Husbandry & Management

Floor substrate preferences of chickens: A meta-analysis

Environmental enrichment promotes sensory and motor stimulation for species-typical behaviors, which in turn enhance animal well-being. For farmed Galliformes, housing systems often limit enrichment to bedding and litter, that simultaneously act as material for dustbathing and foraging. Therefore, this meta-analysis...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Monckton, V., Ellis, J. L., Harlander-Matauschek, A. 2020. Floor substrate preferences of chickens: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 584162.

Food preference and nutrient composition in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus)

Food preference has been studied in a range of Hominoidea in the wild and in captivity, allowing for interspecific comparisons. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) prefer low-fibre, high-sugar foods, suggesting that frugivory and their dietary overlap are...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Verspeek, J., Stevens, J. M. G. 2020. Food preference and nutrient composition in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus). Primates 61(5), 661-671.

Getting to know Siamese fighting fish

This article describes the biology, husbandry, and care of Siamese fighting fish (also known as the betta fish) at Columbia University.

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Barber, J. 2020. Getting to know Siamese fighting fish. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(3) (May/June), 26-27.

High laboratory mouse pre-weaning mortality associated with litter overlap, advanced dam age, small and large litters

High and variable pre-weaning mortality is a persistent problem in laboratory mouse breeding. Assuming a modest 15% mortality rate across mouse strains, means that approximately 1 million more pups are produced yearly in the EU to compensate for those which...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & Management, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Morello, G. M., Hultgren, J., Capas-Peneda, S. et al. 2020. High laboratory mouse pre-weaning mortality associated with litter overlap, advanced dam age, small and large litters. PLOS ONE 15(8): e0236290.

How dietary diversity enhances hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in grazing ruminants

Ruminants evolved in diverse landscapes of which they utilized, by choice, a diverse arrangement of plants (grasses, forbs, and trees) for food. These plants provide them with both primary (carbohydrates, protein, etc.) and secondary (phenolics, terpenes, etc.) compounds (PPC and...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cattle, Goat, Other Animal, Sheep

Citation: Beck, M. R., Gregorini, P. 2020. How dietary diversity enhances hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in grazing ruminants. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 191.

How does ultraviolet light affect layer production, fear, and stress

The lighting spectrum used in modern poultry production commonly lacks significant amounts of ultraviolet light; however, poultry can perceive the ultraviolet spectrum unlike humans and little research has been done to investigate the importance of this part of the spectrum...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Sobotik, E. B., Nelson, J. R., Archer, G. S. 2020. How does ultraviolet light affect layer production, fear, and stress. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 223, 104926.

Impact of flooring type on the sham dustbathing behaviour of caged laying hens

Feed particles are preferred for foraging and they are also a stimulus for sham dustbathing. Most sham dustbathing bouts start with bill raking in the feed by caged hens. As hens often exhibit a floor scratching behaviour, an element of...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Moroki, Y. 2020. Impact of flooring type on the sham dustbathing behaviour of caged laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 230, 105066.

Increase in environmental temperature affects exploratory behaviour, anxiety and social preference in Danio rerio

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of a temperature increase on the behaviour of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) maintained for 21 days at 34 °C (treatment) and 26 °C (control). The temperatures chosen are within the vital range...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Angiulli, E., Pagliara, V., Cioni, C. et al. 2020. Increase in environmental temperature affects exploratory behaviour, anxiety and social preference in Danio rerio. Scientific Reports 10(1), 5385.

Personality traits modulate stress responses after enclosure change of captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus)

Husbandry procedures may cause behavioral and physiological changes to animals living in captivity. However, an individual’s reaction is not uniform and may be related to different coping strategies. In this study, we analyzed whether and how 12 adult captive capuchin...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & Management, PersonalityAnimal Type: Capuchin, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Bessa Ferreira, V. H., De Paiva Fonseca, E., Chagas, Correia Santos Das, A. C. et al. 2020. Personality traits modulate stress responses after enclosure change of captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 232, 105111.

Putting our best foot forward: Care and conditioning for swine hooves

Maintaining the hooves of swine in research is vital to their health and welfare. Ideal flooring provides stable footing and a surface for wearing down the hooves. Otherwise, injuries can occur, or repeated anesthesia may be needed for regular hoof...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Lane, S. E., Sellers, A. S., Shepard, N. D. et al. 2020. Putting our best foot forward: Care and conditioning for swine hooves. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(1) (January/February), 40-42.