Husbandry & Management

Behavioral and physiologic effects of dirty bedding exposure in female ICR mice

Exposure of sentinel mice to dirty bedding is commonly used in health monitoring programs to screen colonies for clinical and subclinical disease. Despite the potential stressors present in dirty bedding, including but not limited to microorganisms, pheromones, and ammonia, it...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Merley, A. L., Hubbard, J. S., Rendahl, A. K. et al. 2022. Behavioral and physiologic effects of dirty bedding exposure in female ICR mice. JAALAS 61(1), 42-51.

Bedding as an enrichment strategy in group-housed Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis)

The research community is committed to improving the well-being of nonhuman primates by providing opportunities to express species-specific behaviors such as foraging. In the wild, macaques spend a large part of their day foraging; this behavior is greatly limited in...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Janavaris, M., Bader, L., Hansen, J. J. et al. 2022. Bedding as an enrichment strategy in group-housed Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). JAALAS 61(2), 159-164.

A survey exploring the impact of housing and husbandry on pet snake welfare

Snake ownership is popular; however, housing and care may not always satisfy the animal's welfare needs. For example, snakes are often kept in environmental conditions that restrict their ability to stretch out fully or move around, using rectilinear locomotion. To...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Cargill, B. M., Benato, L., Rooney, N. J. 2022. A survey exploring the impact of housing and husbandry on pet snake welfare. Animal Welfare 31(2), 193-208.

Titrating the preferences of altered lighting against temperature in female CD-1 laboratory mice, Mus musculus

Aspects of the laboratory are aversive to mice, such as being housed under bright lights and at temperatures below their thermal comfort, causing stress and poor welfare. While murine thermal preferences are well understood, light preferences in mice are under...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Davis, H. J., Barabas, A. J., Gaskill, B. N. 2022. Titrating the preferences of altered lighting against temperature in female CD-1 laboratory mice, Mus musculus. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246, 105541.

Implementation of a pig toilet in a nursery pen with a straw-littered lying area

In this study, a pig toilet was installed on an organic pig farm, which enabled pigs to use a lying area littered with straw and keep it clean. The pig toilet was separated into a defaecation area and a urination...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Tillmanns, M., Scheepens, K., Stolte, M. et al. 2022. Implementation of a pig toilet in a nursery pen with a straw-littered lying area. Animals 12(1), 113.

Lying, feeding and activity preference of weaned piglets for LED-illuminated vs. dark pen compartments

Little is known on the effect of light on pig behaviour. The choice behaviour of weaned piglets kept under two different light-emitting diode (LED) illuminance levels was investigated: 32 piglets (in two batches) were housed in a preference test room...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Götz, S., Raoult, C. M. C., Reiter, K. et al. 2022. Lying, feeding and activity preference of weaned piglets for LED-illuminated vs. dark pen compartments. Animals 12(2), 202.

The utility of scatter feeding as enrichment: Do broiler chickens engage with scatter–fed items?

In recent years, welfare certification companies have encouraged the use of scatter feeding as enrichment material, though there is little scientific evidence to support a scatter feeding program. This study aimed to understand the impact of scatter feeding on the...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Wood, B., Rufener, C., Makagon, M. M. et al. 2021. The utility of scatter feeding as enrichment: Do broiler chickens engage with scatter–fed items? Animals 11(12), 3478.

Welfare of farmed crocodilians: Identification of potential animal-based measures using elicitation of expert opinion

Animal-based measures are the measure of choice in animal welfare assessment protocols as they can often be applied completely independently to the housing or production system employed. Although there has been a small body of work on potential animal-based measures...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Crocodile & Alligator, Reptile

Citation: Hewitt, L., Small, A. 2021. Welfare of farmed crocodilians: Identification of potential animal-based measures using elicitation of expert opinion. Animals 11(12), 3450.

Are female mice dehydrated during peak lactation? Effect of water and gel supplement on hydration parameters and water consumption in two strains of mice

Mice (Mus musculus) have a high basal rate of metabolism which increases during pregnancy and lactation. During peak lactation, water intake amounts to up to 65 % of the bodyweight per day. Providing water in a bottle may pose a...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & Management, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Grims, C., Jacobson, C., Hedenqvist, P. 2021. Are female mice dehydrated during peak lactation? Effect of water and gel supplement on hydration parameters and water consumption in two strains of mice. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 47(3), 16-24.

Mice prefer draught-free housing

An increasing number of rodents are housed in individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems, as these seem to be very effective for the protection of animals against infections, as well as protecting the staff against allergens. For the IVC systems to...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Krohn, T. C., Hansen, A. K. 2010. Mice prefer draught-free housing. Laboratory Animals 44(4), 370-372.