Husbandry & Management

Report of the 2006 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group holds a one-day meeting every autumn to discuss current welfare research and to exchange views on rodent welfare issues. A key aim of the group is to encourage people to think about the lifetime experience...

Year Published: 2008Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Euthanasia, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Reed, B., Hawkins, P., Latham, N. et al. 2008. Report of the 2006 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting. Lab Animal 37(5), 216-222.

How important is shade to dairy cattle? Choice between shade or lying following different levels of lying deprivation

Provision of shade to dairy cattle in summer can alleviate negative effects of heat stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative importance of shade to lactating dairy cows in different ambient weather conditions in summer. The...

Year Published: 2008Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Schütz, K. E., Cox, N. R., Matthews, L. R. 2008. How important is shade to dairy cattle? Choice between shade or lying following different levels of lying deprivation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 114(3-4), 307-318 .

Some like it hot: Mouse temperature preferences in laboratory housing

In standard laboratory environments mice are housed at 20-24 °C. However, their thermoneutral zone ranges between 26 °C and 34 °C. This challenge to homeostasis is by definition stressful, and could therefore affect many aspects of physiology and behavior.We tested...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Rohr, S. A., Pajor, E. A. et al. 2009. Some like it hot: Mouse temperature preferences in laboratory housing. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 116(2-4), 279-285.

A rational approach to enriched nutrition for nonhuman primates

Obesity is a concern with nonhuman primates (NHPs) housed in captivity for extended periods of time, mostly due to overfeeding and lack of exercise. This is often compounded by environmental enrichment programs that include different types of food. That is...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Camacho, I. N., Schultz, C. 2009. A rational approach to enriched nutrition for nonhuman primates. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 543 (Abstract #PS38).

Refinements in husbandry, care and common procedures for non-human primates: Ninth report of the BVAAWF/FRAME/RSPCA/UFAW Joint Working Group on Refinement

Preface: Whenever animals are used in research, minimizing pain and distress and promoting good welfare should be as important an objective as achieving the experimental results. This is important for humanitarian reasons, for good science, for economic reasons and in...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Buchanan-Smith, H. M., Gamble, M. R., Gore, M. et al. 2009. Refinements in husbandry, care and common procedures for non-human primates: Ninth report of the BVAAWF/FRAME/RSPCA/UFAW Joint Working Group on Refinement . Lab Animals 43 Supplement, 1-47.

Studies and snack bites

Veterinary technician Evelyn Skoumbourdis and environmental enrichment coordinator Casey Coke Murphy discuss proper feeding of small laboratory mammals.

Year Published: 2009Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Skoumbourdis, E., Coke Murphy, C. 2009. Studies and snack bites. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 58(1) Winter, 12-13.

A closer look inside rodent water valves

An increase in the number of leaking water valves was observed ........ resulted in flooded cages.

Year Published: 2009Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rodent, Salmon

Citation: Ogeka, S. 2009. A closer look inside rodent water valves. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 123 (Abstract).

Behavioral response of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to routine cage washing procedures

Documenting behavioral effects of routine procedures such as the cage washing process in nonhuman primate facilities is an important step in identifying procedures that may be stressful to the primates, and in determining ways to improve those procedures. Collecting 210...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: McMillan, J., Perlman, J. E., Martin, A. L. et al. 2009. Behavioral response of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to routine cage washing procedures. American Journal of Primatology 71(S1), 33. (32nd Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #15)

Physiological and behavioural responses of laboratory rats housed at different tier levels and levels of visual contact with conspecifics and humans

Laboratory rats are typically housed in clear or opaque cages on multi-tiered racks. Clear-walled cages allow a view of the room and facilitate visual social contact with neighbouring rats but may induce anxiety due to lack of visual cover. We...

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

Citation: Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2010. Physiological and behavioural responses of laboratory rats housed at different tier levels and levels of visual contact with conspecifics and humans. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 125(1-2), 69-79.

Feeding behavior of Saguinus oedipus in relation to food hardness in a zoo setting: Possibilities for enrichment? Laboratory Primate Newsletter 49(3), 10-13

We suggest that by providing animals with food in a more natural form (i.e., not cut to a standardized size), they would have an opportunity to process the food in a manner that best approaches what would be encountered in...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Ceja, C., White, J. 2010. Feeding behavior of Saguinus oedipus in relation to food hardness in a zoo setting: Possibilities for enrichment? Laboratory Primate Newsletter 49(3), 10-13.