Perching, especially during the night, is an innate behaviour of chickens and the provision of perches is mandatory for laying hens in multiple countries. We examined whether broiler breeders of the fast (Ross 308) and...
Level changes in commercial laying hen loose-housing systems may be physically difficult for birds to negotiate, preventing or limiting access to resources such as the litter area and the outdoor range, and potentially increasing injury...
Furnished cages (FC) are designed to accommodate highly motivated behaviour patterns like nesting; however, how hens perceive the resources provided in FCs is not fully understood. Our previous research of hens in FCs with a...
Some commercial aviary systems for laying hens allow birds to access feed by standing on perches instead of platforms. Despite reports that providing laying hens with perches relates to reduced aggression and cannibalism, and increased...
There are few studies investigating captive conditions for commonly kept public aquaria species. Here the thornback ray (Raja clavata) was used to determine preferred captive conditions via choice tests and behavioural observations. Substrate type, substrate...
The aim of this study was to investigate effects of confinement in Sow Welfare and Piglet protection pens (SWAP pen) for four days after farrowing on sow behaviour and salivary cortisol levels. Sows were randomly...
The captive environment of a laboratory animal can profoundly influence its welfare and the scientific validity of research produced. The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) is a common model organism, however current husbandry guidelines lack...
Measures of animal emotions are essential to assess animal welfare. Recently, the cognitive bias technique has been proposed as a measure of animal affective state. This technique is based on the premise that subjects in...
Regulations and guidelines assume that taller cages are better for mink, because they permit more diverse postures (e.g. standing upright) and freedom to move. New Canadian Codes of Practice therefore stipulate cage ceiling heights of...
The lack of appropriate stimuli associated with captive environments has been documented to cause several behavioural and physiological issues in captive species, including loss of natural behaviours, psychopathologies and decreased reproductive success. Providing free-ranging, naturalistic...