Husbandry & Management

Exploration feeding and higher space allocation improve welfare of growing-finishing pigs

Lack of environmental enrichment and high stocking densities in growing-finishing pigs can lead to adverse social behaviors directed to pen mates, resulting in skin lesions, lameness, and tail biting. The objective of the study was to improve animal welfare and...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & Management, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Vermeer, H., Dirx-Kuijken, N., Bracke, M. 2017. Exploration feeding and higher space allocation improve welfare of growing-finishing pigs. Animals 7(5), 36.

Laboratory environmental factors and pain behavior: The relevance of unknown unknowns to reproducibility and translation

The poor record of basic-to-clinical translation in recent decades has led to speculation that preclinical research is “irreproducible”, and this irreproducibility in turn has largely been attributed to deficiencies in reporting and statistical practices. There are, however, a number of...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mogil, J. S. 2017. Laboratory environmental factors and pain behavior: The relevance of unknown unknowns to reproducibility and translation. Lab Animal 46(4), 136-141.

Stressed out: providing laboratory animals with behavioral control to reduce the physiological effects of stress

Laboratory animals experience a large amount of environmental stress. An animal's environment can include both physiological and social stressors that may require an animal to adapt to maintain allostatic balance. For example, thermal stress can lead to changes in behavior,...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Garner, J. P. 2017. Stressed out: providing laboratory animals with behavioral control to reduce the physiological effects of stress. Lab Animal 46(4), 142-145.

The effect of early life experience, environment, and genetic factors on spontaneous home-cage aggression-related wounding in male C57BL/6 mice

Aggression is a major welfare issue in mice, particularly when mice unfamiliar to each other are first placed in cages, as happens on receipt from a vendor, and following cage cleaning. Injuries from aggression are the second leading cause of...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Stottler, A. M., Garner, J. P. et al. 2017. The effect of early life experience, environment, and genetic factors on spontaneous home-cage aggression-related wounding in male C57BL/6 mice. Lab Animal 46(4), 176-184.

Managing aged animals in zoos to promote positive welfare: A review and future directions

Improvements in veterinary care, nutrition, and husbandry of animals living in zoos have led to an increase in the longevity of these animals over the past 30 years. In this same time period, the focus of animal welfare science has...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Krebs, B., Marrin, D., Phelps, A. et al. 2018. Managing aged animals in zoos to promote positive welfare: A review and future directions. Animals 8(7), 116.

Free dietary choice and free-range rearing improve the product quality, gait score, and microbial richness of chickens

Poultry welfare has been extensively studied; however, there is a lack of rigorous scientific knowledge relating to the different aspects of welfare factors and how this may contribute to the production quantity and product quality as well as the welfare...

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

Citation: Chen, S., Xiang, H., Zhu, X. et al. 2018. Free dietary choice and free-range rearing improve the product quality, gait score, and microbial richness of chickens. Animals 8(6), 84.

Designing better water troughs: Does trough color influence dairy cows’ preference?

Eighteen lactating dairy cows were used to elucidate their preference for green, grey, or red troughs. The herd was managed under a rotational grazing system with ad-libitum access to water until 11:30 h. For 9 days, all cows were tested...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Lemos Teixeira, D., Hötzel, M. J., Pinheiro Machado Filho, L. C. et al. 2017. Designing better water troughs: Does trough color influence dairy cows' preference? Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 20(2), 192-197.

Olfaction variation in mouse husbandry and its implications for refinement and standardization: UK survey of animal scents

Olfaction plays a crucial role in mouse communication, providing information about genetic identity, physiological status of conspecifics and alerting mice to potential predators. Scents of animal origin can trigger physiological and behavioural responses that could affect experimental responses and impact...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: López-Salesansky, N., Mazlan, N. H., Whitfield, L. E. et al. 2016. Olfaction variation in mouse husbandry and its implications for refinement and standardization: UK survey of animal scents. Laboratory Animals 50(5), 362-369.

Olfactory variation in mouse husbandry and its implications for refinement and standardization: UK survey of non-animal scents

With their highly sensitive olfactory system, the behaviour and physiology of mice are not only influenced by the scents of conspecifics and other species, but also by many other chemicals in the environment. The constraints of laboratory housing limit a...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: López-Salesansky, N., Mazlan, N. H., Whitfield, L. E. et al. 2016. Olfactory variation in mouse husbandry and its implications for refinement and standardization: UK survey of non-animal scents. Laboratory Animals 50(4), 286-295.

Report from the 2017 Annual SGV (Swiss Laboratory Animal Science Association ) Meeting

The Scientific Committee of the Swiss Laboratory Animal Science Association (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Versuchstierkunde, SGV) reports on the Annual SGV Meeting held on 28 and 29 November 2017, at Technopark, Zürich, Switzerland. Feedback after the 2016 meeting and recent developments...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Euthanasia, Humane Endpoint, Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Deurinck, M., Schindler, S., Bugnon, P. et al. 2018. Report from the 2017 Annual SGV (Swiss Laboratory Animal Science Association ) Meeting. Laboratory Animals 52(2), 211-213. [Meeting Report]