title: The amount of cage bedding preferred by female BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice.
abstract: In order to improve the welfare of laboratory mice, a number of different environmental enrichment strategies have been developed to provide opportunities for mice to engage in naturalistic behaviors. Providing sufficient cage bedding for mice to use as a burrowing substrate could be considered an environmental enrichment strategy, but few studies have considered the welfare aspects of cage bedding amount. The authors compared the preferences of group-housed female BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice for three different volumes of cage bedding (0.5 l, 1.5 l and 6 l). Mice of both strains but especially C57BL/6 mice showed strong preferences for cages with more bedding. The results highlight the importance of providing a sufficient amount of cage bedding to laboratory mice.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Welfare and Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Freymann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Welfare and Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Ping-Ping
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Welfare and Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Helge
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stelzer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Welfare and Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Hansjoachim
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hackbarth
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL