The effects of age, size, and cage complexity on the behaviour of farmed female chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera)

Author:

Łapiński StanisławORCID,Niedbała PiotrORCID,Markowska Katarzyna,Rutkowska AgnieszkaORCID,Lis Marcin W.ORCID

Abstract

AbstractEven though chinchillas have been farmed for a century, there are not many studies concerning their behaviour in captivity or their optimal housing conditions, both of which are important factors in the assessment of their welfare. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different cage types on chinchillas’ behaviour and their reactions towards humans. Female chinchillas (n = 12) were kept in three types of cages: standard with a wire floor (S); standard with a deep litter floor of shavings (SR); and enlarged with a deep litter floor of shavings (LR). Animals spent 11 weeks in each type of cage. The chinchillas’ reactions toward humans were observed via intruder test. Ethograms were prepared based on round-the-clock video recordings. The activity of the chinchillas was compared, taking into account the different cage types and the animals’ varying responses to the hand test. The generalized ordered logistic regression model was used to ascertain whether cage type has an effect on a chinchilla’s behaviour towards humans. To compare the time distribution of various activity between chinchillas, the non-parametric Scheirer–Ray–Hare test was used. Animals kept in LR cages presented significantly less timid reactions in comparison to those kept in S and SR cages. The chinchillas spent most of their time resting (68% of the day), in locomotion (23%), and eating or drinking (8%); they spent only 1% on grooming behaviour. Cage enrichment generally reduced the fear of humans. However, the average chinchilla response to the hand test was classified in each type of cage as “cautious”. Analyses of the ethograms indicated that the chinchillas were active mostly during the dark stage of the day. In conclusion, the larger cage size and its enrichment (particularly litter) reduced the fearfulness and passivity of the animals, which could be evidence of better welfare conditions.

Funder

Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Poland

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Subject

Multidisciplinary

Reference55 articles.

1. Mellor, D. J. et al. The 2020 five domains model: including human–animal interactions in assessments of animal welfare. Animals 10, 1870. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101870 (2020).

2. Rushen, J., Chapinal, N. & de Passillé, A. M. Automated monitoring of behavioral-based animal welfare indicators. Anim. Welf. 21, 339–350. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.21.3.339 (2012).

3. Mononen, J. et al. The development of on-farm welfare assessment protocols for foxes and mink: the WelFur project. Anim. Welf. 21, 363–371. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.21.3.363 (2012).

4. WelFur. Welfare assessment protocol for foxes. WelFur Consortium, Brussels, Belgium. https://www.sustainablefur.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/WelFur_fox_protocol_web_edition.pdf (2014).

5. WelFur. Welfare assessment protocol for minks. WelFur Consortium, Brussels, Belgium. https://www.sustainablefur.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Mink_protocol_final_web_edition_light.pdf (2015).

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3