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Plumage and Fat Condition Scores as Well-Being Assessment Indicators in a Small Passerine Bird, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

The well-being of animals kept by humans in laboratories, farms, or as pets should always be of the highest importance, and a prerequisite for this is adequate housing. To assess the potential indicators for animal well-being, ideally simple, non-invasive, and reliable methods are necessary. Here, w...

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Autores principales: Kalnins, Lisa, Krüger, Oliver, Krause, E. Tobias
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9048790/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35498744
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.791412
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author Kalnins, Lisa
Krüger, Oliver
Krause, E. Tobias
author_facet Kalnins, Lisa
Krüger, Oliver
Krause, E. Tobias
author_sort Kalnins, Lisa
collection PubMed
description The well-being of animals kept by humans in laboratories, farms, or as pets should always be of the highest importance, and a prerequisite for this is adequate housing. To assess the potential indicators for animal well-being, ideally simple, non-invasive, and reliable methods are necessary. Here, we propose a novel plumage scoring system for small songbirds, using the example of the Zebra Finch, and examine its reliability in comparison with a well-known body condition index, that is, the fat score. We used up to five different observers of different experience levels to assess inter- and intra-observer reliability of the proposed plumage score and also the fat score. We found substantial inter-observer reliability for the proposed novel plumage score, and lower inter-observer reliability for the fat score, which seems to require more training of observers. The intra-observer reliability of the experienced observer who trained the others also showed a very strong reliability for the plumage score and for the fat score. Thus, we conclude that our proposed novel plumage score is a simple, reliable, and non-invasive way to estimate an important indicator of captive Zebra Finches' well-being. Furthermore, the plumage score can be reliably taught to other observers. The plumage score, maybe in combination with the fat score, may be an important tool to reliably assess well-being on a regular basis in captive populations in zoos, laboratories, or pet stocks.
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spelling pubmed-90487902022-04-29 Plumage and Fat Condition Scores as Well-Being Assessment Indicators in a Small Passerine Bird, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) Kalnins, Lisa Krüger, Oliver Krause, E. Tobias Front Vet Sci Veterinary Science The well-being of animals kept by humans in laboratories, farms, or as pets should always be of the highest importance, and a prerequisite for this is adequate housing. To assess the potential indicators for animal well-being, ideally simple, non-invasive, and reliable methods are necessary. Here, we propose a novel plumage scoring system for small songbirds, using the example of the Zebra Finch, and examine its reliability in comparison with a well-known body condition index, that is, the fat score. We used up to five different observers of different experience levels to assess inter- and intra-observer reliability of the proposed plumage score and also the fat score. We found substantial inter-observer reliability for the proposed novel plumage score, and lower inter-observer reliability for the fat score, which seems to require more training of observers. The intra-observer reliability of the experienced observer who trained the others also showed a very strong reliability for the plumage score and for the fat score. Thus, we conclude that our proposed novel plumage score is a simple, reliable, and non-invasive way to estimate an important indicator of captive Zebra Finches' well-being. Furthermore, the plumage score can be reliably taught to other observers. The plumage score, maybe in combination with the fat score, may be an important tool to reliably assess well-being on a regular basis in captive populations in zoos, laboratories, or pet stocks. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-04-14 /pmc/articles/PMC9048790/ /pubmed/35498744 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.791412 Text en Copyright © 2022 Kalnins, Krüger and Krause. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Veterinary Science
Kalnins, Lisa
Krüger, Oliver
Krause, E. Tobias
Plumage and Fat Condition Scores as Well-Being Assessment Indicators in a Small Passerine Bird, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
title Plumage and Fat Condition Scores as Well-Being Assessment Indicators in a Small Passerine Bird, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
title_full Plumage and Fat Condition Scores as Well-Being Assessment Indicators in a Small Passerine Bird, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
title_fullStr Plumage and Fat Condition Scores as Well-Being Assessment Indicators in a Small Passerine Bird, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
title_full_unstemmed Plumage and Fat Condition Scores as Well-Being Assessment Indicators in a Small Passerine Bird, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
title_short Plumage and Fat Condition Scores as Well-Being Assessment Indicators in a Small Passerine Bird, the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
title_sort plumage and fat condition scores as well-being assessment indicators in a small passerine bird, the zebra finch (taeniopygia guttata)
topic Veterinary Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9048790/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35498744
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.791412
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