Psittacine birds as laboratory animals: refinements and assessment of welfare

We address housing, refinements of husbandry, and some concerns regarding the use of parrots as laboratory animals. Because the duration of a project is most likely brief relative to the lifespan of the bird, among the most important goals is a well-established socialization program to maximize success of rehoming the birds after laboratory housing. We also present appropriate methods for catching and restraining parrots during experimental procedures. We discuss factors that contribute to appropriate laboratory and cage environments, such as the importance of cage location in the animal room as well as providing birds with suitable perching and enrichment devices. Finally, we review a few methods for scoring signs of compromised welfare in psittacine birds.