The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment on the performance of C57BL/6 mice kept in conventional animal facilities (open cage; OC) and individually ventilated caging system (IVC). We analyzed...
The tubes provide shelter and nesting material to the rats, allowing them to exhibit species-specific behaviors. The change in the animals' behavior has been overwhelming. The rats are much less aggressive; in one year, fight...
Weaning of piglets in commercial husbandry systems is earlier and more abrupt than would happen under natural conditions, resulting in low feed intakes and health and welfare problems in the immediate postweaning period. Piglets in...
Environmental enrichment, besides having a great impact on animal welfare, can also be a potential variable in experimental research. Thus, we investigated whether enrichment of cages with paper tissues or plastic tunnels affects scientific outcome...
Understanding the preferred nesting location of laboratory mice within the cage may serve as a useful, objective, behavioral assessment tool. To determine if caging ventilation rates influenced nesting location, we observed nesting site (front, middle...
Birds that are kept in captivity often require nail trims, presumably due to the lack of opportunity to wear the nails down on natural substrates. For many birds, restraint for the nail trim may result...
The preference of Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) for different in-cage shelters was tested. First, 15 males and 15 females were made to choose between a cage with a shelter and one without. Different shelters were...
Offering enrichment to stimulate chewing behavior in rats has been found to promote psychologic and physiologic wellbeing. While there are many commercially produced nylon products available for use as chewable enrichment, these items are costly...
We used four years of detailed data on where 23 great apes (chimpanzees and gorillas) positioned themselves within a modern, indoor/outdoor zoo enclosure to determine not only how the apes utilized their space but also...
Little information is available on the response of vervet monkeys to different housing conditions or on the suitability of enrichment devices or methods for vervet monkeys. In this study, the authors evaluated the occurrence of...