Husbandry & Management

Out like a light? The effects of a diurnal husbandry schedule on mouse sleep and behavior

Sleep disruption in humans, caused by shift work, can be detrimental to physical and behavioral health. Nocturnal laboratory mice may experience a similar disruption caused by human daytime activities, but whether this disruption affects their welfare is unknown. We used...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Robinson-Junker, A. L., O'hara, B. F., Gaskill, B. N. 2018. Out like a light? The effects of a diurnal husbandry schedule on mouse sleep and behavior. JAALAS 57(2), 124-133.

Does flooring substrate impact kennel and dog cleanliness in commercial breeding facilities?

Evaluation of kennel flooring surfaces is needed to understand their impacts on dog health and well-being. This pilot study aimed to characterize aspects of physical health, kennel cleanliness, and dog body cleanliness on flooring types common in US breeding kennels....

Year Published: 2018Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Stella, J., Hurt, M., Bauer, A. et al. 2018. Does flooring substrate impact kennel and dog cleanliness in commercial breeding facilities? Animals 8(4), 59.

Using the five domains model to assess the adverse impacts of husbandry, veterinary, and equitation interventions on horse welfare

The aim of this study was to conduct a series of paper-based exercises in order to assess the negative (adverse) welfare impacts, if any, of common interventions on domestic horses across a broad range of different contexts of equine care...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Husbandry & Management, Restraint, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: McGreevy, P., Berger, J., de Brauwere, N. et al. 2018. Using the five domains model to assess the adverse impacts of husbandry, veterinary, and equitation interventions on horse welfare. Animals 8(3), 41.

Impact of daily grazing time on dairy cow welfare—results of the Welfare Quality® protocol

Grazing provides livestock better opportunities to act out their species-specific behavior compared to restrictive stable conditions. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of daily grazing time on welfare of dairy cows in organic and conventional...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Wagner, K., Brinkmann, J., March, S. et al. 2018. Impact of daily grazing time on dairy cow welfare—results of the Welfare Quality® protocol. Animals 8(1), 1.

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.