Reliable recognition of pain is difficult in ferrets as many currently available parameters are non-specific, inconsistent and/or impractical. Grimace scales have successfully been applied to assess pain in different animal species and might also be applicable to ferrets. To compose a Ferret Grimace Scale (FGS), we studied the facial musculature of ferrets and compared lateral photographs of 19 ferret faces at six time points before and after intraperitoneal telemetry probe implantation. We identified the Action Units (AUs) orbital tightening, nose bulging, cheek bulging, ear changes and whisker retraction as potential indicators of pain in ferrets. To evaluate whether these AUs could reliably be used to identify photographs taken before and after surgery, the photographs were scored 0, 1 or 2 (not, moderately or obviously present) by 11 observers that were blinded to the treatment and timing of the photographs. All AU-scores assigned to the photographs taken five hours after surgery were significantly higher compared to their time-matched baseline scores. Further analysis using the weights that were obtained using a Linear Discriminant Analysis revealed that scoring orbital tightening alone was sufficient to make this distinction with high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Including weighted scores for nose bulging, cheek bulging and ear change did not change this. As these AUs had more missing values than orbital tightening, their descriptions should be re-evaluated. Including whisker retraction, which had a negative weight, resulted in lower accuracy and should therefore in its current form be left out of the FGS. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the FGS and the AU orbital tightening in particular could be useful in a multifactorial pain assessment protocol for ferrets. However, before applying the FGS in practice, it should be further validated by incorporating more time points before and after applying (different) painful stimuli, and different levels of analgesia.

No abstract

Ferritin is the iron-storage protein responsible for sequestering excess iron, to be stored in a safe way in the liver or to be shed with the intestinal epithelial cells. The properties of ferritin in iron-overload-susceptible birds have not been elucidated. Furthermore, there is only scarce information on mucosal ferritin, with no information at all in avian species. Here we have studied the liver and proximal intestine ferritins of iron-overload-susceptible (Indian hill mynahs, common mynahs) and non-susceptible (turtledoves, chicken) bird species. A brief purification process preceded native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and staining the gels for protein and iron. Protein amounts and iron-binding characteristics of ferritin were measured and ferritin saturation levels were calculated. Although ferritin protein amounts did not differ significantly, liver and mucosal ferritins of sensitive bird species incorporated much more iron, leading to high saturation levels. Significantly higher ferritin iron content and saturation were observed in the liver of both mynah species and in the intestinal ferritin of Indian hill mynahs when compared with the non-susceptible species. Ferritin appears not to play a major role in the regulation of iron absorption, implicating other phases in iron transport to be more important in the onset and process of iron overload in birds.

a b s t r a c tForaging enrichment is considered one of the most effective strategies to improve welfare and reduce stereotypies and other abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive animals, including parrots. Few studies, however, have investigated the effects of the different types of enrichment and determined their effect on increasing foraging times and foraging-related activities.To study the effect of different types of enrichment on foraging activity, eleven types of foraging enrichment [multiple bowls, mixing food with inedible items, larger-sized food particles, and 8 puzzle feeders] were tested in 12 Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus). After acclimatization and assessment of baseline foraging times, enrichments were presented in a random order. Video recordings were used to analyze total foraging times and times spent on the different foraging activities. In addition, the frequencies and duration of foraging bouts, and the times at which they occurred, were determined. The learning curves and presence of habituation to the enrichment over a 1-week period were also assessed.Parrots needed 8.3 ± 1.1 days to learn how to use the foraging enrichments. For two of the puzzle feeders, it took considerably longer. Nine out of eleven foraging enrichments were able to significantly increase foraging times, with the most effective enrichments resulting in a 2-to 2.5-fold increase compared to baseline values (47 ± 18 min). The increases in time spent on foraging could be attributed to an increased amount of time spent on enrichmentrelated activities and/or an increased amount of time spent on food-related activities. None of the enrichments (including the use of multiple bowls in different locations) resulted in significant increases in time spent on locomotory behaviours (i.e. movement towards or away from the feeding site). No significant downwards trends in foraging times were observed over the 1-week observation period. The duration of the observations may, however, have been too short to demonstrate habituation effects.Results of this study show that distinct differences are present in the difficulty level, efficacy and time allocation, thereby affecting the choice for a particular foraging enrichment. Although most of the foraging enrichments were able to significantly increase foraging time, none of the enrichments were able to increase foraging times to levels comparable with that of wild conspecifics (i.e. 4-6 hours per day). New, more effective types of foraging enrichment should therefore be developed and tested.

Understanding why some species thrive in captivity, while others struggle to adjust, can suggest new ways to improve animal care. Approximately half of all Psittaciformes, a highly threatened order, live in zoos, breeding centres and private homes. Here, some species are prone to behavioural and reproductive problems that raise conservation and ethical concerns. To identify risk factors, we analysed data on hatching rates in breeding centres (115 species, 10 255 pairs) and stereotypic behaviour (SB) in private homes (50 species, 1378 individuals), using phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs). Small captive population sizes predicted low hatch rates, potentially due to genetic bottlenecks, inbreeding and low availability of compatible mates. Species naturally reliant on diets requiring substantial handling were most prone to feather-damaging behaviours (e.g. self-plucking), indicating inadequacies in the composition or presentation of feed (often highly processed). Parrot species with relatively large brains were most prone to oral and whole-body SB: the first empirical evidence that intelligence can confer poor captive welfare. Together, results suggest that more naturalistic diets would improve welfare, and that intelligent psittacines need increased cognitive stimulation. These findings should help improve captive parrot care and inspire further PCM research to understand species differences in responses to captivity.