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Animal accommodation

Pack 2

Fixtures and furnishings Pack Code: AA2

This pack you will help you to:

• Describe the purpose and functions of

fixtures and furnishings

• Discuss the main kinds of fixtures and

furnishings for mammals and birds

Animal accommodation 2

About this pack

Objectives

This pack looks at the role of fixtures and fittings in accommodation for

mammals and birds.

In more detail, the pack will help you to:

• Describe the purpose and functions of fixtures and furnishings

• Discuss the main kinds of fixtures and furnishings for mammals and birds

This pack is relevant to the level 3 unit Manage Animal Accommodation,

and in particular the following outcome:

• Outcome 1: Know how to plan the accommodation of animals

• Outcome 2: Be able to prepare and maintain accommodation for animals

• Outcome 3: Be able to monitor and evaluate accommodation for animals

Links to other packs

This is one of a series of learning packs, each tackling an aspect of animal

accommodation. They are:

• AA1: Planning an enclosure (small mammals and birds)

• AA2: Fixtures and furnishings (small mammals and birds)

• AA3: Designing a vivarium (reptiles, etc.)

• AA4: Furnishing a vivarium (reptiles, etc.)

• AA5: Substrates and bedding

• AA6: Animal collections

• AA7: Enrichment methods

• AA8: Planning and reviewing


Introduction

Fixtures and furnishings are important parts of animal

accommodation.

• Fixtures are (often) permanent features in an

enclosure that suit a purpose for the animal, e.g. fixed

nest box, shelving, perches, wire mesh, electric

lighting or heating.

• Furnishings are removable items or equipment used for decoration, and

comfort or convenience of the animal, e.g. litter trays, hides, plastic plants,

feeding and drinking apparatus, enrichment material such as toys,

cardboard tubes, and logs to climb and gnaw on.

As with all aspects of animal accommodation, it is important that fixtures

and furnishings meet the needs of the animals and provide opportunities for

enrichment. They are important in maintaining the Five Freedoms.

Activity

1 Which of these items are fixtures, and which are furnishings?

a) Shelves

b) Heaters

c) Drinking bottles

d) Logs

2 Suggest one way in which fixtures and furnishings maintain the Five

Freedoms:

Check your answers with the feedback at the end of this pack.


Fixtures

Arboreal mammals

Arboreal (climbing) mammals either come from habitats that are high up

(e.g. mountains), or live in trees.

• Climbing species need lots of opportunities to get up high where they feel

most comfortable.

• Shelves are useful for jumping on and provide a platform to put food and

water bowls on.

This encourages climbing and behaviours such as play and foraging – all

natural behaviours for arboreal species – and a form of enrichment.


Arboreal birds

Most flying birds are arboreal, and naturally live up in trees, so branches are

needed.

• Hard, artificial branches can be used that help to wear down a bird’s

claws.

• For both arboreal mammals and birds, fixed nest boxes that are raised off

the ground are good shelters as well as breeding sites.

For safety, all shelves, branches, and fixed nest boxes must be secure to avoid

injury to the animals and handlers, and should be checked periodically.

Wire mesh

Wire mesh that makes up the walls of an enclosure can be a

kind of fixture as birds and climbing mammals can use it to

grip onto. It can also be used to attach other fixtures and

furnishings to, e.g. branches and drinkers.

It is important to make sure the wire mesh used is not sharp

and is the right size for the animals it is meant for.

Using the wrong type or size of wire may result in the animal escaping by

either chewing through thin wire or squeezing through. There is also the risk

of trapped limbs or head. Vermin or predators may be able to get through

wire into the enclosure (e.g. rats, snakes, mink etc.) or pull the animal

through (foxes have been known to pull the legs of poultry through wire

mesh and chew off the limb).


Terrestrial mammals

Mammal species that live on the floor (terrestrial)

do not generally require a lot of fixtures

compared to climbing species, although low

shelves provide different levels.

Rodents frequently chew their fixtures - it is in their nature. This means that

fixtures may need changing from time-to-time.

Heating fixtures

Species from warmer climates, sick, elderly or young animals, and outside

aviaries during the winter may require electric heaters to provide warmth.

Below is a perch heater birds can safely rest on it and warm up without

getting burnt.

Obviously safety is a big issue when dealing with electrics. Rodents and

lagomorphs will chew wiring, and most substrates and beddings are

flammable and should not be resting against the device.

Activity

Write down answers to these questions.

1 What do climbing and nesting furnishings encourage in arboreal

species?

a)

b)

2 Give two reasons why the size of wire mesh is important:

a)

b)

3 Why should fixtures be checked regularly?



Furnishings

An enclosure can have many examples of furnishings:

Some furnishings are similar to fixtures. The shelves and ladders in some

mice, gerbil, and hamster tanks are removable.

Furnishings have many uses. The main ones are:

• For feeding and drinking

• For enrichment

• Decoration

Plastic tubing – acts like a tunnel

Cardboard boxes and tubes – acts as a

shelter/tunnel and for chewing

Movable nest box – for hiding and rest

Wooden stumps and logs

– for jumping on and chewing

Food and water bowls

Hay ball

Dirt tray/litter tray – for digging or excretion


Food and drink

Most species will eat or drink from a simple bowl.

• Some species prefer to eat high up, so bowls may need to be hung up on

wire mesh or placed on shelves with food, water, or grit (for birds).

• A lot of species naturally drink by licking up dew/water from surfaces,

e.g. rodents and rabbits. Pet drinker bottles are a great way of getting

such species to drink.

• Gravity drinkers and feeders allow lots of food or water to be placed

inside and can last several days, depending on the size of the device.

Gravity Drinker Gravity Feeder

• It is important to provide hay for certain animals. Hay balls are a great

way of doing this – they encourage exercise, making the animal work to

get its food and means the animal cannot gorge itself in one sitting.

• Alternatively a hay rack can be attached to a wall in the enclosure. Hay

should not be simply placed on the floor as animals will excrete over,

wasting the food and potentially leasing to sick animals.

Food/water moves down as exposed food at the bottom is

eaten/drunk


Enrichment

Many furnishing provide enrichment by allowing animals to carry out or

extend their natural behaviour.

• Tubing is useful for animals that naturally dig in burrows, and can

encourage foraging and play.

• Some species that naturally dig can benefit from having a peat tray.

Skunks possess a good sense of smell – hiding burrowing worms in peat

encourages the animal to have to dig for them.

• Some species naturally use an area as a toilet/latrine (e.g. a corner of their

pen). A litter tray is useful for such species.

• Birds, gerbils, degus, and chinchillas need a sand/dust bath. This helps

clean their fur/feathers as the sand sticks to and removes bodily oils. It

also helps to remove external parasites such as lice. Gerbils and chinchillas

should not get wet, but birds and some small mammals such as ferrets do

appreciate a large water bowl in which they can properly bath as well.

• Cardboard boxes and tubes are great forms of enrichment, and can be

used as shelters, burrows, chews, and as a hiding place for food that the

animal has to chew/break into.


• Many small animals are prey species. This means that such animals need

access to hiding places so that they are not out in the open and feel

exposed. Movable nest boxes and shelters provide such cover and can

double up as a bed for the animal.

• Wooden logs, twigs, and stumps are great for rodents and rabbits to

chew/gnaw on to keep their constantly-growing teeth down and to and

stimulate digestion. They also provide obstacles to run around, over, and

under.

• Novelty chews can also be used

(some are flavoured).

• Bird beaks also need to be kept down. Cuttlefish can be provided for

birds to chew on. It also provides them with calcium which is important

for healthy bones, beak and egg development. Special holders can be used

that hang up on the wire of a bird cage or aviary.

• Novelty toys can also be provided that help keep beaks and claws down,

too.

Activity

Write down answers to these questions.

1 Give two advantages of a hay ball:

a)

b)

2 Why is it important to give rodents and rabbits something to gnaw

and chew on?

3 Why do birds, gerbils, degus, and chinchillas need a sand/dust bath?



Activity

Make a list of fixtures and furnishings that would be appropriate for a

species you work with:

Resources and further reading

You will find a number of publications dealing with animal accommodation

in the college library. You may find the following helpful:

• Warren, D., 2009. Small animal care and management. Delmar Cengage

Learning

• Young, R., 2003. Environmental enrichment for captive animals. Wiley-

Blackwell

Answers to activities

Activity on page 3

1 a) and b) are fixtures, c) and d) are furnishings

2 For example, feeding equipment can maintain freedom from thirst,

hunger and malnutrition while play equipment can support the

freedom to express normal behaviour.

Activity on page 6

1 Natural behaviour and breeding

2 a) Animals cannot escape; b) animals cannot get caught or stuck in the

wire

3 To avoid injury to the animals and handlers

Activity on page 10

1 It keeps the hay clean; it provides enrichment as the animal must work

to get at the food; it takes longer to eat

2 As their teeth keep on growing they need to wear them down by

gnawing hard items

3 It helps clean their fur/feathers as the sand sticks to and removes

bodily oils.


Knowledge quiz

1 Define:

a) Fixtures

b) Furnishings

2 Give two ways in which fixtures and furnishings support the Five

Freedoms:

a)

b)

3 Give two examples of fixtures for arboreal animals:

a)

b)

4 What are the main functions of furnishings:

a)

b)

5 What is the main role of each of these furnishings:

a) Cardboard boxes and tubes

b) Sand or dust baths

c) Wooden logs


Acknowledgements This learning pack has been produced by the Land Based Colleges National Consortium Ltd.

The LBCNC is a consortium of colleges working in the land-based sector which co-operate in the development and production of quality flexible learning materials which encourage independent learning.

We would like to acknowledge the contributions made by the following individuals and colleges in the development of this learning pack.

Initial guidance and source material:

This pack was based on learning materials provided by:

Dan Coomber and Simon McGill, Plumpton College

Cover photograph: Reaseheath College

Developed and produced for LBCNC by Learners First

Developed in November 2012

© 2012 The Land Based Colleges National Consortium Ltd. All rights reserved.

Permission to photocopy or adapt the material in this learning pack is granted to members of the Land Based Colleges National Consortium Ltd. only.

For further information please contact the LBCNC project management team at 7 Tyne Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8EE.

Tel 0117 942 3504

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