-52.

Effect of environmental enrichment and composition of the social group on the behavior, welfare, and relative brain weight of growing rabbits

The objective of the study was to investigate if environmental enrichment and the composition of the social group would affect the behavior and relative brain weight of growing rabbits. Rabbits (72 males and 72 females) were assigned to cages with...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Bozicovich, T. F. M., Moura, A. S. A. M. T., Fernandes, S. et al. 2016. Effect of environmental enrichment and composition of the social group on the behavior, welfare, and relative brain weight of growing rabbits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 72-79.

Captive domesticated zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) have increased plasma corticosterone concentrations in the absence of bathing water

Keeping animals in captivity should always favour conditions that aim to improve their welfare with respect to species-specific requirements. For laboratory animals, the majority of welfare issues have been explored in rodents thus far, whereas the effect of housing conditions...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Finch

Citation: Krause, E. T., Ruploh, T. 2016. Captive domesticated zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) have increased plasma corticosterone concentrations in the absence of bathing water. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 80-85.

Curtained nests facilitate settled nesting behaviour of laying hens in furnished cages

Egg location can be used to determine the nests that hens prefer, but it does not indicate whether the design of that nest satisfies a hen's nesting motivation. Hens that are satisfied with the nest resources exhibit characteristic settled nesting...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Hunniford, M. E., Widowski, T. M. 2018. Curtained nests facilitate settled nesting behaviour of laying hens in furnished cages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 202, 39-45.

Laying hens’ preferences for nest surface type are affected by enclosure

The nest surfaces preferred by hens are inconsistent with those typically provided in commercial settings. However, little research has explored hens' preferences for commercially available nest surfaces. Our objective was to compare hens' preferences for two such surfaces – red...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Hunniford, M. E., Mason, G. J., Widowski, T. M. 2018. Laying hens' preferences for nest surface type are affected by enclosure. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 201, 7-14.