Animal Husbandry Protocol: White-throated Sparrows

WHAT TO EXPECT
As a new research assistant, you are expected to follow lab protocol and take responsibility of all
duties you are assigned. For sparrow husbandry, undergraduate research assistants like yourself are
assigned a day to go in once a week, but if for whatever reason you cannot attend, notify our
supervisor, Dr. Horton, and try to find a replacement. It is crucial to have an individual take care of
the sparrows at least once a day. Communicating any changes to routine and protocol should be
brought to the attention of Dr. Horton to ensure he knows what needs to be done.
Location: The White-throated sparrows are
housed in Almquist, located down the street from
the Beaver stadium.
In order to effectively fulfill responsibilities as a
research assistant, it is critical to be aware of
safety, humane and ethical treatment, and
warnings before contributing to this lab. This
information will allow you to fully understand the
implications of all protocol performed in this lab.
Safety
All research facilities affiliated with The Pennsylvania State University write protocols to orient
around the regulations governed by Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) policy. You should
have already completed lab safety training administered by EHS prior to participating in any research
activity. To ensure the safety of the faculty, students, and public, research participants must undergo
basic training concerning radiation, environmental safety, and hazardous waste treatment.
Humane and Ethical Treatment
The Office for Research Protections (ORP) approves all experiments, protocols, and grants
proposed by researchers to guarantee humane and ethical treatment of live subjects (in this lab,
White-throated sparrows). All protocol written for this lab has been approved by ORP for the wellbeing of the sparrows, but you are encouraged to notify Dr. Horton if you notice any unethical
treatment or abnormal activity.
If you are not sure of how to handle an unexpected situation or have any questions throughout your
duty, please contact Dr. Horton to be instructed of how to best approach the matter without
harming yourself and the experiment.
TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION
Almquist houses both White-throated sparrows and Wheatears. DO NOT enter the
Wheatear room after handling the sparrows to prevent contamination. This applies to all
poultry, as cross-contamination among distinct species results in spread of disease and
detrimental consequences (e.g. death of birds, loss of data, unreliable results).
Materials:
Latex gloves (located on shelf above sink)
Closed toe shoes

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Before Starting
Although there is no specific time for animal care, your duties should be completed after 8am and
before 8pm.
You should not enter the room beyond this time frame because a light/dark cycle is set to
turn lights off and on at specific times. Caring for animals during the dark cycle would
disrupt their sleeping patterns, a significant part of what this lab is researching.
o With that being said, allot yourself at least an hour to complete your duties.
Contact Dr. Horton f you notice abnormalities throughout animal care such as:
o Missing sparrow from cage
o Dead sparrow
o Extremely low or empty food/water bowls
(Sometimes sparrows are missing because they are removed for examination or testing.)
The sparrow rooms temperature is adjusted to accommodate to their natural habitat, which
is colder than what you might be used to. Long sleeves and pants are recommended but not
required.
Wear latex gloves once you enter the facility and keep them on at all times. Dispose of the
gloves when you are finished all duties and wash your hands.
Scrub shoes on disinfectant mat before and after entering the sparrow room.
WARNING
When filling food bowls of individually caged birds, it is important to prevent the birds
from escaping. These sparrows are being monitored for different projects, so mixing the
sparrows would make it difficult to examine them. Keep your hand or a plastic guard
(found in the food bin) in front of the latch any time you open the cages. If a sparrow ever
escapes, notify Dr. Horton.
White Cages
Tree Perches

WHEA TEA R
ROOM
DO NOT
ENTER

Black Cages

Large Enclosure
Food Bin

SPA RROW
ROOM

Sink

Sign-in Sheet

Sink
Disinfectant Mat
Latex Gloves

Wash Water
Fill Food Bowls

Mop Bucket

Bin

Figure 1. Almquist floor plan

Troughs and

1. Enter the large enclosure. Remember to keep door closed at all

times; there are unconfined sparrows within the enclosure.
2. Remove all 12 water troughs from back of black cages and 2
large water bowls in the open enclosure and dispose of
remaining water in the sink (only the black cages water troughs
need special washes).
3. Transport water troughs from the sparrow room to the main
room and place in the plastic bin located on the counter next
to the sink.
CAUTION: You will encounter bleach beyond this step.
Bleach contains toxic properties; please handle with care and
beware of ingestion or inhalation.
If an emergency occurs, contact 911.

Figure 2. Back view of individual

black cage and water trough.

4. Perform 3 different washes:

i. Fill plastic bin with hot water and add about 1-2 tablespoons of dish soap (dish soap
located on shelf above sink). Mix thoroughly and let bin soak for 5 minutes.
Tip: During this waiting time, start to fill food bowls of black and white
cages that are below half filled. Bag of food is located in the left corner of the
room inside a plastic bin.
ii. After 5 minutes, empty dish soap water and quickly rinse water troughs. Fill plastic
bin with hot water again and add about cup of bleach. (Bleach located next to dish
soap on shelf.) Mix thoroughly and let bin soak for 15 minutes.
Tip: During this waiting time, continue to fill
remaining food bowls and water containers in black
and white cages.
iii. After 15 minutes, empty bleach water and rinse water
troughs thoroughly.
5. Fill the 12 troughs with fresh cold water and replace them in
designated holster you removed them from.
Tip: Transporting all 12 water troughs individually
is time consuming. Instead, place the water troughs
vertically with openings facing up inside large water
bowls.
Figure 3. Large water bowl

Shake Tree Perches and Sweep Entire Room

holding water troughs
Tip: Before sweeping, it is more efficient to complete all tasks above.
The sparrows tend to knock bowls over and the process of filling bowls sometimes create
messes as well.
1. Shake out 6 artificial tree perches located in
large enclosure by tapping tree against the
ground.
2. Move trees to opposite side of room and
sweep debris into pile (push broom and
dustpan are hanging on wall next to sink).
3. Continue to sweep entire floor inside large
enclosure, as well as outside.
4. Collect debris into dustpan and dispose in
waste bin located next to sink.
Figure 4. Equipment location in sparrow room

Mop
1. Obtain mop bucket (located in main
room outside of sparrow room) and
fill bucket with bleach (same one used
to wash water troughs) until bottom
surface is covered by an inch of
solution.
2. Transport bucket to sparrow room
and fill bucket with warm water to
designated line.
3. Obtain mop hanging on wall next to
sink and soak in solution. Place mop
Figure 5. Mopping technique
in wringer and strain excess bleach
water out.
4. Mop entire sparrow room in left to right motion. Be sure to move cages and perches as
necessary to thoroughly disinfect area.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Remember to sign off your name, date, and what duties you have accomplished for the day on the
signin sheet located on the wall to the left of the sparrow room door. This is proof to EHS
that our lab is taking care of our animals and providing the best environment for them as
possible. This is also an indication to the rest of the lab community that someone has
checked on the sparrows for the day.
Once you have completed the duties listed above, return all of the materials you used to their
rightful locations. Double check that all sparrows are in their designated cages. After signing off on
the duty sheet, dispose of gloves and wash your hands.