Abstract
In many studies with animals kept in groups, scientists need information about each individual’s food access without disturbance or separation of the animals. We developed an automatic feeding device that allows measurement of individual food consumption and experimental manipulation of individual food availability in small social mammals, such as house mice. The feeding device is based on radio frequency identification that triggers access to a motor-driven metal arm filled with food pellets and is mediated with the help of subcutaneously implanted transponders.
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The project is financially supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Nr. 31–507 40.97). We sincerely thank Norbert Schneider (Würzburg) for constructing the mechanical parts of the device. For kind support and cooperation, we very much thank J. Rohrmüller and P. Kribitzneck at Micromedia AG. We very much thank D. C. Turner for correcting the English and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments.
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Neuhäusser-wespy, F., König, B. Living together, feeding apart: How to measure individual food consumption in social house mice. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 32, 169–172 (2000). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200798
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200798