Hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits subjected to surgery

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that were subjected to relocation and surgery to evaluate HPA-axis activity; in addition, we used this marker of cortisol secretion to evaluate the allostatic load of animals undergoing surgery. After a period of acclimatisation, which lasted 40 days from their arrival at the enclosure, 19 rabbits were subjected to T1-T12 dorsal arthrodesis (RS), 19 were sham-operated (SS), and 19 were non-operated (CON). Hair samples were collected at the time of arrival (ST1) at the animal facility, and seven other sets of hair samples were collected at 40day intervals from the same area of skin for a period of 240 days as re-shaved hair (anagen phase): immediately before surgery (ST2) and after the surgery (ST3, ST4, ST5, ST6, ST7, and ST8). The transition from the rabbitry to the animal breeding facility led to a significant increase in cortisol concentration (ST2) in all of the groups. At ST3, the RS group presented higher cortisol concentrations than those of the SS group and the CON group. At ST4, the experimental groups showed similar values that remained constant until ST8. The results show that the management of rabbits undergoing surgery should be evaluated very carefully, and hair cortisol concentrations may provide a means of avoiding the dangerous cumulative effects of additional stressors close to surgery.

Corticosterone in feathers of laying hens: an assay validation for evidence-based assessment of animal welfare

“…In humans, a half-life of circulating corticosterone of about 1 h is reported ( Doggui, 2012 ); however, no values are found for birds. The quantification of hormone levels influenced by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis has been applied over y as an indicator for stress and animal welfare in farm animals ( Beuving and Vonder, 1978 ; Dehnhard et al., 2003 ; Rettenbacher et al., 2004 ; Odihambo Mumma et al., 2006 ; Mormède et al., 2007 ; Palme, 2019 ) and others ( Bortolotti et al., 2008 ; Sheriff et al., 2011 ; Fairhurst et al., 2013 ; Schmaltz et al., 2016 ; Robertson et al., 2017 ; Peric et al., 2018 ; Palme, 2019 ). In addition to blood, several matrices, such as feces ( Rettenbacher et al., 2004 ; Möstl et al., 2005 ; Touma and Palme, 2005 ; Weimer et al., 2018 ; Palme, 2019 ) and eggs ( Rettenbacher et al., 2005 ; Schmaltz et al., 2016 ), are used to detect and quantify corticosterone or its metabolites in birds, whereas in other species, the use of saliva ( Mormède et al., 2007 ), urine ( Hay and Mormède, 1997 ), milk ( Tucker and Schwalm, 1977 ), and hair ( Arnon et al., 2016 ; Peric et al., 2018 ) is reported.…”

Cortisol in hair: a comparison between wild and feral cats in the north-eastern Alps

“…These hormones accumulate over a period of weeks or months (Davenport et al 2006;Macbeth et al 2010) and may remain detectable for long periods (Kintz et al 2006;Webb et al 2010) as the cortisol in hair is unaffected by variations in circadian hormone or by factors that induce short-term variations (Caslini et al 2016). In this sense, measuring cortisol accumulating in hair or fur represents a valuable method to trace rates of long-term stress in both domestic (Comin et al 2011(Comin et al , 2013(Comin et al , 2014Peric et al 2016Peric et al , 2017Peric et al , 2018Stradaioli et al 2017) and wildlife species (Bechshøft et al 2011(Bechshøft et al , 2012(Bechshøft et al , 2015Caslini et al 2016;Weisser et al 2016;Prandi et al 2018).…”