Social Housing & Companionship

Feasibility of pair-housing of rats after cranial implant surgery

Rat models employing cranial implants are increasingly employed to facilitate neural stimulation and recording in freely moving animals. Due to possible damage to wound, implant or attached devices, rats with cranial implants are traditionally housed singly, and little information is...

Year Published: 2023Topics: External Bodily Equipment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Evers, J., Sridhar, K., Lowery, M. 2023. Feasibility of pair-housing of rats after cranial implant surgery. Laboratory Animals 57(1), 69–74.

Changes in the behavior and body weight of mature, adult male Wistar Han rats after reduced social grouping and social isolation

Changes in housing density, including individual housing, are commonly necessary in animal research. Obtaining reproducibility and translational validity in biomedical research requires an understanding of how animals adapt to changes in housing density. Existing literature mainly addresses acclimatization after transportation....

Year Published: 2022Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Potrebić, M. S., Pavković, Ž. Z., Srbovan, M. M. et al. 2022. Changes in the behavior and body weight of mature, adult male Wistar Han rats after reduced social grouping and social isolation. JAALAS 61(6), 615–623.

Evaluation of cage mate–induced postsurgical trauma in mice

Although mice are social animals, individual housing is sometimes requested after surgery. We questioned whether pair-housing mice after surgery resulted in greater trauma to the surgical site as compared with single housing. We further evaluated the effect of individual housing...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Social Housing & Companionship, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Tirado-Muñiz, N., Spangler, T. L., Van Rooyen, H. et al. 2023. Evaluation of cage mate–induced postsurgical trauma in mice. JAALAS 62(2), 170–178.

Social behaviour and personality profiles of breeding does housed part-time in group

Housing breeding female rabbits in multi-litter instead of single-litter cages allows for more natural behaviour and social contact with conspecifics. Hierarchy fights among does, however, inhibit uptake on farms. Past focus on high reproductive performances in single-litter cages may have...

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

Citation: Van Damme, L. G. W., Ampe, B., Delezie, E. et al. 2023. Social behaviour and personality profiles of breeding does housed part-time in group. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 267, 106064.

Social environment enrichment alleviates anxiety-like behavior in mice: Involvement of the dopamine system

Rearing environment plays a vital role in maintaining physical and mental health of both animals and humans. Plenty of studies have proved that physical environment enrichment in adolescence has protective effects on emotion, social behavior, learning and memory deficits. However,...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Rearing & Weaning, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Wang, Q., Wang, Y., Tian, Y. et al. 2024. Social environment enrichment alleviates anxiety-like behavior in mice: Involvement of the dopamine system. Behavioural Brain Research 456, 114687.

The effect of isolation on laboratory rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus): Growth, behavior and physiology

Laboratory fish play an important role in modern scientific research. More and more researchers have begun to pay attention to the other living environment except the physical and chemical factors of the water body, because it is not only related...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Xu, C., Qiu, N., Yu, F. et al. 2024. The effect of isolation on laboratory rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus): Growth, behavior and physiology. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 271, 106153.

Method of measuring effects of study procedures in single and pair housed New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Social housing of laboratory rabbits is encouraged and thought to improve animal welfare due to the social nature of this species. However, there is limited published information comparing the physiologic and cardiovascular (CV) effects of paired and single housed adult...

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

Citation: Santos, R. V., Bhatt, S., Foote, S. et al. 2023. Method of measuring effects of study procedures in single and pair housed New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 119, 107204.

Can a social partner alleviate conditioned place aversion caused by isolation and pain in dairy calves? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269, 106092

Social buffering occurs when the presence of a partner mitigates the stress response of an individual. In two experiments, we assessed the effects of social buffering in dairy calves, with and without a known conspecific, when either subjected to isolation...

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

Citation: Nogues, E., Ede, T., Woodroffe, R. E. et al. 2023. Can a social partner alleviate conditioned place aversion caused by isolation and pain in dairy calves? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269, 106092.

Unfamiliar human-induced social buffering effect in kennel-residing Australian Cattle Dogs

The “isolation syndrome” is a term used to describe the stress responses observed in highly social species when they lack social interactions. This syndrome affects various aspects of an individual's welfare, including hormonal, behavioral, and physiological systems. Dogs, known for...

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

Citation: Pinelli, C., Scandurra, A., Mastellone, V. et al. 2023. Unfamiliar human-induced social buffering effect in kennel-residing Australian Cattle Dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 267, 106039.

An inconsistent social buffering effect from a static visual substitute in horses (Equus caballus): A pilot study

Social buffering occurs when a companion helps to reduce a subject's stress response during a stressful event and/or to recover more quickly from a stressful event. The aim of this study was to determine if any social buffering function of...

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

Citation: Ricci-Bonot, C., Romero, T., Nicol, C. et al. 2023. An inconsistent social buffering effect from a static visual substitute in horses (Equus caballus): A pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 67, 8–16.