Social Housing & Companionship

Effects of genotype and housing system on rabbit does’ aggressive behaviors and injuries in smallholding conditions

The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of housing (deep litter + concrete floor vs. deep litter + ground soil with the possibility to dig burrows), and genotype (Mecklenburg or Hyplus) on aggressive behaviour, social contacts, does'...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Housing, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Krunt, O., Zita, L., Kraus, A. et al. 2023. Effects of genotype and housing system on rabbit does' aggressive behaviors and injuries in smallholding conditions. Animals 13(8), 1357.

Assessment of stress caused by environmental changes for improving the welfare of laboratory beagle dogs

Animal stress is influenced by environmental factors, yet only a few studies have evaluated the effects of environmental stress on captive dogs. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of environmental and social enrichment on the stress levels of captive...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Lee, G.-H., Jo, W., Kang, T.-K. et al. 2023. Assessment of stress caused by environmental changes for improving the welfare of laboratory beagle dogs. Animals 13(6), 1095.

The role of environmental enrichment and back fat depth in the intensity of aggressive behavior performed by sows during the establishment of the dominancy hierarchy

For sows introduced into new groups, the aggressive behavior associated with establishing a social hierarchy represents a period of severe stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of providing sows with an improved pen environment (straw...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Galli, M. C., Lagoda, M. E., Gottardo, F. et al. 2023. The role of environmental enrichment and back fat depth in the intensity of aggressive behavior performed by sows during the establishment of the dominancy hierarchy. Animals 13(5), 825.

The social and reproductive challenges faced by free-roaming horse (Equus caballus) stallions

In captivity, intact male horses, due to their sexual drive, are usually socially isolated from other horses. This lifestyle strongly contrasts with that experienced by horses living in free-roaming, feral, or semi-feral conditions, where adult stallions have several roles in...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Górecka-Bruzda, A., Jaworska, J., Stanley, C. R. 2023. The social and reproductive challenges faced by free-roaming horse (Equus caballus) stallions. Animals 13(7), 1151.

Home-cage behavior is impacted by stress exposure in rats

Being social animals, rats exhibit a range of social behaviors that help them build social bonds and maintain group cohesion. Behavior is influenced by multiple factors, including stress exposure, and the expression of the impact of stress on both social...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Eraslan, E., Castelhano-Carlos, M. J., Amorim, L. et al. 2023. Home-cage behavior is impacted by stress exposure in rats. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 17, 1195011.

Contact with mature cows and access to pasture during early life shaped dairy heifer behaviour at integration into the milking herd

This study aimed to determine the effects of early-life physical and social enrichment on the ability of dairy heifers to integrate into a herd of mature cows. Fifty heifer calves were reared from the ages of 2–13 weeks in one...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Field, L. A., Hemsworth, L. M., Jongman, E. et al. 2023. Contact with mature cows and access to pasture during early life shaped dairy heifer behaviour at integration into the milking herd. Animals 13(13), 2049.

Cannabidiol improves Nile tilapia cichlid fish welfare

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a substance derived from Cannabis sativa, widely studied in medicine for controlling neural diseases in humans. Besides the positive effects on humans, it also presents anxiolytic proprieties and decreases aggressiveness and stress in mammals. Therefore, CBD has...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Tilapia

Citation: Camargo-Dos-Santos, B., Bellot, M. S., Guermandi, I. I. et al. 2022. Cannabidiol improves Nile tilapia cichlid fish welfare. Scientific Reports 12(1), 17650.

Instraspecific interactions decrease stress affecting welfare in shelter dogs: A comparison of four different housing conditions

Shelters are stressful environments for domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Evaluating dogs' welfare is crucial to improve their life condition and to promote a better management of shelters. We aimed at verifying which variables improved welfare in 10 shelter dogs ((hosted...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Corsetti, S., Natoli, E., Palme, R. et al. 2023. Instraspecific interactions decrease stress affecting welfare in shelter dogs: A comparison of four different housing conditions. Animals 13(11), 1828.

Comparison of single- and double-spaced feeders with regard to damaging behavior in pigs

This work compared the behavior and performance of 24 groups of 12 pigs kept in pens with either a DOUBLE [one feed space aligned with the front wall of the pen (WALL), and one immediately adjacent (IN)] or SINGLE (WALL...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: D'Alessio, R. M., Hanlon, A., O'Driscoll, K. 2023. Comparison of single- and double-spaced feeders with regard to damaging behavior in pigs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1073401.

The use of sand substrate modulates dominance behaviour and brain gene expression in a flatfish species

Physical complexity adds physical enrichment to rearing conditions. This enrichment promotes fish welfare and reduces detrimental characteristics that fish develop in captivity. Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) is an important species for European aquaculture, where it is reared in intensive conditions...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Almeida, M. M., Cabrita, E., Fatsini, E. 2023. The use of sand substrate modulates dominance behaviour and brain gene expression in a flatfish species. Animals 13(6), 978.