Husbandry & Management

Assessment of horses’ welfare: Behavioral, hormonal, and husbandry aspects

Horse practitioners have difficulties with undesirable behaviors exhibited by their horses (Equus caballus), such as cribbing, weaving, or head shaking. It has been suggested that most of behavioral disorders originate from the animals' attempt to cope with a suboptimal environment....

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Arena, I., Marliani, G., Sabioni, S. et al. 2021. Assessment of horses' welfare: Behavioral, hormonal, and husbandry aspects. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 41, 82-90.

Indication that the presence of older conspecifics reduces agonistic behaviour in piglets at weaning

Piglets weaned under commercial systems are greatly stressed by maternal separation, abrupt changes in the diet and mixing of litters. Intensive agonistic interactions exacerbate this challenge for piglets. We investigated effects of older conspecific presence in the nursery pen after...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Morrone, B., Bernardino, T., Tatemoto, P. et al. 2021. Indication that the presence of older conspecifics reduces agonistic behaviour in piglets at weaning. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105201.

Acute environmental temperature variation affects brain protein expression, anxiety and explorative behaviour in adult zebrafish

This study investigated the effect of 4-d acute thermal treatments at 18 °C, 26 °C (control) and 34 °C on the nervous system of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) using a multidisciplinary approach based on behavioural tests and brain proteomic analysis....

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Nonnis, S., Angiulli, E., Maffioli, E. et al. 2021. Acute environmental temperature variation affects brain protein expression, anxiety and explorative behaviour in adult zebrafish. Scientific Reports 11(1), 2521.

Drip, drop…drip, drop – How do I make it stop?

Whether you are an animal care/husbandry technician, facility manager, or veterinarian, everyone bemoans a leaky drinking valve (often referred to as a lixit). Leaking drinking valves and flooded cages are a fairly common problem when using automatic watering systems (or...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Webb, L. 2021. Drip, drop…drip, drop – How do I make it stop? Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(2) (March/April), 36-38.

Compressed paper as an alternative to corn cob bedding in mouse (Mus musculus) cages

Bedding material is a critical component of the mouse environment and affects animal wellbeing and research integrity. Corn cob (CC) bedding has been a common bedding choice in research despite several potential negative aspects of its use. We investigated the...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Pallas, B. D., Keys, D. M., Bradley, M. P. et al. 2020. Compressed paper as an alternative to corn cob bedding in mouse (Mus musculus) cages. JAALAS 59(5), 496-502.

Cage position and response to humans in singly-housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Traditional laboratory caging for nonhuman primates is typically configured in a 2-tiered manner, with caging arranged in 2 horizontal rows stacked vertically. Studies of the effects of cage row have yielded inconsistent results with respect to impacts on psychological well-being....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Human-Animal Interaction, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Baker, K. C. 2020. Cage position and response to humans in singly-housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 59(5), 503-507.

Comparative effects of 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch corncob bedding on cage ammonia levels, behavior, and respiratory pathology of male C57BL/6 and 129S1/Svlm mice

Corncob is a common bedding material used in laboratory rodents, but little is known about differences in the effects of the 2 available sizes on rodent models and health. This study compared the effects of these 2 corncob bedding sizes...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Cantara, S. I., Blas-Machado, U., Zhao, X. et al. 2020. Comparative effects of 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch corncob bedding on cage ammonia levels, behavior, and respiratory pathology of male C57BL/6 and 129S1/Svlm mice. JAALAS 59(6), 695-702.

Identification of sick or dead mice (Mus musculus) housed with 6 grams of crinkle paper nesting material

Although nesting material is beneficial to the welfare of laboratory mice, provision of appropriate amounts may impair visualization of the mice. In anticipation of our academic research institution transitioning to providing 6 grams of nesting material to all mice, we...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Burlingame, L. A., Gaskill, B. N., Lofgren, J. L. S. 2021. Identification of sick or dead mice (Mus musculus) housed with 6 grams of crinkle paper nesting material. JAALAS 60(1), 18-27.

Effects of compressed paper bedding on mouse breeding performance and recognition of animal health concerns

The combination of bedding substrate and nesting material within the microenvironment of mice is an important consideration for animal care programs in regard to optimizing animal wellbeing. We used 3 general or breeding mouse colonies in our institution to evaluate...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Allen, P. S., Lawrence, J., Stasula, U. et al. 2021. Effects of compressed paper bedding on mouse breeding performance and recognition of animal health concerns. JAALAS 60(1), 28-36.

Comparison of four beddings for ammonia control in individually ventilated mouse cages

Ammonia control is an important characteristic of rodent bedding materials. Among natural bedding materials, corncob bedding provides excellent ammonia control but contains estrogenic compounds and is ingested by mice. By comparison, processed cellulose bedding products are biologically inert and harbor...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Tataryn, N. M., Buckmaster, C. A., Schwiebert, R. et al. 2021. Comparison of four beddings for ammonia control in individually ventilated mouse cages. JAALAS 60(1), 37-43.