Effects of different feeding strategies during the winter period on behaviour and performance in mink females (Mustela vison)

Damgaard, Birthe Marie; Hansen, Steffen W.; Børsting, Christian Friis; Møller, Steen Henrik

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2004.04.010

Cited by 31 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…At that time, mink needs a feed ration of low-caloricity and high-protein content, as well as appropriate hygiene and sanitary conditions. Some authors, however, recommend restrictive feeding routines at the preparatory period so as to ensure good body condition and welfare of animals (3,4,6,13). These problems have been widely addressed but they still lack good solutions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Tissue Pathomorphology and Immunohistochemistry in Mink (Neovison Vison) Fed Blood Plasma Supplemented Diet in the Period of Preparation for Breeding

Nowakowicz-Dębek

Śmiech

Zon

et al. 2012

Bulletin of the Veterinary Institute in Pulawy

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The research carried out at a mink farm aimed to determine the effect of blood plasma supplemented diet applied at the period preparing mink for reproduction on the animal organism. The studies included four groups of mink. The control group received a non-supplemented diet, while the experimental groups had feed with additive of 0.5%, 1.5%, and 2.5% of beef-pork plasma in the daily feed ration. The pathomorphological and immunohistochemical evaluation was performed on the liver, kidneys, lymph nodes, spleen, and bowel from all the groups. Pathomorphological and immunohistochemical changes of various intensity were observed in the examined organs from all experimental groups.

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confidence: 99%

Tissue Pathomorphology and Immunohistochemistry in Mink (Neovison Vison) Fed Blood Plasma Supplemented Diet in the Period of Preparation for Breeding

Nowakowicz-Dębek

Śmiech

Zon

et al. 2012

Bulletin of the Veterinary Institute in Pulawy

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“…Second, in following our facility's standard feeding practice, we did not experimentally standardize food consumption, even though hunger can play an important causal role in SB (e.g. Damgaard et al, 2004). Our patterns of results did not change when we reanalysed our data controlling for food consumption in Enriched housing, or after removing two outliers who seemed to be both very stereotypic and particularly ravenous.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…A second known potential confound is hunger. Restricted feeding is known to increase the incidence and frequency of SB in mink (Bildsøe et al, 1991;Damgaard et al, 2004;Mason, 1993). We therefore also tracked feed consumption to determine whether differences in hunger could account for some of the variation in SB in Enriched housing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual differences in stereotypic behaviour predict individual differences in the nature and degree of enrichment use in caged American mink

Ahloy‐Dallaire

Meagher

Mason

2012

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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a b s t r a c tEnvironmental enrichment (EE) reduces stereotypic behaviour (SB), but typically only partially. Using American mink (n = 17) as models, we tested the hypotheses that the effectiveness of EE reflects the degree to which subjects utilise it, and also the SB's degree of 'establishment' (its frequency and within-bout predictability). In Non-Enriched cages, our subjects performed Carnivora-typical Locomotor SBs; some also stereotypically scrabbled against the cage walls. Each mink was then enriched: re-housed in a cage connected by an overhead tunnel to a compartment enriched with manipulable objects and running water. Here, both types of SB declined (Locomotor SB: from 5.8% to 0.9% of observations; Scrabbling: from 1.6% to 0.2%). Individual differences in these lowered SB levels were stable, correlating positively between observation periods ( ≥ +0.66). Similar stability was evident in all measures of enrichment use (partial r ≥ + 0.74). However, predictions that EE would be least effective for 'established', i.e. highly frequent or predictable, SBs were not supported. Furthermore, nor did low enrichment use predict small reductions in SB: instead, unexpectedly, frequent interactions with enrichment items predicted the smallest absolute reductions in Locomotor SB (partial r = + 0.55). This was because the smallest reductions in this SB occurred in mink with the lowest pre-enrichment levels (partial r = −0.60), who also interacted most with the enrichments (partial r = −0.52). Mink with high pre-enrichment levels of Locomotor SB, in contrast, rarely interacted with the enrichments, instead becoming more inactive (partial r = + 0.52). These individuals were also perseverative (displaying more inappropriate response repetition in a previous food-rewarded guessing task), thence potentially behaviourally inflexible. However, their perseveration did not predict less interaction with enrichments. Furthermore, these animals did markedly alter their behaviour when enriched, reducing their SB and shifting their preferred resting locations from home cages to the overhead tunnels (partial r = + 0.70): individual differences that were, again, stable over time (co-variance across observation periods for inactivity in different areas: partial r ≥ +0.65). Individuals thus used enriched environments in consistent, qualitatively different ways that were predicted by pre-enrichment levels of Locomotor SB: low-SB mink became more active when enriched, frequently engaging with manipulable objects and running water, while high-SB subjects instead shifted resting locations and became more inactive. These divergent response styles are unexpected: not predicted by any current understanding of SB. The underlying mechanisms and generality to other species therefore now need investigation.

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“…Previous studies have also found behavioral differences between sampling times independent of experimental treatment (Axelsson et al 2009), suggesting these differences might be based on ambient weather and photoperiod. Mink will show increases in stereotypic behavior over winter, typically related to restricted feeding (Damgaard et al 2004), and use of swimming water on-farm was directly related to ambient temperatures (Hansen and Jeppesen 2001). Although weather patterns were not recorded during the observations, anecdotally, less activity was noticed on rainy days or during cooler temperatures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feed intake, growth, and behavioral assessment of mink fed a clam-based diet

et al. 2016

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The objective of this study was to assess the acceptance and safety of two species of food-grade clams, ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) and Atlantic surf clam (Spisula solidissima), for consumption by fur-farmed American mink (Neovison vison). These clams contained thiaminase that can lead to weight loss, paralysis, and death. Across 19 wk, 39 black, adult female mink divided into three groups were fed a standard chicken-based control diet, 10% clam diet, or 20% clam diet and assessed for feed consumption rates, body weights, locomotor stereotypic behavior, overall activity levels, and ability to complete a novel tunnel climbing task. The 20% clam group consumed significantly less metabolizable energy compared with the control group, but there was no significant difference in weight gain between groups. There were some inconsistent group differences in stereotypy and overall activity with all groups showing significant behavioral differences across study weeks; possibly related to ambient weather and photoperiod. There were no significant group differences in their ability to complete the tunnel task. Based on our results, no negative effect of clam consumption was observed in adult female mink, but further studies are needed to determine clam safety to both male and female mink from all life stages.Key words: American mink, Chastek's paralysis, clams, behavior, thiaminase.Résumé : L'objectif de cette étude était d'évaluer l'adoption et la sécurité de deux espèces de palourdes de qualité alimentaire, le quahog nordique (Arctica islandica) et la mactre de l'Atlantique (Spisula solidissima), pour la consommation par le vison d'Amérique (Neovison vison) d'élevage pour la fourrure. Ces palourdes contiennent la thiaminase qui peut mener à la perte de poids, la paralysie et la mort. Pendant 19 semaines, 39 visons adultes femelles ont été divisées en trois groupes, ont reçu une diète standard témoin à base de poulet ou une diète de palourdes 10 % ou 20 %, puis évaluées pour les taux de prises alimentaires, le poids corporel, les comportements locomoteurs stéréotypiques, les niveaux d'activité générale et la capacité à effectuer une tâche novatrice de montée dans les tunnels. Le groupe ayant reçu une diète à base de 20 % palourdes ingérait significativement moins d'énergie métabolisable par rapport au groupe témoin, mais il n'y avait pas de différence significative dans les gains de poids entre les deux groupes. Il y avait des différences inconsistantes de groupe dans la stéréotypie et l'activité générale avec tous les groupes qui montraient des différences significatives de comportement dans les semaines d'étude; ces différences étaient possiblement reliées aux conditions météorologiques et à la photopériode. Il n'y avait pas de différence significative des groupes dans leurs habiletés à la tâche de montée dans les tunnels. Selon nos résultats, aucun effet négatif de la consommation de palourdes n'a été observé chez les visons adultes femelles, mais d'autres études seront nécessaires pour déterminer la sécur...

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Effects of different feeding strategies during the winter period on behaviour and performance in mink females (Mustela vison)

Cited by 31 publications

References 22 publications

Tissue Pathomorphology and Immunohistochemistry in Mink (Neovison Vison) Fed Blood Plasma Supplemented Diet in the Period of Preparation for Breeding

Tissue Pathomorphology and Immunohistochemistry in Mink (Neovison Vison) Fed Blood Plasma Supplemented Diet in the Period of Preparation for Breeding

Individual differences in stereotypic behaviour predict individual differences in the nature and degree of enrichment use in caged American mink

Feed intake, growth, and behavioral assessment of mink fed a clam-based diet

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