Social Housing & Companionship

Do singly housed male mice get lonely? Evidence of depressive states after short-term single housing of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice

Through behavioral and preference studies we know that mice prefer company. Laboratory mice should thus never be housed alone, if a viable option exists. Yet single housing is a fairly common practice, in particular with male mice, because an experimental...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & Companionship, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Kalliokoski, O., Teilmann, A. C., Jacoben, K. R. et al. 2014. Do singly housed male mice get lonely? Evidence of depressive states after short-term single housing of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 597. (Abstract #P184).

Aggression in laboratory mice: Potential influences and how to manage it

Aggression is a naturally occurring behavior of mice that can provide benefit to those that display it in the wild. Many factors appear to influence these negative social interactions between mice, making mitigation in the laboratory more complicated. Based on...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. 2014. Aggression in laboratory mice: Potential influences and how to manage it. Enrichment Record 18, 22-25.

Let’s stay together: Implications of social housing for laboratory pig welfare and management

Appropriately accommodating the pig's normal social behavior is an essential step in protecting its well-being in managed environments. Doing so is particularly important in laboratory settings in which distress due to social isolation and other factors can introduce unnecessary variability...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Human-Animal Interaction, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Croney, C. 2014. Let's stay together: Implications of social housing for laboratory pig welfare and management. Enrichment Record 19, 14-19.

A historical perspective on social housing

The ever-broadening scope of social housing of research animals is increasingly encompassing the diversity of species used in research, including dogs, cats, rabbits, a variety of rodent species, agricultural animals, aquatic animals, and others.The Guide's position on social housing matured...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Bayne, K. 2014. A historical perspective on social housing. Enrichment Record 18, 8-11.

Evaluating group housing strategies for the ex-situ conservation of harlequin frogs (Atelopus spp) using behavioral and physiological indicators

We have established ex situ assurance colonies of two endangered Panamanian harlequin frogs, Atelopus certus and Atelopus glyphus, but observed that males fought with each other when housed as a group. Housing frogs individually eliminated this problem, but created space...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Amphibian, Frog & Toad

Citation: Cikanek, S. J., Nockold, S., Brown, J. L. et al. 2014. Evaluating group housing strategies for the ex-situ conservation of harlequin frogs (Atelopus spp) using behavioral and physiological indicators. PLOS ONE 9(2), e90218.

Growth and social behavior in a cichlid fish are affected by social rearing environment and kinship

Living in groups is a widespread phenomenon in many animal taxa. The reduction of predation risk is thought to be an important cause for the formation of groups. Consequently, grouping behavior is particularly pronounced during vulnerable life stages, i.e., as...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Hesse, S., Thunken, T. 2014. Growth and social behavior in a cichlid fish are affected by social rearing environment and kinship. Naturwissenschaften 101, 273-283.

Social housing of non-human primates in a research facility: socialisation across macaque species and sexes

Refinement of social housing practices is paramount to improving animal welfare in laboratory environments, especially with regard to non-human primates. Even though social housing of the same species should be considered the optimal paradigm, cynomolgus (Macaca fascicularis) and rhesus macaques...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Rehrig, A., DiVincenti, L., Schery, L. A. 2014. Social housing of non-human primates in a research facility: socialisation across macaque species and sexes. Animal Welfare 23(4), 387-389.

A comparison of two social housing techniques for sexually mature male cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis)

Social species of nonhuman primates, such as macaques, should be given the opportunity for social access to conspecifics. In captive laboratory settings, creating a system to provide this opportunity can be challenging, especially concerning sexually mature animals. The majority of...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Nelsen, S. L., Bradford, D., Houghton, P. 2014. A comparison of two social housing techniques for sexually mature male cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). American Journal of Primatology 76(S1), 104. (37th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #208)

The effect of pair housing on the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)

Aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) are thought to be solitary animals and are often housed alone in captivity. However, for all primates sociality is known to play a major role in psychological well-being. Captive animals can develop psychological issues related to conditions...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Lemur, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: McCrossin, F. G. 2014. The effect of pair housing on the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis). American Journal of Primatology 76(S1), 54. (37th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #52)

The longevity of a nonhuman primate social housing strategy: A review of group housing for rhesus male macaques maintained on active protocols in biomedical research

Regulatory mandates promoting the psychologic wellbeing and addressing the social needs of nonhuman primates have been well described. In response to these directives, in 1992, we initially reported a successful group housing strategy for instrumented rhesus macaques accessed routinely for...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: McCully, C. L., MacAllister, R. P., Smedley, J. et al. 2014. The longevity of a nonhuman primate social housing strategy: A review of group housing for rhesus male macaques maintained on active protocols in biomedical research. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 566-567 (Abstract #PS67).