Table 7.
Outcome characteristics for nest building in mice (k = 20 studies) and rats (k = 1 study).
| Study ID | Nest material | Size (cm) material | Amount (g) material | Image based evaluation | Time of evaluation in relation to dark | Baseline | Which scoring system was used? | Significant alteration of nest building parameters | Evaluated parameter/comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Within-subject comparison | Between-subject comparison | |||||||||
| Mice | ||||||||||
| Abdelrahman et al. (96) | Cotton squares | 5 × 5 | – | – | Light phase | Yes | 0–6 | Yes | – | Nest complexity |
| Arras et al. (97)+ | Hay | – | 18–20 | – | – | Yes | 0–1 | – | – | Nest complexity, descriptive evaluation |
| Beninson et al. (98) | Cotton squares | – | – | – | – | Yes | 1–5 | Yes | No | Nest consolidation |
| Cesarovic et al. (99)+ | Cotton squares | 5 × 5 | – | Yes | Light phase | – | – | – | – | – |
| Falkenberg et al. (100) | Wood wool | – | 6 | Yes | Light phase | Yes | 0–5 | – | Yes | Nest complexity; % integrated material |
| Gallo et al. (58) | Crinkle paper | – | 10 | – | Light phase | Yes | 0–5 | Yes | Yes | Nest complexity, TINT |
| Herndon et al. (101) | Cotton squares | – | 3 | – | Light phase | Yes | – | – | No | Nest complexity, TINT |
| Jirkof et al. (102) | Cotton squares | 5 × 5 | – | – | Light phase | – | – | – | – | Duration % of the day, level of soiling |
| Jirkof et al. (27) | Cotton squares | 5 × 5 | – | – | Light phase | Yes | 0–5 | Yes | Yes | Nest complexity |
| Jirkof et al. (103) | Cotton squares | 5 × 5 | – | – | Light phase | – | – | – | – | Duration % of the day |
| Jirkof et al. (61) | Cotton squares | 5 × 5 | – | – | Light phase | – | 0–5 | – | Yes | Nest complexity |
| Kendall et al. (104) | Paper strips | – | – | – | – | Yes | – | – | Yes | TINT; % integrated material |
| Kumstel et al. (105) | Cotton squares | 5 × 5 | – | – | Light phase | – | 1–6 | Yes | – | Nest complexity |
| Oliver et al. (106) | Cotton squares | – | – | – | Both | Yes | 1–5 | Yes | – | Nest consolidation |
| Oliver et al. (106) | Cotton squares, enviropak | – | – | – | Both | Yes | 1–5 | Yes | – | Nest consolidation |
| Pham et al. (107)+ | Kleenex tissue | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | No | Nest complexity |
| Robinson-Junker et al. (108) | Cotton squares | – | – | – | Light phase | Yes | – | Yes | Yes | TINT |
| Rock et al. (28) | Cotton squares | – | – | – | Light phase | Yes | – | Yes | – | TINT |
| Staib-Lasarzik et al. (109) | Paper towel | – | – | – | – | Yes | 0–2 | – | – | Nest complexity, visual assessment score |
| Van-Loo et al. (110) | Kleenex tissue | – | – | – | – | Yes | 1–4 | – | – | Nest complexity, descriptive evaluation |
| Yuan et al. (111)+ | Cotton squares | 5 × 5 | 2,5 | – | – | – | – | – | Yes | % integrated material |
| Rats | ||||||||||
| Möller et al. (112) | Crinkle paper | – | 14 | Yes | Light phase | Yes | 0–3 | – | No | Latency, nest complexity, level of soiling |
–not reported. Alphabetical characters in the Study ID indicate animal groups within individual studies [first column of the tables; Oliver et al. (106)]. +References were identified during screening of reference lists.