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The welfare of ferrets (Mustela putorius furo T): A review on the housing and management of pet ferrets
Contributor(s):: Vinke, Claudia M., Schoemaker, Nico J.
Ferrets are very agile and lively animals, and their behavioural needs are not easily met in housing conditions like our living rooms. Nevertheless, ferrets are increasingly popular as pets. The present paper aims to review and discuss the available knowledge on our pet ferret. Topics are...
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Visitor effects on zoo orangutans in two novel, naturalistic enclosures
Contributor(s):: Choo, Yuanting, Todd, Peter Alan, Li, Daiqin
Visitors are known to affect zoo animals, and such effects may be stressful, neutral, or enriching. The majority of research has focused on visitor number or visitor presence–absence, yet few studies have examined effects of other variables such as sound volume, visitor activity, and whether...
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Variation in stress reactivity affects cage-induced stereotypies in female CD-1 (ICR) mice
Contributor(s):: Engel, Anna Katarina J., Gross, Alexandra N., Richter, S. Helene, Rommen, Jonas, Touma, Chadi, Würbel, Hanno
Stereotypies in captive animals typically occur under conditions that are stressful for the animals, and there is some anecdotal evidence that stress levels during early stereotypy development predict later stereotypy levels. Based on this and on the involvement of stress in the behavioural...
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Validity of model devices used to assess canine temperament in behavioral tests
Contributor(s):: Barnard, Shanis, Siracusa, Carlo, Reisner, Ilana, Valsecchi, Paola, Serpell, James A.
Temperament tests are widely accepted as instruments for profiling behavioral variability in dogs, and they are applied in numerous areas of investigation (e.g. suitability for adoption or for breeding). During testing, to elicit a dog's reaction toward novel stimuli and predict its behavior in...
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Towards a more objective assessment of equine personality using behavioural and physiological observations from performance test training
Contributor(s):: König von Borstel, Uta, Pasing, Stephanie, Gauly, Matthias
Current definitions of horse personality traits are rather vague, lacking clear, universally accepted guidelines for evaluation in performance tests. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to screen behavioural and physiological measurements taken during riding for potential links with...
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Stress and stress reduction in common marmosets
Contributor(s):: Kaplan, Gisela, Pines, Mathew K., Rogers, Lesley J.
Surprisingly few studies have measured cortisol levels in captive primates using samples collected during everyday life to gauge which activities and circumstances might induce or reduce stress. Much of what is behaviourally identifiable as stress may not to be reflected in physiological stress,...
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Social transmission of physiological and behavioural responses to castration in suckling Merino lambs
Contributor(s):: Colditz, Ian G., Paull, David R., Lee, Caroline
In social species like sheep, social context can modify both physiological and behavioural responses to stressors and normal behavioural patterns. Presence of conspecifics can ameliorate responses to noxious stimuli, an effect termed social buffering, whereas the presence of a distressed...
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Roosting behaviour in laying hens on perches of different temperatures: Trade-offs between thermoregulation, energy budget, vigilance and resting
Contributor(s):: Pickel, Thorsten, Scholz, Britta, Schrader, Lars
Laying hens usually select an elevated position for resting at night-time. A previous study showed that the position a hen takes during resting was affected by perch material, most probably due to its thermal conductivity. The aim of the present study was to analyse the effect of perch surface...
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Relationships between scores of the feline temperament profile and behavioural and adrenocortical responses to a mild stressor in cats
Contributor(s):: Iki, Tazuko, Ahrens, Frank, Pasche, Katharina Hannah, Bartels, Angela, Erhard, Michael Helmut
There is a growing need for an easy assessment of stress levels in cats in order to more effectively diagnose, distinguish and treat stress-related disorders or behavioural problems. Therefore, we investigated which behavioural changes might be associated with an adrenocortical response to an...
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Predictive validity of a method for evaluating temperament in young guide and service dogs
Contributor(s):: Duffy, Deborah L., Serpell, James A.
As part of a collaborative project involving five guide and service dog organizations in the USA (Canine Companions for Independence, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Leader Dogs for the Blind and The Seeing Eye), volunteer puppy raisers provided information about the...
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Peat as environmental enrichment for piglets: The effect on behaviour, skin lesions and production results
Contributor(s):: Vanheukelom, Valerie, Driessen, Bert, Maenhout, Daniël, Geers, Rony
The aim of this study was to examine whether the provision of small amounts of peat to piglets would influence behaviour and production. At approximately 5 days of age, nine litters received a tray of peat as enrichment, while nine others did not. All piglets had access to solid feed, which was...
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Nursing females are more prone to heat stress: Demography matters when managing flying-foxes for climate change
Contributor(s):: Snoyman, Stephanie, Muhic, Jasmina, Brown, Culum
Determining the underlying mechanisms responsible for species-specific responses to climate change is important from a species management perspective. The grey-headed flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus, is listed as vulnerable but it also a significant pest species for orchardists and thereby...
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Neighbourhood analysis as an indicator of spatial requirements of broiler chickens
Contributor(s):: Buijs, Stephanie, Keeling, Linda J., Vangestel, Carl, Baert, Jeroen, Tuyttens, Frank A. M.
The appropriate stocking density for broiler chickens is a much discussed topic in animal welfare. To determine at which stocking density the level of crowding becomes aversive to 4–6-week-old broiler chickens, spatial distribution and behaviour of groups stocked at 8, 19, 29, 40, 45, 51, 61 or...
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Lying laterality and the effect of IceTag data loggers on lying behaviour of dairy cows
Contributor(s):: Gibbons, Jenny, Medrano-Galarza, Catalina, Marie de Passillé, Anne, Rushen, Jeffrey
Lying behaviour is a useful indicator of cow comfort, but can be time consuming to measure. Data loggers are commonly used to automatically record behavioural activity but may influence the animal's behaviour. We investigated the effect of a new model of the IceTag data logger (IceTag Sensor,...
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A longitudinal study of the effects of providing straw at different stages of life on tail-biting and other behaviour in commercially housed pigs
Contributor(s):: Statham, Poppy, Green, Laura, Mendl, Michael
Tail-biting (TB) is a welfare concern. Recent studies indicate that early provision of straw may help prevent TB, however, many of these studies were carried out on small groups of pigs and may have limited applicability to commercial farms. The effect of providing straw at different stages of...
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Laboratory macaques: When to wean?
Contributor(s):: Prescott, Mark J., Nixon, Mellissa E., Farningham, David A. H., Naiken, Sandiren, Griffiths, Mary-Ann
Worldwide there is large variation in the age at which young macaques destined for use in research are permanently separated from their mothers, and in the subsequent social environment in which they are reared. This stems from variation in minimum weaning ages and rearing practices in guidelines...
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Keeping horses in groups: A review
Contributor(s):: Hartmann, Elke, Søndergaard, Eva, Keeling, Linda J.
Although husbandry conditions for horses have improved over the last decades, many horses are still kept singly with limited or no physical contact to other horses. This is surprising, given the fact that keeping horses in groups is recognised best to fulfil their physical and behavioural needs,...
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Investigating the importance of vision in poultry: Comparing the behaviour of blind and sighted chickens
Contributor(s):: Collins, Sophie, Forkman, Björn, Kristensen, Helle H., Sandøe, Peter, Hocking, Paul M.
Behaviour in poultry is predominately visually mediated and vision is important to the welfare of poultry. The relationship between vision, behaviour and welfare has primarily been investigated in relation to artificial lighting. Genetically blind chickens provide an alternative experimental...
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Individual differences in metabolism predict coping styles in fish
Contributor(s):: Martins, Catarina I. M., Castanheira, Maria F., Engrola, Sofia, Costas, Benjamín, Conceição, Luís E. C.
Studies on metabolism usually rely on measurements of oxygen consumption obtained in respirometry chambers. Despite rigorous standardization there is still considerable inter-individual variation in metabolic rates which is often ignored. Furthermore, housing in respirometry chambers implies...
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Impact of daylength on behavioural output in commercial broilers
Contributor(s):: Schwean-Lardner, Karen, Fancher, Bryan I., Classen, Henry L.
Monitoring broiler behaviour is a helpful tool in assessing the impact that management systems, such as lighting programs, have on bird welfare. This study examined broiler behaviour at two ages in two separate flocks (27/28 days of age (27d) in flock one and 42/43d (42d) of age in the second...
