EFFECTS OF CAGE ENRICHMENT ON AGONISTIC BEHAVIOUR AND DOMINANCE IN MALE LABORATORY RATS (RATTUS NORVEGICUS) | ||||
| Veterinary Medical Journal (Giza) | ||||
| Volume 57, Issue 3, July 2009, Page 263-277 PDF (4.66 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/vmjg.2011.367827 | ||||
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| Author | ||||
| Usama Abou-Ismail | ||||
| Dept. of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Vet. Medicine, Mansoura Uni, Mansoura, P.O. box 35516, Egypt. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| This experiment was carried out to study the effects of cages enrichment on agonistic interaction and dominance of newly weaned male laboratory rats using multiple items in the cage. In a series of three replicates, 72 rats were housed in groups of four in either ‘standard’ or ‘enriched’ cages for six weeks. Successful aggressive and defensive behaviour that ended up in a clear winner and loser were sampled in the first hour of the dark phase of the light/dark cycle in the first week and every other week thereafter. Results revealed that rats in the ‘enriched’ cages showed lower levels of both successful aggressive and successful defensive bouts compared to rats in the ‘standard’ cages. Results importantly demonstrated that enriching cages of laboratory rat does not change the social order of the animals experiencing it and that the order is almost linear. Thus, enriching conventional laboratory cages can ameliorate behavioural deficits stimulated by prolonged housing in standard cages such as frustrated social strategies and excessive agonistic behaviour and might therefore improve the welfare of laboratory rats. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Laboratory Rats; Enrichment; Agonistic interaction; Dominance score | ||||
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