The objective was to determine the effect of sawdust bedding dry matter on the lying behavior of Holstein cows. Dry matter (DM) was varied systematically over 5 treatment levels to test how cows respond to damp bedding. This experiment was repeated during summer and winter to test if the effects of damp bedding varied with season. The 5 bedding treatments averaged (+/-SD) 89.8+/-3.7, 74.2+/-6.4...

PURPOSE Endocrine-disrupting chemicals interfere with the endocrine system and therefore affect growth and pubertal progression. The study aim was to compare the growth and pubertal progression in wild-type female rats with different bedding types. METHODS Twenty 5-week-old female wild-type Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to two groups with different bedding types: one group receiv...

As I write these words, thick snow blankets my lawn and my Potentilla is badly frosted, but you know, we gardeners are never gloomy for long. We know, as we toast our muffins and stir our cocoa, that now is the time to plan next Summer's garden. Of course, with so many gardening programmes on the television nowadays, its quite easy to produce a colourful display. Almost too easy, for the boring...

A variety of environmental factors can affect the outcomes of studies using laboratory rodents. One such factor is bedding. Several new bedding materials and processing methods have been introduced to the market in recent years, but there are few reports of their performance. In the studies reported here, we have assessed the cage micro-environment (in-cage ammonia levels, temperature, and humi...

This study was conducted July of 2012 in Iowa, in WARM (<26.7 °C) and HOT (≥26.7 °C) weather. Four sprinkling methods were compared, with one treatment being randomly assigned to each load: control- no sprinkling (not applied in HOT weather), pigs only, bedding only, or pigs and bedding. Experiment 1 used 51 loads in WARM- and 86 loads in HOT weather to determine sprinkling effects on pig measu...

The criteria for rodent bedding and nesting materials are discussed. The literature is reviewed regarding sources of bedding materials, manufacturing methods, quality control procedures (microbiological, physical and chemical), storagemethods, shipment, methods of use and disposal, current knowledge concerning bedding effects on animals as related to research and testing and legal aspects. Futu...

The objective of this study was to identify associations of bedding type and selected management practices with bulk milk quality and productivity of larger Wisconsin dairy farms. Dairy herds (n=325) producing ≥11,340 kg of milk daily were surveyed during a single farm visit. Monthly bulk milk SCC and total bacteria counts were obtained from milk buyers for 255 farms for a 2-yr period. Of farms...

The mothers of 199 infants (mean age 36.7 days) were interviewed to determine how the infant was dressed and wrapped, and how the mother would deal with illness. These data were related to measures of the infant's toe and underarm temperatures and demographic information about the family. The data did not support the hypothesis that infants with particular types of clothing or bedding were at r...

This study sought to identify an optimal rodent bedding and cage-change interval to establish standard procedures for the IVC in our rodent vivarium. Disposable cages were prefilled with either corncob or α-cellulose bedding and were used to house 2 adult Sprague-Dawley rats (experimental condition) or contained no animals (control). Rats were observed and intracage ammonia levels measured dail...

Bedding dust is a mixture of many components, of which the house dust mite (HDM) allergen, Der p 1, is the most allergenic. There has been little work to investigate the effect of other bedding dust components on HDM sensitisation. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of endotoxin in bedding dust on the allergic response in HDM-sensitised individuals. Twenty-nine house dust mi...