Citric Acid Water Restriction

Handle animals and weigh for 3-5 days to establish a mean baseline weight prior to introduction of the CA water

Prepare the following:

• 2 bottles
• Citric acid crystals
• Sterile Gloves or weighing boats
• Scales

Empty one of the water bottles, place it on the scales and tare/zero

Pour the water from the other bottle into the one on the scales, record the weight of water

Calculate 2% weight of the water, this is the weight of citric acid crystals you need

e.g. 300g of water, requires 6g of citric acid (300*0.02 = 6)

Use the plastic side of the packet containing the sterile gloves or a weighing boat to weigh out the citric acid crystals

Add crystals to the bottle of water, put on the lid/spout and shake with finger covering the opening until dissolved

Label the bottle on 2 sides as "2% Citric Acid". Add a 'DO NOT REMOVE' label to the base of the bottle

Replace normal water bottle with 2% CA bottle, perform behaviour with 10% sucrose as a reward

Weigh animals daily to ensure they do not drop below 80% of their baseline weight

If any animal drops below 80% of their baseline weight, return to ad lib water per the PPL