Comparing the use of different environmental enrichment items by Hereford-Holstein cattle in a high containment facility

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Adding environmental enrichment can reduce frustration and stereotyping, improving overall animal welfare and benefitting scientific output. Current research into environmental enrichment for indoor housed cattle is lacking despite such facilities facing unique challenges to maintain high welfare standards. This study compared four different environmental enrichment items in the aim to help inform high containment facilities on the most effective enrichment items for cattle. Five pens holding four 18-month-old Hereford-Holstein cattle were equipped with control enrichment (broom head and salt lick) and one trial enrichment item. The test items were a hay net filled with hay, rope, empty chemical drum, and ball. Items were rotated weekly over a three week period. Interactions between the cattle and enrichment were recorded daily via CCTV, data collected using continuous all-occurrence sampling with three point samples per day, and analysed using negative binomial regression models. Results The hay net elicited the highest interactive frequency and duration. It was also the least affected by habituation, possibly due to the nutritional incentive and novelty created when refilled. A similar level of interaction was seen between the ball and drum and both items were interacted with more than control items. The rope was interacted with less frequently than control items. Conclusion Although the hay net appeared most engaging, all items declined in popularity over time indicating that several different items rotated sporadically may maximise the benefit of enrichment by maintaining the cattle’s interest. Hereford-Holstein cattle high containment environmental enrichment Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Highlights • Four enrichment items were tested on Hereford-Holstein cattle kept in a high containment facility over a weekly rotation period • The hay net was interacted with most frequently and for the longest bouts of time • All the novel enrichment items increased total interaction activity by the cattle • Interaction with all enrichment items declined over time 1. Background Animal welfare is a very broad term that protects an animal’s wellbeing and is a crucial consideration when housing animals. It encompasses the maintenance of an animal’s physical health and provision of their needs (Dawkins 1998 , Broom 1991) as, if an animal’s welfare is poor they will have difficulty coping in their environment (Broom 1991). In the United Kingdom (UK) under the Animal Welfare Act (2006) it is the duty of whomever is responsible for the keeping of animals to provide them with a suitable environment in which they can exhibit normal behaviour patterns. There are “five freedoms” which are adopted as the tenets of animal welfare, first laid out by the UK Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979. These include freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury or disease, freedom to express normal behaviour, and freedom from fear and distress (FAWC 1979). Behavioural measures, such as the frequency of play behaviour and stereotypies (Broom 1991), as a proxy for “freedom to express normal behaviour” can therefore be measured to indicate a level of welfare. The preferences of the animal during choice tests can also provide invaluable information on what conditions are likely to improve their welfare (Broom 1991). Alternatively, there are physiological measures like veterinary health assessments (Dawkins 1998 ), and heart rate (Hagen and Broom 2004 ). However, these don’t necessarily consider the mental state of the animal and can be difficult to distinguish between excitement by negative or positive emotional states (Dawkins 2006 , Hagen and Broom 2004 ). Hagen and Broom ( 2004 ) found that the heart rate of Holstein–Friesian heifers who had been given an operant conditioning task was increased compared with a control group that were subjected to the same conditions but without the task, indicating emotional stimulation from the activity. This may represent excitement or interest but could also be frustration. For the most accurate welfare assessment a holistic approach taking into account several differing indicators may be required (Dawkins 2006 , Taylor et al. 2023). High containment animal housing facilities are used for animals in scientific research. “High containment” indicates that the research involves live pathogens which have the potential to cause serious harm to human and/or animal health (Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens level 3 and Specified Animal Pathogens Order level 3 pathogens and higher (HSE 2023)). Such facilities have strict biosecurity and biosafety requirements to prevent such pathogens from spreading to the outside world or from outside pathogens entering the study area. These requirements include preventing access from the study area to the outside (e.g. no windows or outdoor grazing), High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtered air handling systems that use pressure gradients to prevent movement of air from infected areas to clean areas, specific protective equipment for all staff working in the area, and full chemical decontamination of the building between studies. These biosecurity measures result in the animals in these facilities being kept completely indoors, isolated from all other animals except those on their study, and restrict the amount and type of environmental stimuli that can be provided. The species and number of animals that can be housed depends on the requirements of the research and the size of the facility. The animals are separated into pens and have no interaction with those in other pens. The facility used in this study could house a maximum of 24 adult cattle, split into six pens of four cattle each. Permanent indoor housing for cattle is not only an aspect of high containment facilities; an increasing proportion of cattle farms are adopting year-round indoor practice (Mandel et al. 2016 , Haskell et al. 2006 ). Cattle that live entirely indoors are faced with stressors and limitations that restrict their ability to carry out their natural behaviours (Charlton and Rutter 2017), including reduced space for comfortable lying (Krohn and Munksgaard 1993), abnormal social groupings, (Mandel et al. 2016 ), and reduced time spent feeding (Gomez and Cook 2010). Indoor housing can also reduce their physical health, such as the increased occurrence of lameness (Haskell et al 2006 , Vanegas et al. 2006 ), which provides a challenge for maintaining high standards of animal welfare. A study using Holstein Friesian calves found that insufficient space inhibited performance of play behaviours and that release from a small pen (1.5m 2 per calf) into a larger open arena (9.6x4.8 m) triggered the performance of significantly more play behaviour by calves (Jensen and Kyhn 2000 ). This suggests that these activities are restricted while the cattle are held in small spaces but that the motivation to carry out such activities remains. Keeping cattle in an environment which provides space for both essential and non-essential activities, improves animal welfare and fitness (Mandel, et al., 2016 ). For this reason, play behaviour and grooming are good positive indicators of cattle welfare (Jensen and Kyhn, 2000 , Mandel et al 2013 ) as they demonstrate full facilitation of their behavioural needs. Effective environmental enrichment can be described as an addition/modification to an animals’ surroundings which improves measures of welfare above those observed during minimum husbandry standards (Newberry, 1995 ). Environmental enrichment is designed to enable cattle to better cope with stressors in their environment by giving them increased available behavioural options (Dickson et al. 2024 ), potentially mitigating stress and boredom (Miranda et al. 2023 , Ninomiya 2014 ). Enrichment can reduce frustration (Schulze Westerath, et al., 2014 ), agonistic behaviours (Park, et al., 2020 ), abnormal behaviours (Park, et al., 2020 , Meneses, et al., 2021 ), can increase fitness and physical health (Newberry, 1995 , Mandel, et al., 2016 ), and positively affect weight gain (Ishiwata, et al. 2006 , Dickson et al. 2024 ). The provision of enrichment that provides an outlet for species-specific behaviours (e.g. grooming and oral manipulation for cattle) is mandated in the Animal Scientific Procedures Act (ASPA) 1986 UK code of practice and is essential to the welfare of indoor cattle; failure to do so may contribute to the development of stereotyping (Zhang et al. 2022 , Mason 1991 , Radkowska et al 2020 ). Habituation is a decrease in response to an external stimulus with long term exposure (Trickett et al. 2009 ) and is a common occurrence with enrichment for many species including cattle (Russell et al. 2024 ). For example Wilson et al. ( 2002 ) found that Charolais-cross heifers began to lose interest in scent-releasing enrichment devices after the first day of exposure. The extent to which habituation to enrichment occurs depends on the item and the individual animal (Russell et al. 2024 , Park et al. 2020 ). When housed outdoors, cattle scratch and rub against objects such as trees to physically groom themselves (Mandel et al. 2016 , Kohari et al. 2007 ). In indoor farming practices mounted brushes are a commonly utilised to enable the cattle to express this self-grooming behaviour (Horvath and Miller-Cushon 2019 , Dickson et al. 2024 ). The presence of a brush in an indoor facility decreases the occurrence of stereotypic behaviours including headbutting, allogrooming, and bar licking (Meneses et al. 2021 ) and may reduce frustration by allowing grooming of hard to reach body parts (DeVries et al. 2007 ). Adult cattle are highly motivated to access brushes (McConnachie et al. 2018), and never fully habituate to scratching enrichment suggesting it provides consistent long-term stimulation of a key behavioural need (Park et al. 2020 , Wilson et al. 2002 ). It is unlikely for enrichment to be widely implemented unless it is considered by the people managing livestock to be practical for the facility, cost effective and with clear benefits to the animals (Taylor et al. 2023). In high containment facilities enrichment options are limited to what will not interfere with the research or husbandry work, and can comply with the waste management system (i.e. must be either disposable or able to withstand full chemical decontamination and must not impair the waste treatment process). With limited options but a high need for environmental additions, it is important to know which enrichment items are most effective. Different environmental enrichment will vary in the extent to which they benefit the cattle (Taylor et al. 2023) and will provide opportunity for expression of different behaviours (Pelley et al. 1995 ). Successful physical enrichment will attract consistent attention from the cattle and allow expression of natural behavioural needs (Newberry 1995 ). This study aimed to compare four different physical environmental enrichment items by analysing the duration and frequency of their use by twenty cattle. The preference of the cattle is assumed to reflect how beneficial the different environmental enrichment are to the cattle's welfare and thus their efficacy as enrichment (Broom 1991). The following items were chosen to encourage typical cattle play behaviours, which included oral manipulation, headbutting, chewing, pushing and scratching/rubbing (Zhang et al. 2022 , Zobel et al. 2017 ). The chosen items were; a drawstring hay net filled with hay allowing for foraging and grooming, (separate to the ad libitum hay provided in their housing); an empty washed out 25L chemical drum that is anecdotally popular for headbutting behaviours; a rubber Kong ball with handles, allowing for oral manipulation and chewing behaviours as well as headbutting; and a large knot of natural fibre rope that could be used for chewing, licking and expressing oral behaviours. Items were rotated weekly over a three-week period. 2. Materials and Method 2.1 Animals and Housing The study took place at the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) high containment research facility in England, UK. Cattle used for scientific research at APHA are protected by ASPA. This study was conducted in accordance with this legislation. Ethical approval for the concomitant research for which the cattle were being held at APHA was given by the Home Office under a specific project licence and by APHA’s Animal Welfare Ethical Review Board. Additional ethical approval for this study was not required as the provision of extra enrichment was above minimum standards and data were collected via Closed Circuit Television (CCTV). Five identical pens (30.35 sq m) each containing four cattle (18 months old, male, Hereford-Holstein steers) were set up in a high containment facility. Pens were constructed of solid green painted walls with two solid access doors for staff on opposite sides (Fig. 1 ). Animals could therefore not see anything outside their pen. Pens had no natural light or furnishings, and were equipped with metal gates, metal feed troughs, metal automatic water trough, and metal hay racks filled with hay. Straw was used as bedding, which was changed daily. All cattle in this study were purchased by APHA from a commercial farm based in Denmark and were the property of APHA. The cattle were used for a concomitant scientific study into the immunogenicity of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccinations. This involved all cattle being vaccinated (half the cattle with BCG and half with a control substance) and then infected with Mycobacterium bovis , followed by regular blood sampling. It was assumed that neither vaccination status nor infection status would have any effect on their general behaviour since the vaccination was carried out several months earlier and Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic disease in which clinical signs are not seen at this stage. This concomitant BCG study dictated the sample size (four cattle per pen). No procedures or invasive practices were carried out for the duration of behavioural data collection, only routine husbandry. Routine husbandry involved one member of staff entering the pen at approximately 08:00 and moving the cattle to one side of the pen using the metal gates to create a barrier. All bedding from the empty side was shovelled into bins and replaced with fresh straw. Cattle were then moved to the clean side and the process was repeated. After this the cattle were fed concentrated feed (For Farmers) and the hay in the hay racks topped up. Staff members remained consistent throughout the study. Cattle were fed 1kg per individual of commercial concentrated feed supplied by For Farmers twice a day between 08:00–08:30 in the mornings and 14:00–14:30 in the afternoons using communal troughs in each pen. Hay racks in the pens were filled with two bales of hay every morning resulting in ad libitum access to hay. The pens had an artificial light cycle that mimicked natural day lengths; lights came on gradually starting at 06:00 and turned off gradually at 20:00. 2.2 Experimental Design The study ran over a three-week period with test items rotated each week. Each pen had a 60cm broom head (made from wood with PVC bristles) and a 10kg Equisalt salt lick (made from natural rocksalt without additives), providing an outlet for oral manipulation and essential nutritional salt supplement (Farm & Stable in UK). The broom head was tied to a central post with bristles facing out and the salt lick was placed on a salt lick holder mounted to the wall (Fig. 1 ). Brushes and saltlick were chosen as control enrichment for this study and were permanently placed in all pens. This prevented the cattle being without any effective enrichment for long periods of time and thus maintained an adequate standard of animal housing as laid out in the ASPA Code of Practice guidelines for cattle housing, which stipulates acceptable parameters in order to fulfil the requirements of sections 21 (5) of ASPA. Test items consisted of a 106cm hay net with large holes and drawstring (Farm & Stable, UK) filled with approximately 3kg of hay during morning feed each day, a 30cm red rubber kong ball with two large handles (Pets at home UK), an empty washed-out 25L plastic chemical drum (Brenntag, UK), and a large knot of natural fibre rope (Screwfix, UK). The test enrichment items were all hung at cattle head height from the same post that cattle had easy access to, in a position that ensured the items would not get in the way of the gates or husbandry work. One pen was always left with control enrichment only as a “control, no enrichment” on rotation. One test item was hung in each pen apart from the “control, no enrichment” pen. After a week the items were rotated between the five pens; this continued for a total of three weeks. Items were randomised between pens based on a partial latin square design such that no pen had the same item for more than one week and no pen was the “control, no enrichment” for more than one week. Items were not cleaned or replaced when rotated to a new pen so would potentially have residual traces of previous interactions. Cattle were observed via a CCTV camera placed in the top corner of each pen. The same person performed all the observations, avoiding intra-observer variation. Each pen was observed by continuous all-occurrences sampling for three five-minute intervals each day. Any interaction that began within that 5 minute window was measured until its end, even if it continued for more than 5 minutes. Interaction frequency and duration with the enrichment and control items was counted and timed. An interaction was defined as a single animal making physical contact with the item. If two cattle were interacting with an item at the same time that was counted as two interactions. Interaction with the broom head and the salt lick were both counted as interaction with control items. 2.3 Sampling frequency determination A short pre-study investigation was carried out to determine the most reliable sampling frequency to use to increase the validity of our methodology (see Fig. 2 for timeline). One pen of four cattle was given control enrichment items (broom head and salt lick), and cattle were observed via CCTV for five days. During this period, every interaction with the control items was timed and recorded. Using these data we determined that observation periods of five minutes at a time provided sufficient opportunity to observe interactions whilst remaining logistically feasible. Activity levels of the cattle were observed using instantaneous scan sampling every half hour during daylight hours (06:30 − 19:30) for one week. The number of active cattle were counted, with active being defined as “not lying down”. These data showed they were most active at feed times. However, this is not suitable for observing enrichment interactions as the entire period is spent eating and there is significant interference from human presence. Therefore, the most active times at least one hour after feeding were used as the set observation points; these were 10:00 and 18:00. To maximise the representation gathered of the cattle’s behaviour across the whole day it was decided to also use a third observation point at a random time each day within daylight hours, which was determined using a random number generator. This is in accordance with Eisenhauer and Hanks ( 2020 ) who found that irregular sampling using a combination of set and random time points increases the efficiency and accuracy of data collection in ethological studies. 2.4 Statistical analysis 2.4.1 Modelling interaction count data A negative binomial regression model was used for the interaction count data, with the independent variables as follows: Novel enrichment type, factor variable. Factors: none (baseline), ball, drum, hay net, rope. Day of study, continuous. Values from 1 to 23. Observation slot, factor variable. Factors: 11am (baseline), 6pm, the random time Pen was included as a random effect. Two different dependent variables were used in order to explore this data fully, firstly the total number of interactions with either the novel enrichment items or the control items (Model 1), and secondly the total number of interactions with only the control items (Model 2). 2.4.2 Modelling interaction time length For these models only observation periods containing at least one interaction were included. The duration of the individual interactions within each observation period were summed and log10-transformed to produce an approximately normal distribution. A normal regression model was used to model this log-time data using the same three independent variables as described above and pen as a random effect. As for count data, the dependent variable is the total duration of interactions with all items (Model 3). Statistical analyses were performed using Strata 15.0 (StrataCorp 2017). 3. Results Tables 1 and 2 display the number and time of interactions between each enrichment item. Model 1: Dependent variable is the count of interactions with all enrichments Table 3 gives the results for Model 1. Adding any novel enrichment to the pens significantly increased the total number of interactions observed. Interaction levels dropped gradually over the time period of the study, and significant differences in total number of interactions were also seen between the three observation time slots. The cows were significantly more active during the 6pm slot and the randomly selected slot than the 11am slot. Model 2: Dependent variable is the count of interactions with control items only The results from Model 2 are presented in Table 4 . The addition of the drum and rope significantly increased the number of interactions with the control items, when compared to only the control items being present in the pen. Unlike Model 2 there is no evidence of a drop off in interaction with the control items over the period of this study as the Day effect is not significant. As in Model 2, the 6pm and random slots have a significantly higher rate of interactions than the 11am slot. Model 3: Normal regression: dependent variable = log (Total time interacting with any enrichment) The results from Model 3 are presented in Table 5 . All four novel enrichments increase the time spent with enrichment compared to only having the control items, but only the Ball and Hay net reach statistical significance. There is no significant effect seen for Day nor Observation slot on the duration of interactions (see Table 5 ). 4. Discussion This study suggests that adult cattle will utilise additional and novel enrichment when given the opportunity indicating that it is advantageous for the cattle’s welfare to provide these resources (Russell et al. 2024 ). This is demonstrated by the over 200% increase in total interactions with enrichment when a novel enrichment item was present compared with when only control items were present. In a high containment facility good animal welfare may have knock on benefits for the validity of data being collected. The physiology and condition of the cattle can be significantly affected by their behaviour (Ishiwata et al. 2006 , Hagen and Broom 2004 ), and it may be more difficult to obtain a live sample from a stressed animal so high standards of welfare are a necessity for reliable scientific output particularly on long-term scientific studies. For example, it has been demonstrated that enrichment treatments led to lower lactate levels in Gir x Holstein calves suggestive of lower stress levels during handling for blood sampling (Miranda et a. 2013). The broom head and salt lick were given as control items as these were deemed the minimum level of environmental enrichment that would maintain a sufficient standard of welfare for cattle in high containment as per the Code of Practices set out under ASPA 1986. The broom head allows for grooming behaviours and the salt lick for oral behaviours. Both these items are well established in cattle husbandry practices both on farms and in scientific housing (Park et al. 2020 , Meneses et al. 2021 , Ninomiya 2019 ). Interest in the control items remained consistent throughout the study, indicating that they are not significantly affected by habituation. The addition of novel enrichment to a pen did not cause any decrease in the use of the brush and salt lick, indicating that they do not compete with the test enrichment items. This confirms that they were good choices for control items and are a good minimum enrichment requirement for indoor cattle. They provide essential behavioural outlets, stimulating the cattle to perform species-specific behaviour. With all the novel test items there was a significant decline in interaction as the study progressed and the novelty factor wore off. This was expected and is a well-documented aspect of cattle behaviour, although the extent to which habituation occurs has been shown to vary between individual cattle (Trickett et al. 2009 , Wilson et al. 2002 , Russell et al. 2024 ). The initial peak in interest in the novel items can be explained by exploratory behaviour (Trickett et al. 2009 ). However, the novelty was short lived. This illustrates the value in regularly changing enrichment in pens and introducing novel items to maximise behavioural stimulation and mental interest (Zhang et al. 2022 ). It is unclear whether the smell of other cattle on the enrichment items had any off-putting or encouraging effect. The time of day had a significant effect on the number of interactions. The cattle interacted with enrichment significantly more at 6 pm and the random time slot than the 11 am slot. Cattle are typically ruminating at 11:00; rumination in Holstein cattle peaked at 4 hours after feeding (Schirmann et al. 2012 ), which for this study would be approximately 12:00. This demonstrates the importance of sticking to a fixed time schedule when assessing cattle behaviour. The extent to which the enrichment items were interacted with varied between items. Out of the four items tested, the hay net was the most utilised. It was the item most frequently interacted with, the item they spent the longest time with and was used significantly more than control enrichment. The presence of the hay net increased the total number of interactions with all enrichment in the pen more than 5-fold and the time spent interacting by 4.5 times compared with control enrichment alone. It did not significantly increase the number or duration of interactions with the control items, suggesting the total increase is due to the cattle interacting with the hay net. This matches the results of Zhang et al. ( 2022 ) who found that singly housed Holstein calves with limited social contact showed a preference for interacting with a hay net over other items including a stationary brush and rope, despite having ad libitum access to hay in their housing. The popularity of the hay net was most likely due to its greater number of interactive behaviour options and the daily novelty created by refilling it with hay each morning which may have better maintained the cattle’s interest. The hay net combines a play behaviour outlet incentive with a nutritional incentive and allows for the expression of normal grazing/feeding behaviour which is crucial for cattle welfare. Whilst interacting with the item, the cattle could alternate between eating and playing, such as headbutting and scratching (Zhang et al. 2022 ). Ruminants typically spend long periods of time engaged in feeding behaviours (Albright 1993 ). Cattle kept entirely indoors do not have access to grazing which affects their time budget. Play behaviour is typically an event of shorter duration, so to combine grazing/feeding with play could be a popular activity for indoor cattle and result in a large amount of interaction (Albright 1993 , DeVries et al. 2007 ). The drum and hay net both had a great effect on the total number of interactions with enrichment, increasing the number of interactions by 6.303 and 5.538 times respectively (see Table 3 ). However, the presence of the drum significantly increased the number of interactions with the control enrichment. This accounted for a large portion of the total increase and no statistically significant preference between the control items and the drum was found. It is unclear why this effect was seen. It may be that the drum induced a state of excitement or curiosity which was then expressed using the control enrichments. A limitation of this study is that teasing apart the effects of the novel items from the effects of the control items is made more difficult because it was not possible to have a pen without any enrichment for ethical reasons. The cattle showed a significant preference for the ball over control enrichment, and the presence of the ball increased the number of interactions with enrichment by a factor of 4.292 (see Table 3 ). The ball is a squishy rubber texture with easily accessible handles making it good for chewing and other oral manipulation behaviours. It is also very mobile, being easily swung around and headbutted. This study observed that a popular form of interaction for the cattle was to swing the items around using their head, making full use of the large degree of motion available to them by the hanging installation. This is consistent with Strappini et al. ( 2021 ) which found that weaned Holstein-Friesian calves showed a preference for a mechanical brush over a stationary one, suggesting they prefer the rotational, mobile tactile stimulation. Further research is recommended into the preference for mobile over fixed enrichment. The knotted rope was of the least interest to the cattle. Although the presence of the rope did significantly increase the number of enrichment interactions observed, it did so to a much lesser extent than the other novel items. Furthermore, the increase mostly consisted of increased interactions with the control items and there is no statistical evidence that the rope was preferred over the control items. The rope is the only item made from an absorbent material, therefore there would likely be stronger traces of the previous cattle and perhaps more damp from saliva on the rope compared to the other items. This may have affected its appeal. Alternatively, the rope may have been engaged with less than other items simply because of the reduced variety within the item. The other enrichments were hung from the post using the same rope and the cattle were occasionally observed chewing this rope while interacting with their item indicating that the behavioural outlet of chewing/scratching on rope can be gained within interacting with these other more varied items. The data for the time spent interacting with enrichment support the conclusions from those of the number of interactions but less strongly (i.e. fewer statistically significant results). All the novel enrichments increased the total time spent interacting with enrichment compared with control enrichment alone but this was only significant for the ball and hay net. The effects of time of day and day of the study were not significant for the time spent interacting with enrichment, whereas they were for the number of interactions. There was only a weak relationship between number of interactions and time spent interacting, which may partly be due to the data collection methods used. 5. Conclusion This study reinforces the benefits of a grooming brush and salt lick as essential additions to cattle housing facilities to maintain sufficient animal welfare and found no habituation with these items. Of the novel environmental enrichment tested, the hay net was engaged with the most by the cattle, likely due to its multifunctionality. The provision of novel enrichment, regardless of item, increased the overall interaction activity which suggests the presence of novel items stimulates playful behaviour in the cattle. All of the novel enrichment items were subject to a decline in interest over time as the cattle became habituated, suggesting benefits to regularly rotating items. The effects of time of day on enrichment interactions confirms variability in behaviour across the day and reinforces the importance of a fixed schedule when assessing behaviour. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Ethical approval for the concomitant research for which the cattle were being held at APHA was given by the Home Office under a specific project licence and by APHA’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body. Additional ethical approval for this study was not required as the provision of extra enrichment was above minimum standards and data were collected via Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Consent for publication Not applicable Availability of data and materials The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests Funding This enrichment study was funded by Animal and Plant Health Agency. The study for which the animals were primarily used was funded by the Department for environment, Farming and Rural Affairs Authors' contributions RSL wrote the manuscript with the help of TK, AR and RJ RSL and AR designed the study RJ analysed the data Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr Camille Harrison for critical review of the paper, and Dr Gareth Jones for supporting the study References Albright J. 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The role of novelty in environmental enrichment for the weaned pig. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2009;116:45-51. Vanegas J, Overton M, Berry SL, Sischo WM. Effect of rubber flooring on claw health in lactating diary cows housed in free-stall barns. Journal of dairy science, 2006;89;11:4251-4258. Wilson S, Mitlöhner F, Morrow-Tesch J, Dailey J, McGlone J. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. An assessment of several potential enrichment devices for feedlot cattle. 2002;76:259-65. Zhang C, Juniper DT, McDonald R, Parsons S, Meagher RK. Holstein calves' preference for potential physical enrichment items on different presentation schedules. Journal of Dairy Science. 2022;105;10:8316-27. Zobel G, Neave HW, Henderson HV, Webster J. Calves use an automated brush and a hanging rope when pair-housed. Animals. 2017;7:84. Tables Table 1) Table of the median and interquartile range for the number of interactions with the test enrichment Median and interquartile range (IQR) for the number of observed interactions with test enrichment per day Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Total Median IQR Median IQR Median IQR Median IQR Drum 0.50 1.50 1.50 2.00 0.00 0.50 0.00 1.50 Hay net 0.50 1.75 1.00 0.50 1.00 0.50 1.00 1.00 Ball 1.00 1.25 0.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 Rope 0.50 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.50 Control 0.00 0.00 1.00 1.25 0.00 0.50 0.00 1.00 Table of the median number of observed interactions with the test enrichment items per day (total of three observation periods per day) for each week, and the overall median per day for the entire study. Medians are separated by item. The items were rotated into a different pen at the end of each week apart from the control enrichment which was present throughout Table 2) Table of the mean time spent interacting with the test enrichment Median and interquartile range (IQR) for the time observed interacting with test enrichment per day (minutes) Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Total Median IQR Median IQR Median IQR Median IQR Drum 00:01 00:43 00:44 03:22 00:00 00:20 00:00 00:50 Hay net 00:25 07:00 03:30 07:37 01:55 01:53 02:04 04:10 Ball 01:01 04:42 00:00 02:08 00:13 02:45 00:13 03:57 Rope 00:02 00:17 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:02 Control 00:00 00:00 01:00 03:45 00:00 00:30 00:00 00:44 Table of the median time observed interacting with the test enrichment items per day (total of three observation periods per day) for each week, and the overall median per day for the entire study. Medians are separated by item. The items were rotated into a different pen at the end of each week apart from the control enrichment which was present throughout Table 3) Results for Model 1: Dependent variable is the count of interactions with all enrichments Independent variable Factor Model coefficient* 95% CI p-value Novel Enrichment None (baseline) added Ball 4.29 2.10 – 8.79 <0.001 Drum 6.30 2.95 – 13.45 <0.001 Hay net 5.54 2.59 – 11.84 <0.001 Rope 2.87 1.36 – 6.06 0.006 Pen 2 (baseline) 3 0.77 0.42 – 1.41 0.400 4 0.45 0.14 – 0.84 0.012 5 0.82 0.45 – 1.51 0.532 6 1.61 0.91 – 2.87 0.105 Day - 0.97 0.94 – 1.00 0.032 Observation slot 11am (baseline) 6pm 2.44 1.55 – 3.82 <0.001 Random 1.83 1.15 – 2.92 0.011 The baseline for the model is no novel enrichment in pen 2 at 11am on day 0. Coefficient 1 indicates a positive relationship Table 4) Results for Model 2: Dependent variable is the count of interactions with control items only Independent variable Factor Model coefficient* 95% CI p-value Novel Enrichment None (baseline) added Ball 2.11 0.99 – 4.50 0.054 Drum 4.43 1.93 – 1.017 <0.001 Hay net 1.73 0.71 – 4.23 0.231 Rope 2.50 1.14 – 5.47 0.022 Pen 2 (baseline) 3 0.67 0.33 – 1.36 0.268 4 0.36 0.17 – 0.77 0.008 5 0.79 0.37 – 1.72 0.558 6 1.65 0.88 – 3.11 0.120 Day - 1.00 0.96 – 1.03 0.870 Observation slot 11am (baseline) 6pm 3.52 1.96 – 6.30 <0.001 Random 2.43 1.32 – 4.48 0.004 The baseline for the model is no novel enrichment in pen 2 at 11am on day 0. Coefficient 1 indicates a positive relationship Table 5 - Results for Model 3: Dependent variable is the duration of interactions with all enrichments Independent variable Factor Model coefficient 95% CI p-value Novel Enrichment None (baseline) Ball 0.98 0.11 – 1.85 0.028 Drum 0.58 -0.41 – 1.57 0.252 Hay net 1.50 0.53 – 2.46 0.003 Rope 0.37 -0.54 – 1.28 0.421 Pen 2 (baseline) 3 -0.40 -1.14 – 0.33 0.280 4 0.01 -0.73 – 0.76 0.975 5 -0.09 -0.79 – 0.62 0.802 6 0.35 -0.33 – 1.04 0.310 Day - 0.02 -0.02 – 0.05 0.349 Observation slot 11am (baseline) 6pm 0.32 -0.25 – 0.89 0.265 Random -0.01 -0.59 – 0.57 0.972 Linear regression model of the log-transformation duration of interaction (in minutes). The baseline for the model is no novel enrichment in pen 2 at 11am on day 0. Coefficient 0 suggests a positive association Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Veterinary Research → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 21 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 20 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 01 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 01 Oct, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 30 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 30 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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09:42:44","extension":"xml","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":116306,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"88d518d7b4004ca2b363abda1baee8df1structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7648153/v1/3d1419a958e640595f10a8a2.xml"},{"id":93668747,"identity":"26e6ecd2-f6b4-4c9a-a94e-79432f5a5312","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 09:34:44","extension":"html","order_by":10,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":126351,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7648153/v1/e40df11f31ab62a74b80a887.html"},{"id":93668736,"identity":"7a452688-69b1-4811-874a-8d9f5e15c4c0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 09:34:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":91105,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003ePen layout\u003c/u\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDiagram of the approximate layout of the animal pens with the broom head and salt lick in position. The hay net is placed as an example test enrichment item in the test location.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7648153/v1/015fd05cccdb5115d27f0b03.jpg"},{"id":93668735,"identity":"65959f05-7d28-467f-9a19-5cca5523f594","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 09:34:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":93973,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eStudy timeline\u003c/u\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTimeline of the study showing enrichment item introduction and rotation, and table showing the placement of enrichment items across pens.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7648153/v1/76a268bba6f9d1e30ee0e8ca.jpg"},{"id":99172275,"identity":"93116770-3b63-4644-afdd-a2fc9933d9f2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-29 16:06:59","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":895292,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7648153/v1/ab02ce54-2455-4436-a937-2a260bdd56ae.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Comparing the use of different environmental enrichment items by Hereford-Holstein cattle in a high containment facility","fulltext":[{"header":"Highlights","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Four enrichment items were tested on Hereford-Holstein cattle kept in a high containment facility over a weekly rotation period\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; The hay net was interacted with most frequently and for the longest bouts of time\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; All the novel enrichment items increased total interaction activity by the cattle\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Interaction with all enrichment items declined over time\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"1. Background","content":"\u003cp\u003eAnimal welfare is a very broad term that protects an animal\u0026rsquo;s wellbeing and is a crucial consideration when housing animals. It encompasses the maintenance of an animal\u0026rsquo;s physical health and provision of their needs (Dawkins \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e, Broom 1991) as, if an animal\u0026rsquo;s welfare is poor they will have difficulty coping in their environment (Broom 1991). In the United Kingdom (UK) under the Animal Welfare Act (2006) it is the duty of whomever is responsible for the keeping of animals to provide them with a suitable environment in which they can exhibit normal behaviour patterns. There are \u0026ldquo;five freedoms\u0026rdquo; which are adopted as the tenets of animal welfare, first laid out by the UK Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979. These include freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury or disease, freedom to express normal behaviour, and freedom from fear and distress (FAWC 1979). Behavioural measures, such as the frequency of play behaviour and stereotypies (Broom 1991), as a proxy for \u0026ldquo;freedom to express normal behaviour\u0026rdquo; can therefore be measured to indicate a level of welfare. The preferences of the animal during choice tests can also provide invaluable information on what conditions are likely to improve their welfare (Broom 1991). Alternatively, there are physiological measures like veterinary health assessments (Dawkins \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e), and heart rate (Hagen and Broom \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e). However, these don\u0026rsquo;t necessarily consider the mental state of the animal and can be difficult to distinguish between excitement by negative or positive emotional states (Dawkins \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e, Hagen and Broom \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e). Hagen and Broom (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e) found that the heart rate of Holstein\u0026ndash;Friesian heifers who had been given an operant conditioning task was increased compared with a control group that were subjected to the same conditions but without the task, indicating emotional stimulation from the activity. This may represent excitement or interest but could also be frustration. For the most accurate welfare assessment a holistic approach taking into account several differing indicators may be required (Dawkins \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e, Taylor et al. 2023).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh containment animal housing facilities are used for animals in scientific research. \u0026ldquo;High containment\u0026rdquo; indicates that the research involves live pathogens which have the potential to cause serious harm to human and/or animal health (Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens level 3 and Specified Animal Pathogens Order level 3 pathogens and higher (HSE 2023)). Such facilities have strict biosecurity and biosafety requirements to prevent such pathogens from spreading to the outside world or from outside pathogens entering the study area. These requirements include preventing access from the study area to the outside (e.g. no windows or outdoor grazing), High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtered air handling systems that use pressure gradients to prevent movement of air from infected areas to clean areas, specific protective equipment for all staff working in the area, and full chemical decontamination of the building between studies. These biosecurity measures result in the animals in these facilities being kept completely indoors, isolated from all other animals except those on their study, and restrict the amount and type of environmental stimuli that can be provided. The species and number of animals that can be housed depends on the requirements of the research and the size of the facility. The animals are separated into pens and have no interaction with those in other pens. The facility used in this study could house a maximum of 24 adult cattle, split into six pens of four cattle each.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePermanent indoor housing for cattle is not only an aspect of high containment facilities; an increasing proportion of cattle farms are adopting year-round indoor practice (Mandel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e, Haskell et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). Cattle that live entirely indoors are faced with stressors and limitations that restrict their ability to carry out their natural behaviours (Charlton and Rutter 2017), including reduced space for comfortable lying (Krohn and Munksgaard 1993), abnormal social groupings, (Mandel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e), and reduced time spent feeding (Gomez and Cook 2010). Indoor housing can also reduce their physical health, such as the increased occurrence of lameness (Haskell et al \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e, Vanegas et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e), which provides a challenge for maintaining high standards of animal welfare.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA study using Holstein Friesian calves found that insufficient space inhibited performance of play behaviours and that release from a small pen (1.5m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e per calf) into a larger open arena (9.6x4.8 m) triggered the performance of significantly more play behaviour by calves (Jensen and Kyhn \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). This suggests that these activities are restricted while the cattle are held in small spaces but that the motivation to carry out such activities remains. Keeping cattle in an environment which provides space for both essential and non-essential activities, improves animal welfare and fitness (Mandel, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). For this reason, play behaviour and grooming are good positive indicators of cattle welfare (Jensen and Kyhn, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e, Mandel et al \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e) as they demonstrate full facilitation of their behavioural needs.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEffective environmental enrichment can be described as an addition/modification to an animals\u0026rsquo; surroundings which improves measures of welfare above those observed during minimum husbandry standards (Newberry, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e). Environmental enrichment is designed to enable cattle to better cope with stressors in their environment by giving them increased available behavioural options (Dickson et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), potentially mitigating stress and boredom (Miranda et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e, Ninomiya \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). Enrichment can reduce frustration (Schulze Westerath, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e), agonistic behaviours (Park, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), abnormal behaviours (Park, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e, Meneses, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e), can increase fitness and physical health (Newberry, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e, Mandel, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e), and positively affect weight gain (Ishiwata, et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e, Dickson et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). The provision of enrichment that provides an outlet for species-specific behaviours (e.g. grooming and oral manipulation for cattle) is mandated in the Animal Scientific Procedures Act (ASPA) 1986 UK code of practice and is essential to the welfare of indoor cattle; failure to do so may contribute to the development of stereotyping (Zhang et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e, Mason \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e, Radkowska et al \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHabituation is a decrease in response to an external stimulus with long term exposure (Trickett et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e) and is a common occurrence with enrichment for many species including cattle (Russell et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). For example Wilson et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e) found that Charolais-cross heifers began to lose interest in scent-releasing enrichment devices after the first day of exposure. The extent to which habituation to enrichment occurs depends on the item and the individual animal (Russell et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e, Park et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). When housed outdoors, cattle scratch and rub against objects such as trees to physically groom themselves (Mandel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e, Kohari et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). In indoor farming practices mounted brushes are a commonly utilised to enable the cattle to express this self-grooming behaviour (Horvath and Miller-Cushon \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e, Dickson et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). The presence of a brush in an indoor facility decreases the occurrence of stereotypic behaviours including headbutting, allogrooming, and bar licking (Meneses et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) and may reduce frustration by allowing grooming of hard to reach body parts (DeVries et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Adult cattle are highly motivated to access brushes (McConnachie et al. 2018), and never fully habituate to scratching enrichment suggesting it provides consistent long-term stimulation of a key behavioural need (Park et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e, Wilson et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is unlikely for enrichment to be widely implemented unless it is considered by the people managing livestock to be practical for the facility, cost effective and with clear benefits to the animals (Taylor et al. 2023). In high containment facilities enrichment options are limited to what will not interfere with the research or husbandry work, and can comply with the waste management system (i.e. must be either disposable or able to withstand full chemical decontamination and must not impair the waste treatment process). With limited options but a high need for environmental additions, it is important to know which enrichment items are most effective. Different environmental enrichment will vary in the extent to which they benefit the cattle (Taylor et al. 2023) and will provide opportunity for expression of different behaviours (Pelley et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e). Successful physical enrichment will attract consistent attention from the cattle and allow expression of natural behavioural needs (Newberry \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study aimed to compare four different physical environmental enrichment items by analysing the duration and frequency of their use by twenty cattle. The preference of the cattle is assumed to reflect how beneficial the different environmental enrichment are to the cattle's welfare and thus their efficacy as enrichment (Broom 1991). The following items were chosen to encourage typical cattle play behaviours, which included oral manipulation, headbutting, chewing, pushing and scratching/rubbing (Zhang et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e, Zobel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). The chosen items were; a drawstring hay net filled with hay allowing for foraging and grooming, (separate to the ad libitum hay provided in their housing); an empty washed out 25L chemical drum that is anecdotally popular for headbutting behaviours; a rubber Kong ball with handles, allowing for oral manipulation and chewing behaviours as well as headbutting; and a large knot of natural fibre rope that could be used for chewing, licking and expressing oral behaviours. Items were rotated weekly over a three-week period.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Materials and Method","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.1 Animals and Housing\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study took place at the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) high containment research facility in England, UK. Cattle used for scientific research at APHA are protected by ASPA. This study was conducted in accordance with this legislation. Ethical approval for the concomitant research for which the cattle were being held at APHA was given by the Home Office under a specific project licence and by APHA\u0026rsquo;s Animal Welfare Ethical Review Board. Additional ethical approval for this study was not required as the provision of extra enrichment was above minimum standards and data were collected via Closed Circuit Television (CCTV).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFive identical pens (30.35 sq m) each containing four cattle (18 months old, male, Hereford-Holstein steers) were set up in a high containment facility. Pens were constructed of solid green painted walls with two solid access doors for staff on opposite sides (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Animals could therefore not see anything outside their pen. Pens had no natural light or furnishings, and were equipped with metal gates, metal feed troughs, metal automatic water trough, and metal hay racks filled with hay. Straw was used as bedding, which was changed daily.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll cattle in this study were purchased by APHA from a commercial farm based in Denmark and were the property of APHA. The cattle were used for a concomitant scientific study into the immunogenicity of Bacillus Calmette-Gu\u0026eacute;rin (BCG) vaccinations. This involved all cattle being vaccinated (half the cattle with BCG and half with a control substance) and then infected with \u003cem\u003eMycobacterium bovis\u003c/em\u003e, followed by regular blood sampling. It was assumed that neither vaccination status nor infection status would have any effect on their general behaviour since the vaccination was carried out several months earlier and Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic disease in which clinical signs are not seen at this stage. This concomitant BCG study dictated the sample size (four cattle per pen). No procedures or invasive practices were carried out for the duration of behavioural data collection, only routine husbandry. Routine husbandry involved one member of staff entering the pen at approximately 08:00 and moving the cattle to one side of the pen using the metal gates to create a barrier. All bedding from the empty side was shovelled into bins and replaced with fresh straw. Cattle were then moved to the clean side and the process was repeated. After this the cattle were fed concentrated feed (For Farmers) and the hay in the hay racks topped up. Staff members remained consistent throughout the study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCattle were fed 1kg per individual of commercial concentrated feed supplied by For Farmers twice a day between 08:00\u0026ndash;08:30 in the mornings and 14:00\u0026ndash;14:30 in the afternoons using communal troughs in each pen. Hay racks in the pens were filled with two bales of hay every morning resulting in ad libitum access to hay. The pens had an artificial light cycle that mimicked natural day lengths; lights came on gradually starting at 06:00 and turned off gradually at 20:00.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.2 Experimental Design\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study ran over a three-week period with test items rotated each week. Each pen had a 60cm broom head (made from wood with PVC bristles) and a 10kg Equisalt salt lick (made from natural rocksalt without additives), providing an outlet for oral manipulation and essential nutritional salt supplement (Farm \u0026amp; Stable in UK). The broom head was tied to a central post with bristles facing out and the salt lick was placed on a salt lick holder mounted to the wall (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Brushes and saltlick were chosen as control enrichment for this study and were permanently placed in all pens. This prevented the cattle being without any effective enrichment for long periods of time and thus maintained an adequate standard of animal housing as laid out in the ASPA Code of Practice guidelines for cattle housing, which stipulates acceptable parameters in order to fulfil the requirements of sections 21 (5) of ASPA.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTest items consisted of a 106cm hay net with large holes and drawstring (Farm \u0026amp; Stable, UK) filled with approximately 3kg of hay during morning feed each day, a 30cm red rubber kong ball with two large handles (Pets at home UK), an empty washed-out 25L plastic chemical drum (Brenntag, UK), and a large knot of natural fibre rope (Screwfix, UK). The test enrichment items were all hung at cattle head height from the same post that cattle had easy access to, in a position that ensured the items would not get in the way of the gates or husbandry work. One pen was always left with control enrichment only as a \u0026ldquo;control, no enrichment\u0026rdquo; on rotation. One test item was hung in each pen apart from the \u0026ldquo;control, no enrichment\u0026rdquo; pen. After a week the items were rotated between the five pens; this continued for a total of three weeks. Items were randomised between pens based on a partial latin square design such that no pen had the same item for more than one week and no pen was the \u0026ldquo;control, no enrichment\u0026rdquo; for more than one week. Items were not cleaned or replaced when rotated to a new pen so would potentially have residual traces of previous interactions. Cattle were observed via a CCTV camera placed in the top corner of each pen. The same person performed all the observations, avoiding intra-observer variation. Each pen was observed by continuous all-occurrences sampling for three five-minute intervals each day. Any interaction that began within that 5 minute window was measured until its end, even if it continued for more than 5 minutes. Interaction frequency and duration with the enrichment and control items was counted and timed. An interaction was defined as a single animal making physical contact with the item. If two cattle were interacting with an item at the same time that was counted as two interactions. Interaction with the broom head and the salt lick were both counted as interaction with control items.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.3 Sampling frequency determination\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA short pre-study investigation was carried out to determine the most reliable sampling frequency to use to increase the validity of our methodology (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e for timeline). One pen of four cattle was given control enrichment items (broom head and salt lick), and cattle were observed via CCTV for five days. During this period, every interaction with the control items was timed and recorded. Using these data we determined that observation periods of five minutes at a time provided sufficient opportunity to observe interactions whilst remaining logistically feasible.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eActivity levels of the cattle were observed using instantaneous scan sampling every half hour during daylight hours (06:30\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;19:30) for one week. The number of active cattle were counted, with active being defined as \u0026ldquo;not lying down\u0026rdquo;. These data showed they were most active at feed times. However, this is not suitable for observing enrichment interactions as the entire period is spent eating and there is significant interference from human presence. Therefore, the most active times at least one hour after feeding were used as the set observation points; these were 10:00 and 18:00. To maximise the representation gathered of the cattle\u0026rsquo;s behaviour across the whole day it was decided to also use a third observation point at a random time each day within daylight hours, which was determined using a random number generator. This is in accordance with Eisenhauer and Hanks (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) who found that irregular sampling using a combination of set and random time points increases the efficiency and accuracy of data collection in ethological studies.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.4 Statistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.4.1 Modelling interaction count data\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA negative binomial regression model was used for the interaction count data, with the independent variables as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003col style=\"list-style-type:lower-alpha;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eNovel enrichment type, factor variable. Factors: none (baseline), ball, drum, hay net, rope.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay of study, continuous. Values from 1 to 23.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eObservation slot, factor variable. Factors: 11am (baseline), 6pm, the random time\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePen was included as a random effect. Two different dependent variables were used in order to explore this data fully, firstly the total number of interactions with either the novel enrichment items or the control items (Model 1), and secondly the total number of interactions with only the control items (Model 2).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.4.2 Modelling interaction time length\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor these models only observation periods containing at least one interaction were included. The duration of the individual interactions within each observation period were summed and log10-transformed to produce an approximately normal distribution. A normal regression model was used to model this log-time data using the same three independent variables as described above and pen as a random effect. As for count data, the dependent variable is the total duration of interactions with all items (Model 3).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStatistical analyses were performed using Strata 15.0 (StrataCorp 2017).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eTables\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e display the number and time of interactions between each enrichment item.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"ItalicUnderline\" class=\"ItalicUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eModel 1: Dependent variable is the count of interactions with all enrichments\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e gives the results for Model 1. Adding any novel enrichment to the pens significantly increased the total number of interactions observed. Interaction levels dropped gradually over the time period of the study, and significant differences in total number of interactions were also seen between the three observation time slots. The cows were significantly more active during the 6pm slot and the randomly selected slot than the 11am slot.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"ItalicUnderline\" class=\"ItalicUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eModel 2: Dependent variable is the count of interactions with control items only\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results from Model 2 are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. The addition of the drum and rope significantly increased the number of interactions with the control items, when compared to only the control items being present in the pen. Unlike Model 2 there is no evidence of a drop off in interaction with the control items over the period of this study as the Day effect is not significant. As in Model 2, the 6pm and random slots have a significantly higher rate of interactions than the 11am slot.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"ItalicUnderline\" class=\"ItalicUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eModel 3: Normal regression: dependent variable\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;log (Total time interacting with any enrichment)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results from Model 3 are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll four novel enrichments increase the time spent with enrichment compared to only having the control items, but only the Ball and Hay net reach statistical significance. There is no significant effect seen for Day nor Observation slot on the duration of interactions (see Table \u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"4. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study suggests that adult cattle will utilise additional and novel enrichment when given the opportunity indicating that it is advantageous for the cattle\u0026rsquo;s welfare to provide these resources (Russell et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). This is demonstrated by the over 200% increase in total interactions with enrichment when a novel enrichment item was present compared with when only control items were present. In a high containment facility good animal welfare may have knock on benefits for the validity of data being collected. The physiology and condition of the cattle can be significantly affected by their behaviour (Ishiwata et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e, Hagen and Broom \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e), and it may be more difficult to obtain a live sample from a stressed animal so high standards of welfare are a necessity for reliable scientific output particularly on long-term scientific studies. For example, it has been demonstrated that enrichment treatments led to lower lactate levels in Gir x Holstein calves suggestive of lower stress levels during handling for blood sampling (Miranda et a. 2013).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe broom head and salt lick were given as control items as these were deemed the minimum level of environmental enrichment that would maintain a sufficient standard of welfare for cattle in high containment as per the Code of Practices set out under ASPA 1986. The broom head allows for grooming behaviours and the salt lick for oral behaviours. Both these items are well established in cattle husbandry practices both on farms and in scientific housing (Park et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e, Meneses et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e, Ninomiya \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Interest in the control items remained consistent throughout the study, indicating that they are not significantly affected by habituation. The addition of novel enrichment to a pen did not cause any decrease in the use of the brush and salt lick, indicating that they do not compete with the test enrichment items. This confirms that they were good choices for control items and are a good minimum enrichment requirement for indoor cattle. They provide essential behavioural outlets, stimulating the cattle to perform species-specific behaviour.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith all the novel test items there was a significant decline in interaction as the study progressed and the novelty factor wore off. This was expected and is a well-documented aspect of cattle behaviour, although the extent to which habituation occurs has been shown to vary between individual cattle (Trickett et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e, Wilson et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e, Russell et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). The initial peak in interest in the novel items can be explained by exploratory behaviour (Trickett et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). However, the novelty was short lived. This illustrates the value in regularly changing enrichment in pens and introducing novel items to maximise behavioural stimulation and mental interest (Zhang et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). It is unclear whether the smell of other cattle on the enrichment items had any off-putting or encouraging effect.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe time of day had a significant effect on the number of interactions. The cattle interacted with enrichment significantly more at 6 pm and the random time slot than the 11 am slot. Cattle are typically ruminating at 11:00; rumination in Holstein cattle peaked at 4 hours after feeding (Schirmann et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), which for this study would be approximately 12:00. This demonstrates the importance of sticking to a fixed time schedule when assessing cattle behaviour.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe extent to which the enrichment items were interacted with varied between items. Out of the four items tested, the hay net was the most utilised. It was the item most frequently interacted with, the item they spent the longest time with and was used significantly more than control enrichment. The presence of the hay net increased the total number of interactions with all enrichment in the pen more than 5-fold and the time spent interacting by 4.5 times compared with control enrichment alone. It did not significantly increase the number or duration of interactions with the control items, suggesting the total increase is due to the cattle interacting with the hay net. This matches the results of Zhang et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) who found that singly housed Holstein calves with limited social contact showed a preference for interacting with a hay net over other items including a stationary brush and rope, despite having ad libitum access to hay in their housing.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe popularity of the hay net was most likely due to its greater number of interactive behaviour options and the daily novelty created by refilling it with hay each morning which may have better maintained the cattle\u0026rsquo;s interest. The hay net combines a play behaviour outlet incentive with a nutritional incentive and allows for the expression of normal grazing/feeding behaviour which is crucial for cattle welfare. Whilst interacting with the item, the cattle could alternate between eating and playing, such as headbutting and scratching (Zhang et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Ruminants typically spend long periods of time engaged in feeding behaviours (Albright \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e). Cattle kept entirely indoors do not have access to grazing which affects their time budget. Play behaviour is typically an event of shorter duration, so to combine grazing/feeding with play could be a popular activity for indoor cattle and result in a large amount of interaction (Albright \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e, DeVries et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe drum and hay net both had a great effect on the total number of interactions with enrichment, increasing the number of interactions by 6.303 and 5.538 times respectively (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). However, the presence of the drum significantly increased the number of interactions with the control enrichment. This accounted for a large portion of the total increase and no statistically significant preference between the control items and the drum was found. It is unclear why this effect was seen. It may be that the drum induced a state of excitement or curiosity which was then expressed using the control enrichments. A limitation of this study is that teasing apart the effects of the novel items from the effects of the control items is made more difficult because it was not possible to have a pen without any enrichment for ethical reasons.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cattle showed a significant preference for the ball over control enrichment, and the presence of the ball increased the number of interactions with enrichment by a factor of 4.292 (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). The ball is a squishy rubber texture with easily accessible handles making it good for chewing and other oral manipulation behaviours. It is also very mobile, being easily swung around and headbutted. This study observed that a popular form of interaction for the cattle was to swing the items around using their head, making full use of the large degree of motion available to them by the hanging installation. This is consistent with Strappini et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) which found that weaned Holstein-Friesian calves showed a preference for a mechanical brush over a stationary one, suggesting they prefer the rotational, mobile tactile stimulation. Further research is recommended into the preference for mobile over fixed enrichment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe knotted rope was of the least interest to the cattle. Although the presence of the rope did significantly increase the number of enrichment interactions observed, it did so to a much lesser extent than the other novel items. Furthermore, the increase mostly consisted of increased interactions with the control items and there is no statistical evidence that the rope was preferred over the control items. The rope is the only item made from an absorbent material, therefore there would likely be stronger traces of the previous cattle and perhaps more damp from saliva on the rope compared to the other items. This may have affected its appeal. Alternatively, the rope may have been engaged with less than other items simply because of the reduced variety within the item. The other enrichments were hung from the post using the same rope and the cattle were occasionally observed chewing this rope while interacting with their item indicating that the behavioural outlet of chewing/scratching on rope can be gained within interacting with these other more varied items.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data for the time spent interacting with enrichment support the conclusions from those of the number of interactions but less strongly (i.e. fewer statistically significant results). All the novel enrichments increased the total time spent interacting with enrichment compared with control enrichment alone but this was only significant for the ball and hay net. The effects of time of day and day of the study were not significant for the time spent interacting with enrichment, whereas they were for the number of interactions. There was only a weak relationship between number of interactions and time spent interacting, which may partly be due to the data collection methods used.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study reinforces the benefits of a grooming brush and salt lick as essential additions to cattle housing facilities to maintain sufficient animal welfare and found no habituation with these items. Of the novel environmental enrichment tested, the hay net was engaged with the most by the cattle, likely due to its multifunctionality. The provision of novel enrichment, regardless of item, increased the overall interaction activity which suggests the presence of novel items stimulates playful behaviour in the cattle. All of the novel enrichment items were subject to a decline in interest over time as the cattle became habituated, suggesting benefits to regularly rotating items. The effects of time of day on enrichment interactions confirms variability in behaviour across the day and reinforces the importance of a fixed schedule when assessing behaviour.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthical approval for the concomitant research for which the cattle were being held at APHA was given by the Home Office under a specific project licence and by APHA’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body. Additional ethical approval for this study was not required as the provision of extra enrichment was above minimum standards and data were collected via Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCompeting interest\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no competing interests\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFunding\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis enrichment study was funded by Animal and Plant Health Agency. The study for which the animals were primarily used was funded by the Department for environment, Farming and Rural Affairs\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAuthors' contributions\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRSL wrote the manuscript with the help of TK, AR and RJ\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRSL and AR designed the study\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRJ analysed the data\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors gratefully acknowledge Dr Camille Harrison for critical review of the paper, and Dr Gareth Jones for supporting the study\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlbright J. Feeding Behavior of Dairy Cattle. Journal of dairy science. 1993; 76;2:485-98, \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEisenhauer E, Hanks E. A lattice and random intermediate point sampling design for animal movement. Environmetrics. 2020;31;6:2618\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDawkins MS. Evolution and animal. The quarterly review of biology. 1998;73;3:305-328\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDawkins MS. A user\u0026rsquo;s guide to animal welfare science. Trends in ecology and evolution. 2006;21;2. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeVries TJ, Vankova M, Veira D, Von Keyserlingk M. Usage of mechanical brushes by lactating dairy cows. Journal Dairy Science. 2007;90:2241-5. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDickson E, Monk J, Lee C, McDonald P, Narayan E, Campbell D. Loss of a grooming enrichment impacts physical, behavioural, and physiological measures of welfare in grazing beef cattle. Animal. 2024;18;3:101091. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFarm Animal Welfare council. Five freedoms. 1979.https://archive.org/details/1979.-five-freedoms.-farm-animal-welfare-council.-brambell-comittee Accessed 02 May 2024\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHagen K, Broom DM. Emotional reactions to learning in cattle. Applied animal behaviour science. 2004;85;3-4:203-13. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHaskell MJ, Rennie LJ, Bowell VA, Bell MJ, Lawrence AB. Housing system, milk production, and zero-grazing effects of lameness and leg injury in dairy cows. Journal of dairy science. 2006;89;11:4259-66. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHorvath KC, Miller-Cushon E. Characterizing grooming behavior patterns and the influence of brush access on the behavior of group-housed dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science. 2019;102:3421-30.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Approved List of biological agents. HSE. 2023 https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/misc208.pdf Accessed 07 Apr 2025\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIshiwata T, Uetake K, Abe N, Eguchi Y, Tanaka T. Effects of an environmental enrichment using a drum can on behavioural, physiological and productive characteristics in fattening beef cattle. Animal science journal. 2006;77;3:352-62. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJensen M, Kyhn R. Play behaviour in group-housed dairy calves, the effect of space allowance. Applied animal behaviour science. 2000;67:35-46. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKohari D, Kosako T, Fukasawa M, Tsukada H. Effect of environmental enrichment by providing trees as rubbing objects in grassland: grazing cattle need tree-grooming. Animal science journal. 2007;78;4:413-6. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMandel R, Whay HR, Nicol CJ, Klement E. The effect of food location, heat load, and intrusive medical procedures on brushing activity in dairy cows. Journal of dairy science. 2013;96;10:6506-13. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMandel R, Whay HR, Klement E, Nicol CJ. Environmental enrichment of dairy cows and calves in indoor housing. Journal of dairy science. 2016;99:1695-715.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMason G. Stereotypies: a critical review. Animal behaviour, 1991;41:1015-37. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMeneses XCA, Park RM, Ridge EE, Daigle CL. Hourly activity patterns and behaviour-based management of feedlot steers with and without a cattle brush. Applied animal behaviour science. 2021;236:105241. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMiranda CO, Lima MLP, Filho AEV, Salles MSV, Simili FF, Negr\u0026atilde;o JA, Ribeiro EG, Faro LE. Benefits of tactile stimulation and environmental enrichment for the welfare of crossbred dairy calves. Journal of Applied Animal Research. 2023;51;1:130-6. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNewberry RC. Environmental enrichment: increasing the biological relevance of captive environments. Applied animal behaviour science. 1995;44;2-4:229-43.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNinomiya S. Satisfaction of farm animal behavioral needs in behaviorally restricted systems: Reducing stressors and environmental enrichment. Animal science journa. 2014;85;6:634-8. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNinomiya S. Grooming Device Effects on Behaviour and Welfare of Japanese Black Fattening Cattle. Animals. 2019;9;4:186. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePark RM, Schubacha KM, Cooke RF, Herring AD, Jennings JS, Daigle CL. Impact of a cattle brush on feedlot steer behaviour, productivity and stress physiology. Applied animal behaviour science. 2020;228:104995. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePelley MC, Lirette A, Tennessen T. Observations on the responses of feedlot cattle to attempted environmental enrichment. Canadian Journal of Animal Science, 1995;75;4:631-632. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRadkowska I, Godyń D, Fic K. Stereotypic behaviour in cattle, pigs and horses \u0026ndash; a review. Animal Science Papers and Reports. 2020;38;4:303-219. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRussell AL, Randall LV, Kaler J, Eyre N, Thompson J, Green MJ. Housed dairy cows utilise varied environmental enrichments and show diverse inter-individual variation in habituation. Applied animal behaviour science. 2024;274:106241. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSchirmann K, Chapinal K, Weary DM, Heuwieser W, von Keyserlingk MAG. Rumination and its relationship to feeding and lying behavior in Holstein dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science. 2012;95;6:3212-7.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSchulze Westerath H, Gygax L, Hillmann E. Are special feed and being brushed judged as positive by calves? Applied animal behaviour science, 2014;156:12-21. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStrappini A, Monti G, Sep\u0026uacute;lveda-Varas P, de Freslon I, Peralta J. Measuring Calves\u0026apos; Usage of Multiple Environmental Enrichment Objects Provided Simultaneously. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 2021;8:698681. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStataCorp. 2017. \u003cem\u003eStata Statistical Software: Release 15\u003c/em\u003e. College Station, TX: StataCorp LLC\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrickett SL, Guy JH, Edwards SA. The role of novelty in environmental enrichment for the weaned pig. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2009;116:45-51. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVanegas J, Overton M, Berry SL, Sischo WM. Effect of rubber flooring on claw health in lactating diary cows housed in free-stall barns. Journal of dairy science, 2006;89;11:4251-4258. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWilson S, Mitl\u0026ouml;hner F, Morrow-Tesch J, Dailey J, McGlone J. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. An assessment of several potential enrichment devices for feedlot cattle. 2002;76:259-65. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZhang C, Juniper DT, McDonald R, Parsons S, Meagher RK. Holstein calves\u0026apos; preference for potential physical enrichment items on different presentation schedules. Journal of Dairy Science. 2022;105;10:8316-27. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZobel G, Neave HW, Henderson HV, Webster J. Calves use an automated brush and a hanging rope when pair-housed. Animals. 2017;7:84. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Tables","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eTable 1) Table of the median and interquartile range for the number of interactions with the test enrichment\u003c/u\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"8\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 531px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian and interquartile range (IQR) for the number of observed interactions with test enrichment per day\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWeek 1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 133px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWeek 2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 133px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWeek 3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 124px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIQR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIQR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIQR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIQR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDrum\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHay net\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBall\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRope\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eControl\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable of the median number of observed interactions with the test enrichment items per day (total of three observation periods per day) for each week, and the overall median per day for the entire study. Medians are separated by item. The items were rotated into a different pen at the end of each week apart from the control enrichment which was present throughout\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eTable 2) Table of the mean time spent interacting with the test enrichment\u003c/u\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"8\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 531px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian and interquartile range (IQR) for the time observed interacting with test enrichment per day (minutes)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWeek 1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 133px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWeek 2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 133px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWeek 3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 124px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIQR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIQR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIQR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedian\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIQR\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDrum\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:43\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e03:22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHay net\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e07:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e03:30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e07:37\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e01:55\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e01:53\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e02:04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e04:10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBall\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e01:01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e04:42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e02:08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e02:45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e03:57\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRope\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 71px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eControl\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e01:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e03:45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\" style=\"width: 57px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e00:44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable of the median time observed interacting with the test enrichment items per day (total of three observation periods per day) for each week, and the overall median per day for the entire study. Medians are separated by item. The items were rotated into a different pen at the end of each week apart from the control enrichment which was present throughout\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eTable 3) Results for Model 1: Dependent variable is the count of interactions with all enrichments\u003c/u\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"548\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIndependent variable\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFactor\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eModel coefficient*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNovel Enrichment\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNone (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eadded\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBall\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.10 \u0026ndash; 8.79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDrum\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.95 \u0026ndash; 13.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHay net\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.59 \u0026ndash; 11.84\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRope\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.87\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.36 \u0026ndash; 6.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePen\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2 (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.77\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.42 \u0026ndash; 1.41\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.400\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.14 \u0026ndash; 0.84\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.82\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.45 \u0026ndash; 1.51\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.532\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.61\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.91 \u0026ndash; 2.87\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.105\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDay\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.97\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.94 \u0026ndash; 1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.032\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eObservation slot\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11am (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6pm\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.55 \u0026ndash; 3.82\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 137px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 126px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRandom\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 86px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.83\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.15 \u0026ndash; 2.92\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.011\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe baseline for the model is no novel enrichment in pen 2 at 11am on day 0. Coefficient \u0026lt;1 indicates a negative relationship with interaction count; \u0026gt;1 indicates a positive relationship\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eTable 4) Results for Model 2: Dependent variable is the count of interactions with control items only\u003c/u\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"548\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIndependent variable\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFactor\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eModel coefficient*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNovel Enrichment\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNone (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eadded\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBall\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.99 \u0026ndash; 4.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.054\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDrum\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.43\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.93 \u0026ndash; 1.017\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHay net\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.73\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.71 \u0026ndash; 4.23\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.231\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRope\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.14 \u0026ndash; 5.47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.022\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePen\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2 (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.33 \u0026ndash; 1.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.268\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.17 \u0026ndash; 0.77\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.008\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.37 \u0026ndash; 1.72\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.558\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.88 \u0026ndash; 3.11\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.120\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDay\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.96 \u0026ndash; 1.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.870\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eObservation slot\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11am (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6pm\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.52\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.96 \u0026ndash; 6.30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRandom\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.43\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.32 \u0026ndash; 4.48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 139px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 135px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 85px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 113px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe baseline for the model is no novel enrichment in pen 2 at 11am on day 0. Coefficient \u0026lt;1 indicates a negative relationship with interaction count; \u0026gt;1 indicates a positive relationship\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eTable 5 - Results for Model 3: Dependent variable is the duration of interactions with all enrichments\u003c/u\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"548\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIndependent variable\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFactor\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eModel coefficient\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNovel Enrichment\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNone (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBall\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.98\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.11 \u0026ndash; 1.85\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.028\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDrum\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.41 \u0026ndash; 1.57\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.252\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHay net\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.53 \u0026ndash; 2.46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRope\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.37\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.54 \u0026ndash; 1.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.421\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePen\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2 (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-1.14 \u0026ndash; 0.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.280\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.73 \u0026ndash; 0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.975\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.79 \u0026ndash; 0.62\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.802\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.33 \u0026ndash; 1.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.310\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDay\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.02 \u0026ndash; 0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.349\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eObservation slot\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11am (baseline)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6pm\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.25 \u0026ndash; 0.89\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.265\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRandom\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.59 \u0026ndash; 0.57\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.972\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 140px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 112px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 125px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 95px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLinear regression model of the log-transformation duration of interaction (in minutes). The baseline for the model is no novel enrichment in pen 2 at 11am on day 0. Coefficient \u0026lt;0 suggests a negative association between the factor and the dependent variable; \u0026gt;0 suggests a positive association\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-veterinary-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Veterinary Research](http://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"12917","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12917/3?","title":"BMC Veterinary Research","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Hereford-Holstein cattle, high containment, environmental enrichment","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7648153/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7648153/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cdiv id=\"ASec1\" class=\"AbstractSection\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Heading\"\u003eBackground\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh containment facilities provide limited environmental stimuli for cattle. Adding environmental enrichment can reduce frustration and stereotyping, improving overall animal welfare and benefitting scientific output. Current research into environmental enrichment for indoor housed cattle is lacking despite such facilities facing unique challenges to maintain high welfare standards. This study compared four different environmental enrichment items in the aim to help inform high containment facilities on the most effective enrichment items for cattle. Five pens holding four 18-month-old Hereford-Holstein cattle were equipped with control enrichment (broom head and salt lick) and one trial enrichment item. The test items were a hay net filled with hay, rope, empty chemical drum, and ball. Items were rotated weekly over a three week period. Interactions between the cattle and enrichment were recorded daily via CCTV, data collected using continuous all-occurrence sampling with three point samples per day, and analysed using negative binomial regression models.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"ASec2\" class=\"AbstractSection\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Heading\"\u003eResults\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe hay net elicited the highest interactive frequency and duration. It was also the least affected by habituation, possibly due to the nutritional incentive and novelty created when refilled. A similar level of interaction was seen between the ball and drum and both items were interacted with more than control items. The rope was interacted with less frequently than control items.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"ASec3\" class=\"AbstractSection\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Heading\"\u003eConclusion\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough the hay net appeared most engaging, all items declined in popularity over time indicating that several different items rotated sporadically may maximise the benefit of enrichment by maintaining the cattle\u0026rsquo;s interest.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Comparing the use of different environmental enrichment items by Hereford-Holstein cattle in a high containment facility","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-16 09:34:39","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7648153/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-10-21T12:31:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-20T09:15:35+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-11T18:42:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"339081644042791922206391799752942439851","date":"2025-10-05T11:42:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"314759778840603690797759644373905446738","date":"2025-10-03T12:28:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"176989781050901523485095097862481045485","date":"2025-10-03T09:49:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-03T09:14:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-10-01T15:24:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-01T05:00:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-09-30T12:26:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Veterinary Research","date":"2025-09-30T12:17:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-veterinary-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Veterinary Research](http://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"12917","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12917/3?","title":"BMC Veterinary Research","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a8a48aa8-91f6-4994-b803-9ce22202ecf1","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 16th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-29T16:00:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7648153","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-05211-y","journal":{"identity":"bmc-veterinary-research","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Veterinary Research"},"publishedOn":"2025-12-26 15:57:28","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 26th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-16 09:34:39","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12917-025-05211-y","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-05211-y","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7648153","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7648153","identity":"rs-7648153","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}