scholarly journals Preferences for nesting material as environmental enrichment for laboratory mice

1997 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. A. Van de Weerd ◽  
P. L. P. Van Loo ◽  
L. F. M. Van Zutphen ◽  
J. M. Koolhaas ◽  
V. Baumans
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Preference Test ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Laboratory Mice ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Specific Behaviour ◽  
Nesting Material ◽  
Species Specific

Behavioural and psychological needs of laboratory animals generally cannot adequately be met in standard laboratory cages. Environmental enrichment, which provides a more structured environment can enhance the well-being of laboratory animals. They may perform more of their species-specific behaviour and may control their environment in a better way. An easily applicable form of enrichment for laboratory mice is nesting material. Six different types of nesting materials were evaluated in a preference test with male and female animals of two strains (C57BL/6J or BALB/c, n=48). No significant differences in preference were found between the strains or between the sexes. All mice showed a clear preference for cages with tissues or towels as compared to paper strips or no nesting material, and for cages with cotton string or wood-wool as compared to wood shavings or no nesting material. Paper-derived materials were preferred over wood-derived materials, although the results also suggest that the nature (paper or wood) of the nesting material is less important than its structure, which determines the nestability of the material. Nesting material may be a relatively simple method to contribute to the well-being of laboratory mice.

Efficacy of an interactive apparatus as environmental enrichment for common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-386
Author(s):  
LK Lauderdale ◽  
LJ Miller
Keyword(s):  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Specific Behaviour ◽  
Effective Form ◽  
Professional Care ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
And Control ◽  
Case Basis

Environmental enrichment is a key component in improving the psychological and physiological well-being of animals under professional care. Environmental enrichment involves the addition of stimuli, including objects and cognitive challenges, into the environment in order to increase species-specific behaviour and provide opportunities for choice and control. The effectiveness of enrichment should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if the desired result has been achieved. Environmental enrichment devices (EEDs) can be utilised to present novel problems to animals under professional care. Here, a submerged interactive cognitive apparatus was presented to eight bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) five days a week for 18 weeks and behavioural indicators of animal welfare assessed. As a group, dolphins spent more time in social swims compared to solitary swims and more time at the bottom of the habitat than the middle or top throughout the day, even when the apparatus was not immediately available. Individuals' differences were apparent in the type and amount of engagement with the apparatus. Three dolphins engaged with the apparatus by solving it or consuming the reward. Two dolphins, D4 and D8, engaged simultaneously with the apparatus and participated in more social swimming with each other. D4 solved the interactive apparatus and engaged in more social active and solitary active behaviours. D1 and D4 increased their use of the bottom of the habitat. This study is the first report of underwater enrichment increasing dolphins time at depth throughout the day even when the enrichment device is not available. The interactive apparatus was an effective form of enrichment for dolphins participating in successful trials.

scholarly journals Environmental enrichment for laboratory animals in practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
N. KOSTOMITSOPOULOS (Ν. ΚΩΣΤΟΜΗΤΣΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ)
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
The Social ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
The Impact

During the last decades there has been an increased scientific interest in the improvement of housing conditions for laboratory animals by providing them with opportunities to perform more species - specific behavioural repertoires through enriching their environment. Environmental enrichment is, by definition, any modification in the environment of the captive animals that seeks to enhance their physical and physiological wellbeing by providing stimuli that meet the animals' species-specific needs. An enrichment scheme can be focused on the social and the physical environment. The social environment of animals can be enriched by housing them together with conspecifics in pairs or in groups. Procedures to achieve group formation need careful introduction of individuals which are compatible, a factor which is strongly dependent upon age, sex and hierarchical rank. Social housing will be beneficial only if the pairs or groups are harmonious and stable. The close contact with humans could be also considered as social improvement. Strategies to improve physical environment of laboratory animals should include provision of stimuli (materials or devices) that are biologically meaningful to them, with which they can choose to interact or not and which are not harmful to them. In practice, any enrichment scheme should be well designed before its implementation. In depth knowledge of the behavioural needs of the animals is prerequisite. Close collaboration between the scientific and the technical personnel is also necessary. Environmental changes need to be carefully evaluated in order to establish whether the improvement of animal welfare has been really achieved and to determine the impact on the obtained experimental results. The assessment of improved well-being as a result of environmental changes is based on a complex of behavioural and physiological parameters.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the preference of mice on food intake - Preliminary study

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
E. PARONIS (Ε. ΠΑΡΩΝΗΣ) ◽  
P. ALEXAKOS (Π. ΑΛΕΞΑΚΟΣ) ◽  
C. DIMITRIOU (Κ. ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ) ◽  
E. BALAFAS (Ε. ΜΠΑΛΑΦΑΣ) ◽  
N. KOSTOMITSOPOULOS (Ν. ΚΩΣΤΟΜΗΤΣΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ)
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Steel Wire ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Food Hopper ◽  
High Concern ◽  
Group B ◽  
Species Specific

One of the possible ways to improve the housing conditions of laboratory animals is to give animals opportunities to perform more species-specific behavioural repertoires through providing enrichment of their environment. Environmental enrichment is, by definition, any modification in the environment of the captive animals that seeks to enhance their physical and physiological well being by providing stimuli meeting the animals' species-specific needs. Food intake is of high concern as this should be promoting the expression of physical feeding behaviour and improves the welfare of the captive animals. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the preference of mice to receive their food from a feeding cup located inside the cage or from the classical food hopper located on the stainless steel wire lid of the cage. Twenty four male C57BL/6 mice, at the age of 5-7 weeks, originated from the breeding colony of the animal facility of the Foundation, were randomly divided into two groups. In group A (n=12) the food was supplied through the food hopper. In group Β (n=12) food was supplied through the feeding cup located in the front side of the cage, as well as through the classical food hopper on the wire lid of the cage. A statistically significant preference of the mice to use the feeding cup instead of the food hopper was noticed (p<0.05). A preference of animals to empty the feeding cup from the food pellets, eat them directly from the bedding and use the feeding cup as a shelter was also observed in all the cages of group B. Based on the above preliminary observations it is concluded that the placement of a feeding cup within the cage could improve the welfare of the animals housed in individual ventilated cages and trigger the expression of a more species-specific feeding behaviour.

Impact of environmental enrichment in mice. 1: Effect of housing conditions on body weight, organ weights and haematology in different strains

2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.-P. Tsai ◽  
U. Pachowsky ◽  
H. D. Stelzer ◽  
H. Hackbarth
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Blood Cells ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Strain Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Organ Weights ◽  
Nesting Material

Currently, environmental enrichment is a very common means of improving animal well-being, especially for laboratory animals. Although environmental enrichment seems to be a possible way for improving the well-being of animals, the consideration of housing laboratory animals should not only focus solely on animal well-being, manpower and economics but also on the precision and accuracy of the experimental results. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of enriched cages (nest box, nesting material, climbing bar) on body weight, haematological data and final organ weights. BALB/c, C57BL/6 and A/J mice, originated from Harlan Winkelmann, were used for the experiments - 16 animals of each strain. Animals at 3 weeks of age were marked and separated randomly to enriched or non-enriched cages, in groups of four, half for each housing condition. Both cages were type III Makrolon cages, only the enriched cages contained a nest box, a wood bar for climbing and nesting material. Animals were kept in a clean animal room under specific pathogen free (SPF) conditions. Body weights were recorded every week. Blood samples were collected at 14 weeks of age (white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), haemoglobin (HGB), and haematocrit (HCT) were analysed). At 15 weeks of age, the animals were euthanized by CO2 in their home cages, and final body weight and organ weights (heart, liver, kidney, adrenal, spleen and uterus) were recorded immediately. Although nearly all the test variables were not affected by environmental enrichment in their mean values, the enriched group showed higher coefficients of variation in many variables, and strain differences of both housing conditions were not consistent. The influences of enrichment were shown to be strain- and test-dependent. Such effects may lead to an increase in the number of animals which is necessary or may change the experimental results, especially when a study, using enriched housing conditions, focuses on strain differences. Since the same enrichment design can result in different influences, a positive or a negative or no adverse effect, due to the strain and the variables studied, researchers need to collect more information before enrichment designs are introduced into experimental plans.

scholarly journals Environmental Enrichment of Nonhuman Primates, Dogs and Rabbits Used in Toxicology Studies

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 132-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn A.L. Bayne
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
Confounding Variables ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Animal Care

The increasing emphasis on the provision of environmental enrichment to laboratory animals, vis-à-vis the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NRC 1996), and a potential forthcoming policy from the USDA on the subject, can be difficult to accommodate in a toxicology research environment. A summary will be provided of current requirements and recommendations. Then, strategies for meeting regulatory requirements will be described for non-rodent animals used in toxicology research. These strategies will address methods of both social enrichment, such as pair or group housing, as well as non-social enrichment, such as cage furniture, food enrichments, and toys. In addition, the value of positive interactions with staff (e.g., through training paradigms or socialization programs) will also be discussed. Apparent in the discussion of these strategies will be an overarching recognition of the necessity to avoid introducing confounding variables into the research project and to avoid compromising animal health. The roles of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and the attending veterinarian in helping scientists balance animal well-being, the scientific enterprise and the regulatory environment will be described.

Simple shelter-style environmental enrichment alters behavior in mice

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey Coke-Murphy ◽  
Matthew Buendia ◽  
Tommy Saborido ◽  
Gregg Stanwood
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Strain Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Y Maze ◽  
Elevated Maze ◽  
Improved Learning ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractEnvironmental enrichment aims to improve the well-being of laboratory animals and provides an opportunity to improve experimental reliability and validity. Animals raised in more stimulating environments have improved learning and memory as well as more complex brain architecture. However, the effects of environmental enrichment on motor performance, anxiety and emotional development have been poorly studied. Moreover, most investigators studying the effects of enrichment provide extremely large and complex housing conditions to maximize the likelihood of finding effects. These situations are difficult to replicate across animal facilities and are not operationally practical. In this experiment, we investigated how simple, inexpensive disposable shelterstyle enrichment items alter behavior in C57Bl/6 and 129S6 mice. Breeding pairs were established in the presence of a Ketchum “Refuge”, Shepherd Shack “Dome”, or no enrichment. Offspring were assessed neurobehaviorally, either just after weaning (pre-adolescent, P22–P25), or as young adults (P60–P90). Major strain differences were observed in open field activity, elevated maze exploration, and Y-maze activity levels. The presence of the Refuge and/or Dome enrichment shelters significantly altered motor activity, coordination and some measures of anxiety. Mice housed in the presence of shelters were also less dominant than control mice in a tube test assay. Our experiments provide a detailed analysis of the effects of inexpensive and practical methods of housing enrichment on biobehavioral phenotypes in these two commonly used strains of laboratory mice, and suggest that the effects of these shelters on mouse neurobiology and behavior need to be rigorously analyzed before being adopted within vivariums.

scholarly journals Floor Substrate Preferences of Chickens: A Meta-Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Monckton ◽  
Jennifer L. Ellis ◽  
Alexandra Harlander-Matauschek
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Preference Test ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Peat Moss ◽  
Housing Systems ◽  
Substrate Preferences ◽  
Literature Searches ◽  
Type Size ◽  
Bedding Materials

Environmental enrichment promotes sensory and motor stimulation for species-typical behaviors, which in turn enhance animal well-being. For farmed Galliformes, housing systems often limit enrichment to bedding and litter, that simultaneously act as material for dustbathing and foraging. Therefore, this meta-analysis sought to systematically review and synthesize the substrate preference test literature for Galliformes. Data based on the following four welfare-related behaviors were extracted for analysis: (1) dustbathing, (2) foraging, (3) pecking, and (4) time spent on a given substrate. Literature searches in CAB Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar yielded 239 articles, and hand searching yielded an additional five articles. Ten publications that used different chicken strains as test subjects, met the criteria to be included in the systematic review. The effects of bedding type, the number of days birds had access to tested substrates, enclosure area, and substrate area, on the examined behaviors were determined. We found that birds preferred dustbathing in sand and peat moss more than on any other substrates. The bedding type, size of the enclosure, and size of the substrate area affected the amount of time that birds spent on the tested substrates. When provided the choice between bedding materials, birds spent more time on sand or peat moss than on any other substrate or on no substrate. Notably, most studies did not report relevant physical or chemical characteristics of substrate that may influence birds' preferences, such as grain size, moisture content and the level of soiling. Focusing future studies on identifying substrate characteristics that influence preferences can lead to the discovery of new, practical, enriching beddings that can be easily implemented in housing systems for Galliformes.

Observations on the prevalence of nest-building in non-breeding TO strain mice and their use of two nesting materials

1997 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Sherwin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Dark Phase ◽  
Laboratory Mice ◽  
Nesting Material ◽  
High Motivation ◽  
Building Behaviour ◽  
Paper Towels ◽  
Thermoregulatory Behaviour

The spontaneous performance of nest-building behaviour by non-breeding laboratory mice suggests that routinely providing nesting material might be a suitable environmental enrichment. If nesting material is to be provided routinely, this should have characteristics which are preferred, or at least accepted by a considerable proportion of the animal population; it should also be inexpensive. The present study therefore examined the prevalence of nest-building behaviour in 39 individually-housed, non-breeding, female mice, and their preferences for a commercial nesting product and a less expensive source of material (paper towels). Within minutes of the materials being placed in the cages, the mice began manipulating the paper towels. Thirty-six of the mice subsequently constructed nests during the first dark phase after the materials had been placed in the cage-the remaining three mice constructed nests during the following 48 h. The nests were usually constructed from a mixture of the two materials, though observations indicated the mice might have preferred characteristics of the inexpensive paper towels. There was a strong tendency to build nests in the same location used for sleeping prior to the nesting material being provided, and similarly, the mice were conservative in the site chosen to build a second nest after the first was removed. The most frequently chosen site for nest-building was under the feeder. Other studies have reported a high motivation for nest-building behaviour, widespread performance amongst many strains, and nest-building as a thermoregulatory behaviour by animals housed in standard laboratory air temperature. In conjunction with these findings, the present results suggest that routinely providing paper towels is an inexpensive and practical means of environmental enrichment for non-breeding, laboratory mice.

Nesting Material as Environmental Enrichment Has No Adverse Effects on Behavior and Physiology of Laboratory Mice

1997 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1019-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.A. Van de Weerd ◽  
P.L.P. Van Loo ◽  
L.F.M. Van Zutphen ◽  
J.M. Koolhaas ◽  
V. Baumans
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Laboratory Mice ◽  
Nesting Material

scholarly journals Environmental enrichment prevents pup mortality in laboratory mice

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte S Leidinger ◽  
Christa Thöne-Reineke ◽  
Nadine Baumgart ◽  
Jan Baumgart
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rate ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Laboratory Mouse ◽  
Early Death ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Laboratory Mice ◽  
Infant Survival ◽  
Breeding Performance ◽  
Welfare Issue ◽  
Pup Mortality

Early death of mouse pups is a commonly known problem in breeding mice colonies, which is still often regarded as ‘normal’ or is even overlooked due to the counting procedures applied. As reduced breeding performance probably indicates reduced well-being, this seems to be an underestimated welfare issue in laboratory mouse breeding. The present study compares the influence of three different forms of enrichment in breeding cages on infant survival rate and development of C57BL/6J mice. Our data reveal that lack of enrichment results in greater preweaning pup mortality, reduced weight and delayed development. Changing the environmental conditions after birth cannot prevent litter loss but improves the development of pups born in impoverished environments. Overall, our results underline the importance of early counting of mice for optimizing refinement strategies to ensure well-being and breeding success.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document