The development of homeothermy in mink (Mustela vison)

Harjunpää, Sanna

doi:10.1016/s1095-6433(03)00339-8

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…This is in good agreement with the age when animals were able to keep a constant body temperature when exposed to a cold environment (Rouvinen-Watt and Harri, 2001), but animals in our study did not react as completely functionally homoeothermic until an age of almost 6 weeks if kept singly. This is considerably later than 22 days of age when Harjunpä ä and Rouvinen-Watt (2004) considered that mink kits had developed homoeothermy, a reason for the discrepancy between the present study and that by Harjunpä ä and Rouvinen-Watt (2004) may be that the latter study was based on short-term measurements (10 min), although at a lower temperature (+4°C), and that only body temperature was measured. Our data on HE on an hourly basis, further-more, confirm our findings that young mink kits are practically poikilothermic by showing decreasing HE over the measurement period in groups of kits at L temperature until 29 days of age and in single kits at L temperature until 32 days of age.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 73%

Late development of homoeothermy in mink (Mustela vison) kits – a strategy for maximum survival rate*

Tauson¹,

Chwalibog²,

Tygesen³

2006

Animal Physiology Nutrition

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The objective of this study was to establish the age at which mink kits develop functional homoeothermy. The investigation was based on the hypothesis that in this species with very immature neonates, late development of homoeothermy may be an adaptation to economize with energy. Measurements of heat production (HE) by means of indirect calorimetry lasting 3 h were performed on neonatal kits and kits from 1 to 54 days of age. Both single kits and groups of 4-5 huddling kits were kept at 15 degrees C (L) or 30 degrees C (H) [from 35 days onwards at 25 degrees C (H)]. Animals were weighed before and after the experiments and evaporative water losses (EWL) were calculated. When exposed to L temperature, single kits responded with a very low HE until 29 days of age, and groups of kits until 14 days of age. It was not until they reached an age of approximately 6 weeks that single kits showed a clear thermoregulatory response to the L temperature by increased HE, whereas groups of kits showed increased HE from 29th day onwards. When kept at H temperature, HE was low initially, but all kits showed elevated HE at 8 days of age, and the metabolic rate was similar for single kits and kits huddling in groups. Evaporative water losses was higher among single than among groups of kits and slightly lower but more variable for animals at L than at H temperature. It was concluded that mink kits develop functional homoeothermy at an age of close to 6 weeks and that the failure of very young kits to thermoregulate is an adaptation mechanism in order to economise with their very limited body energy reserves.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 73%

Late development of homoeothermy in mink (Mustela vison) kits – a strategy for maximum survival rate*

Tauson¹,

Chwalibog²,

Tygesen³

2006

Animal Physiology Nutrition

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“…A significant noninfectious factor in mink kit survival is the mothering ability of the female, particularly nest building, kit retrieval, and nursing [55]. Mink kits are dependent on the female for warmth and nutrition, as they are altricial at birth with an undeveloped thermoregulatory system and minimal fat stores [55][56][57][58]. Kits are especially susceptible to hypothermia and lose heat quickly during the first few days of life when exposed to cold [56,57].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mink kits are dependent on the female for warmth and nutrition, as they are altricial at birth with an undeveloped thermoregulatory system and minimal fat stores [55][56][57][58]. Kits are especially susceptible to hypothermia and lose heat quickly during the first few days of life when exposed to cold [56,57]. Females with higher kit survival rates spend significantly more time exhibiting kit-directed behavior [55].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On-farm biosecurity practices and causes of preweaning mortality in Canadian commercial mink kits

et al. 2017

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BackgroundMink are an important animal commodity group in Canada and excessive kit mortality represents a significant loss to production. National biosecurity standards have been developed for Canadian mink farms, but it is unclear how well these standards have been implemented as there are no studies correlating management practices of mink producers with causes of death in mink kits. To that end, we surveyed Ontario mink producers on their biosecurity and management practices and conducted almost 5660 post mortem examinations on found-dead, preweaned kits to characterize mink farm biosecurity practices and causes of death in preweaned kits.ResultsWe found that very few biosecurity and management practices were uniformly used by producers, despite good awareness of appropriate practices. Use of personal protective equipment was implemented by fewer than 50% of respondents, while control of mink shed access, disinfection of feed containers after use, and use of a rodent control program were the only practices implemented by greater than 70% of respondents. Only 18% of producers reported regular use of antimicrobials in feed or water, although 91% stated they used antimicrobials for treatment of bacterial diseases on a regular basis. On post mortem examination, no gross abnormalities were noted in 71% of the kits, 45% were thought to be stillborn or aborted, 27% had some form of abnormal fluid distribution in the body, and 2% had a congenital malformation. A subset of 69 gastrointestinal tract samples was submitted for bacterial culture, of which 45 samples yielded sufficient growth. Most interesting was the identification of Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg in 11% of samples.ConclusionsThe results of this study will provide a benchmark for Canadian mink producers and their veterinarians, defining the areas to which greater attention should be given to ensure more rigorous biosecurity practices are in place. Ultimately, these improvements in practices may contribute to increased mink production and animal well-being.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13028-017-0326-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The development of homeothermy in mink (Mustela vison)

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Late development of homoeothermy in mink (Mustela vison) kits – a strategy for maximum survival rate*

Late development of homoeothermy in mink (Mustela vison) kits – a strategy for maximum survival rate*

On-farm biosecurity practices and causes of preweaning mortality in Canadian commercial mink kits

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