Natural Behavior

Motivation to dust-bathe of laying hens housed in cages and in aviaries

New housing systems for commercial egg production, furnished cages and non-cage systems, should improve the welfare of laying hens. In particular, thanks to the presence of a litter area, these new housing systems are thought to satisfy the dust-bathing motivation...

Year Published: 2007Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Colson, S., Arnould, C., Michel, V. 2007. Motivation to dust-bathe of laying hens housed in cages and in aviaries. Animal 1(3), 433-437.

MacaquePose: A novel “in the wild” macaque monkey pose dataset for markerless motion capture

Video-based markerless motion capture permits quantification of an animal's pose and motion, with a high spatiotemporal resolution in a naturalistic context, and is a powerful tool for analyzing the relationship between the animal's behaviors and its brain functions. Macaque monkeys...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Labuguen, R., Matsumoto, J., Negrete, S. B. et al. 2021. MacaquePose: A novel “in the wild” macaque monkey pose dataset for markerless motion capture. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 14, 581154.

Anxiety behavior in pigs (Sus scrofa) decreases through affiliation and may anticipate threat

Anxiety is a physio-psychological state anticipating an imminent threat. In social mammals it is behaviorally expressed via displacement activities and buffered via affiliation. Anxiety research on domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) has mostly focused on abnormal/stereotypic behavior associated with intensive farming....

Year Published: 2021Topics: Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Norscia, I., Collarini, E.,Cordoni, G. 2021. Anxiety behavior in pigs (Sus scrofa) decreases through affiliation and may anticipate threat. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 630164.

Normal and abnormal parrot behavior

Behavior and behavior-associated issues are an important part of psittacine medicine. However, many veterinarians have an approach to parrots from the basics of handling and restraint to their assessment of behavioral issues (e.g., feather plucking), that fails to take into...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Animal Training, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Bird, Parrot

Citation: Speer, B. 2014. Normal and abnormal parrot behavior. Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 23(3), 230-233.

Behavioral patterns of laboratory Mongolian gerbils by sex and housing condition: A case study with an emphasis on sleeping patterns

The behavioral patterns of Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) housed individually and in same-sex groups (siblings) were characterized. Gerbils were continuously video-recorded 24 hours (day 1) and 120 hours (day 5) after housing conditions were established (no environmental enrichment was implemented)....

Year Published: 2019Topics: Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Gerbil, Rodent

Citation: Hurtado-Parrado, C., Cardona-Zea, Á, Arias-Higuera, M. et al. 2019. Behavioral patterns of laboratory Mongolian gerbils by sex and housing condition: A case study with an emphasis on sleeping patterns. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 30, 69-79.

Spatial considerations for captive snakes

Captive environments for snakes commonly involve small enclosures with dimensions that prevent occupants from adopting straight line body postures. In particular, the commercial, hobby, and pet sectors routinely utilize small vivaria and racking systems, although zoos and other facilities also...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Housing, Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Warwick, C., Arena, P., Steedman, C. 2019. Spatial considerations for captive snakes. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 30, 37-48.

Let’s get serious about animal play

This article describes the importance of providing laboratory animals with opportunities to engage in play, and provides a few practical ideas for how to do this.

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General, Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Rat, Rodent, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Animal Welfare Institute. 2019. Let's get serious about animal play. AWI Quarterly 68(3) Fall, 19.

The controversy on fish pain: A veterinarian’s perspective

Fish welfare is still a relatively new field. As such, regulations and protocols to ensure fish welfare are currently limited and vary considerably in different jurisdictions. This is in part because of the ongoing controversy as to whether or not...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Analgesia, Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Chatigny, F. 2019. The controversy on fish pain: A veterinarian's perspective. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 22(4), 400-410.

Current issues in fish welfare

In common with all vertebrates, fish respond to environmental challenges with a series of adaptive neuro‐endocrine adjustments that are collectively termed the stress response. These in turn induce reversible metabolic and behavioural changes that make the fish better able to...

Year Published: 2006Topics: Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Huntingford, F. A., Adams, C., Braithwaite, V. A. et al. 2006. Current issues in fish welfare. Journal of Fish Biology 68(2), 332-372.

Cephalopod biology and care, a COST FA1301 (CephsInAction) training school: Anaesthesia and scientific procedures

Cephalopods are the sole invertebrates included in the list of regulated species following the Directive 2010/63/EU. According to the Directive, achieving competence through adequate training is a requisite for people having a role in the different functions (article 23) as...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Anesthesia & Sedation, Euthanasia, Natural Behavior, Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Cephalopod, Invertebrate

Citation: Lopes, V. M., Sampaio, E., Roumbedakis, K. et al. 2017. Cephalopod biology and care, a COST FA1301 (CephsInAction) training school: Anaesthesia and scientific procedures. Invertebrate Neuroscience 17, 8.