Feeding supplemental iodine to mink: Reproductive and histopathologic effects

Abstract

Adult mink were fed various concentrations of supplemental iodine, ranging from 10 to 320 ppm, for 1 or 7 mo before breeding. Long-term, low-level (10-20 ppm) iodine supplementation was beneficial for both reproduction and lactation. Supplemental iodine in excess of 80 ppm, however, resulted in a reduction in the number of females that whelped, a decrease in litter size, and an increase in kit mortality. Thyroid glands of kits whelped and nursed by dams fed more than 20 ppm supplemental iodine, both short-term and long-term, showed hypertrophy marked by follicular cell hyperplasia and a decreased amount of colloid. Similar histopathologic lesions were observed in the thyroids of adults that received 80 ppm or more supplemental iodine; also observed were numerous lesions in the gallbladder.

Reproduction and fertility in the mink (Mustela vison)

“…High levels of iodine (> 80 p.p.m.) result in a reduction in the number of females that whelp, a decrease in litter size and an increase in kit mortality (Aulerich et al, 1978;Jones et al, 1982), but reasonable doses of copper do not affect reproduction (Aulerich et al, 1982). Hexachlorobenzene (5-25 p.p.m.)…”