Score Deacon 1-5 nest ratings with median/IQR group summaries, optional shredded-mass percent, and CSV export.
Enter Deacon 1-5 nest scores and optional remaining nestlet mass. Nest score is ordinal, so group summaries report median and IQR rather than mean and SEM.
| Animal or cage | Group | Nest score | Initial mass (g) | Unshredded (g) | Duration (h) | Shredded % | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84.0 | |||||||
| 92.0 | |||||||
| 48.0 | |||||||
| 60.0 |
| Group | n | Median score | Q1 | Q3 | Mean shredded % | SEM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B6 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 88.0 | 4.0 |
| BALB/c | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 54.0 | 6.0 |
When to use
Do not use for
If animals are group housed during the assay, score the cage as the experimental unit rather than assigning one score to every animal.
Report median and IQR for the 1-5 rating. Use the optional shredded-mass percent as a separate continuous measure.
Small differences between adjacent nest ratings are judgment calls. Blind scoring improves reproducibility.
Nest scores on the Deacon 1-5 scale are ordinal and are summarized by group as median with Q1 and Q3. Do not report mean/SEM for the ordinal score. Optional shredded mass percent is calculated as (initial mass - unshredded mass) / initial mass x 100 and summarized separately.
Last validated 2026-04-30. Calculations are designed for planning and documentation support; verify procurement decisions against manufacturer specifications or institutional SOPs.
ConductScience Nest Building Scorer (v1.0). ConductScience, Inc. 2026. Available at: https://conductscience.com/tools/nest-building-scorer
This tool performs descriptive calculations on user-entered nest scores. It does not replace animal welfare assessment, blinded scoring procedures, or statistical analysis.
Nest building captures a motivated home-cage behavior that is sensitive to welfare, sickness, neurological state, and genetic background. The assay can be run with a nestlet and a fixed scoring time, commonly overnight.
The Deacon 1-5 nest rating is summarized by group with median and IQR. Optional shredded mass percent is calculated as (initial mass - unshredded mass) / initial mass x 100 and summarized separately.
Keep nestlet material, initial mass, cage type, bedding, single-housing period, light cycle, and scoring time fixed. Document whether rows represent animals or cages.
Dedicated setup for standardized nestlet scoring
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