Husbandry & Management

Providing laying hens in group-housed enriched cages with access to barley silage reduces aggressive and feather-pecking behaviour

Two trials were conducted to study the effect of feeding barley silage on the behaviour and performance of beak-trimmed laying hens. In each trial, 20 hens and 2 roosters were housed in each of eight group-housed enriched cages, with four...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Johannson, S. G., Raginski, C., Schwean-Lardner, K. et al. 2016. Providing laying hens in group-housed enriched cages with access to barley silage reduces aggressive and feather-pecking behaviour. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 96(2), 161-171.

Review: Zebrafish environmental enrichment

Recently environmental enrichment for laboratory housed fish has received increasing levels of attention from a variety of interested parties from hobbyists, through animal technologists and aquaculturists, to scientists. Over the last few years, the growth in use of Zebrafish demonstrates...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Nichols, C., Wilson, C. 2016. Review: Zebrafish environmental enrichment. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 23-25.

Going outside ASPA guidelines

This article will discuss an improved and refined technique used for working and caring for a group of diabetic mice. As a team of animal technologists, academics and named veterinary surgeon, we developed a new husbandry care regime to improve...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Drug/Substance Administration, Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gardiner, P. 2016. Going outside ASPA guidelines. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 47-52.

Refinement in post-surgical recovery

Pre- and post-surgical care includes providing the animals with a soft version of their standard Irradiated diet. Food pellets are soaked in sterile water and this turns into a mash. This ensures that the animals are well hydrated prior to...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Robertson, A. 2016. Refinement in post-surgical recovery. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 62-63.

Enhancing welfare of Zebra finches through the use of environmental enrichment

This article will describe alterations made by the University of Glasgow to increase the welfare of our Zebra finches by providing them with a more complex environment to engage with. It will describe how we have maximised the enrichment potential...

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

Citation: Gray, G. 2016. Enhancing welfare of Zebra finches through the use of environmental enrichment. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(3), 147-150.

Assessing husbandry requirements of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Medaka (Oryzias latipes) using background literature and comparative information

Zebrafish are the most common species of fish used for research in the UK. However, the species Medaka is establishing itself as a complimentary species to the Zebrafish. Despite having similar husbandry requirements and physiology, there are areas where development...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Blackledge, S., Goodwin, N., Clark, B. 2016. Assessing husbandry requirements of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Medaka (Oryzias latipes) using background literature and comparative information. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(3), 191-193.

Report of the 2015 RSPCA/UFAW rodent and rabbit welfare group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 21 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on rodent welfare issues and share experiences of the implementation of the...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., Atkinson, J., Birt, R. et al. 2016. Report of the 2015 RSPCA/UFAW rodent and rabbit welfare group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 9-22. [Meeting Report]

Report of a RSPCA/APHA meeting on the welfare of wild animals used in research

This is a report of a one-day meeting jointly convened by the RSPCA and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which brought together around 70 researchers, veterinarians, animal technologists, regulators and others with an interest in the welfare of...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, External Bodily Equipment, Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Reed, B., Beatham, S., Carter, S. et al. 2017. Report of a RSPCA/APHA meeting on the welfare of wild animals used in research. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(1), 13-25. [Meeting Report]

Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 1 November 2016 at the University of Edinburgh and was attended by 70 delegates. Presentation topics included refinements in blood sampling rodents, reducing suffering in projects involving...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Disease/Experimental Model, Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., McNeilly, A., Watson, J. et al. 2017. Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 77-86.

Cooked food for non-human primates: A discussion by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum

"Do any of you give cooked food like pasta, potatoes or vegetables to non-human primates? What's your experience? Do the animals benefit from cooked food; do they like it; does it affect their health in any way? Do you add...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Carlson, A., Allen, C., Skoumbourdis, E. et al. 2017. Cooked food for non-human primates: A discussion by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 124-126.