BACKGROUND Different types of mattresses affect sleep quality and waking muscle power. Whether manual muscle testing (MMT) predicts the cardiovascular effects of the bedding system was explored using ten healthy young men. METHODS For each participant, two bedding systems, one inducing the strongest limb muscle force (strong bedding system) and the other inducing the weakest limb force (weak ...

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...

Growing animal production results in a significant amount of waste, composed manure, bedding, feed, feathers, etc., whose safe and cost-effective disposal becomes troublesome challenge. The literature review points out that the higher heating value (HHV) animal-origin waste reaches 19 MJ/kg (dry basis), which positions it as promising renewable energy source. Various paths recovery were investi...

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...