Effect of space allowance and earthen flooring on behaviour of farmed blue foxes Export

@article{citeulike:271397, abstract = {This study sought to evaluate the effect of cage space and earthen flooring on the behaviour of individually caged, farmed blue foxes (Alopex lagopus). Three different cage sizes [80 cm long (CL80), 120 cm long (CL120), 240 cm long (CL240); each 105 cm wide \& 70 cm high] with wire-mesh flooring, and one two-level cage (CL240E) with both wire-mesh (240 cm long \& 105 cm wide \& 70 cm high) and earthen flooring (80 cm long \& 105 cm wide \& 70 cm high) were employed. Quantitative ethograms were obtained from ten males in each group by videotaping the animals for 144 h monthly from August through November. Altogether 30 different behaviours were described. These were rather similar in all study groups. Examples of behavioural differences included pacing around with a neighbour and the incidence of scratching, which both declined with increasing cage space. Only the foxes in the cage with an earthen flooring (CL240E) exhibited digging behaviour, which averaged 11 min/24 h. The wire-mesh section was distinctly preferred to the earthen-floor section for most behaviours. Foxes in all groups were at their most active from 0800 to 1600 hours. Total activity, including several separate behaviours, declined as winter approached. Locomotor and oral stereotypies were infrequent, and no significant differences were found between the various cage options. For several hours before feeding, the foxes showed increasing levels of stereotypies, but afterwards, stereotypies abruptly declined.}, author = {Korhonen, Hannu T. and Jauhiainen, Lauri and Niemel\~{a}¤, Paavo}, citeulike-article-id = {271397}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://www.metapress.com/content/L5XX17CJMTW3APA9}, comment = {"Our findings showed that behavioural differences between the groups were in many cases slight. Some substantial differences, however, were found. For instance, pacing around with a neighbour (H) was highest in CL80 and lowest in CL240E. Quite obviously adjacent animals in small cages influenced each other's behaviour more due to close proximity (Appleby et al. 1989) compared to animals living in more spacious cages. Pacing around alone (F), on the other hand, was lowest in CL80 and increased with cage size. The most likely explanation is that the larger the cage, the more the animal can pace around to patrol and control its environment." p. 19 ---=note-separator=--- "These elements follow normal activity in the cage, just like other stereotyped elements, but due to the oblong construction of the cages, any high-level motor activity very easily appears stereotyped. It is possible, therefore, that some circling and pacing recordings do not reflect actual performances of a stereotype, and that such recordings should, in fact, have been categorized as non-stereotyped activity." p.20 This echoes Dickie's point about the rhythmicity of rocking by kids with autism.}, journal = {Acta ethologica}, keywords = {cage\_size, enrichment, foxes, pacing, stereotypy}, number = {1}, pages = {11--21}, posted-at = {2005-08-02 06:14:38}, priority = {0}, title = {Effect of space allowance and earthen flooring on behaviour of farmed blue foxes}, url = {http://www.metapress.com/content/L5XX17CJMTW3APA9}, volume = {4}, year = {2001} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:271397 L3 - citeulike-article-id:271397 N2 - This study sought to evaluate the effect of cage space and earthen flooring on the behaviour of individually caged, farmed blue foxes (Alopex lagopus). Three different cage sizes [80 cm long (CL80), 120 cm long (CL120), 240 cm long (CL240); each 105 cm wide & 70 cm high] with wire-mesh flooring, and one two-level cage (CL240E) with both wire-mesh (240 cm long & 105 cm wide & 70 cm high) and earthen flooring (80 cm long & 105 cm wide & 70 cm high) were employed. Quantitative ethograms were obtained from ten males in each group by videotaping the animals for 144 h monthly from August through November. Altogether 30 different behaviours were described. These were rather similar in all study groups. Examples of behavioural differences included pacing around with a neighbour and the incidence of scratching, which both declined with increasing cage space. Only the foxes in the cage with an earthen flooring (CL240E) exhibited digging behaviour, which averaged 11 min/24 h. The wire-mesh section was distinctly preferred to the earthen-floor section for most behaviours. Foxes in all groups were at their most active from 0800 to 1600 hours. Total activity, including several separate behaviours, declined as winter approached. Locomotor and oral stereotypies were infrequent, and no significant differences were found between the various cage options. For several hours before feeding, the foxes showed increasing levels of stereotypies, but afterwards, stereotypies abruptly declined. IS - 1 JF - Acta ethologica EP - 21 TI - Effect of space allowance and earthen flooring on behaviour of farmed blue foxes VL - 4 SP - 11 KW - cage_size KW - enrichment KW - foxes KW - pacing KW - stereotypy N1 - "Our findings showed that behavioural differences between the groups were in many cases slight. Some substantial differences, however, were found. For instance, pacing around with a neighbour (H) was highest in CL80 and lowest in CL240E. Quite obviously adjacent animals in small cages influenced each other's behaviour more due to close proximity (Appleby et al. 1989) compared to animals living in more spacious cages. Pacing around alone (F), on the other hand, was lowest in CL80 and increased with cage size. The most likely explanation is that the larger the cage, the more the animal can pace around to patrol and control its environment." p. 19 N1 - "These elements follow normal activity in the cage, just like other stereotyped elements, but due to the oblong construction of the cages, any high-level motor activity very easily appears stereotyped. It is possible, therefore, that some circling and pacing recordings do not reflect actual performances of a stereotype, and that such recordings should, in fact, have been categorized as non-stereotyped activity." p.20 This echoes Dickie's point about the rhythmicity of rocking by kids with autism. AU - Korhonen, Hannu AU - Jauhiainen, Lauri AU - Niemelã¤, Paavo PY - 2001/// UR - http://www.metapress.com/content/L5XX17CJMTW3APA9 ER -