Effects of immobility stress and food restriction on stereotypies in low and high stereotyping female ranch mink

Bildsøe, Mogens; Heller, Knud Erik; Jeppesen, Leif Lau

doi:10.1016/0376-6357(91)90020-z

Cited by 60 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Stereotypy can apparently also have a positive or even rewarding value, i.e., it is a coping response that in some way keeps the animal within optimal physiological and psychological limits (Fraser and Broom 1990). For example, stereotypy has been suggested to relieve anxiety (Fox 1965), to reduce the negative emotions associated with the eliciting environment (Mason 1991) or to lower cortisol levels (Bildsoe et al 1991). Furthermore, highly stereotyping mink have been reported to have greater reproductive success than low stereotypers (Bildsoe et al 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it can be assumed that there may still be differences in behavioural activity and reactivity between mink of timid and a confident temperament. Furthermore, while stereotypic behaviour has been regarded as indicative of reduced welfare or greater stress (Mason 1991(Mason , 1992, fearful mink would presumably have more stereotypies than confident ones and, thus, also poorer reproductive success (Bildsoe et al 1991). According to Kruska (1996), the size of the hippocampus was also reduced in farmed mink due to domestication.…”

Section: Mots Clésmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The behavioural categories recorded are shown in Table 1. Stereotypies were evaluated on the basis of definition/categorizing of Ödberg (1978) and Bildsoe et al (1990Bildsoe et al ( , 1991. Different forms of stereotypic behaviour, however, were not recorded separately.…”

Section: Weighings and Behavioural Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison)

Korhonen¹,

Jauhiainen²,

auml³

2002

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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Korhonen, H. T., Jauhiainen, L. and Rekilä, T. 2002. Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison). Can. J. Anim. Sci. 82: 275-282. The present study sought to evaluate the relationship between temperament, pre-mating behaviour and reproductive performance in farmed female mink (Mustela vison). Temperament was measured by using a stick test and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during pre-mating period by a walking test. The experimental animals comprised 100 confident and 100 fearful scanblack female mink. In each temperament group, 58% of female mink were primiparous and 42% were multiparous. The length and timing of mating periods and the length of the gestation period were similar in all groups. Pooled data showed that the length of the gestation period correlated negatively with litter size (r = -0.17, P = 0.03). The whelping proportions for confident and fearful primiparous female mink were 81% and 74% (P = 0.37), respectively, and for multiparous females 83% and 81% (P = 0.78), respectively. The number of kits per mated and whelped female at parturition (P < 0.01 and P = 0.04, respectively) and at weaning (P < 0.01 and P = 0.07, respectively) was significantly higher in confident than in fearful females. A significant correlation between kit losses and litter size was found only in primiparous and multiparous confident females (r = 0.35, P = 0.02; r = 0.32, P = 0.07). Postnatal kit mortality was higher in primiparous confident females than fearful females. During walking tests, fearful animals, irrespective of age, remained inside the nest box more frequently than did confident ones. Stationary behaviour outside the cage (lying, sitting, standing, etc.) was more common in confident than in fearful animals (P < 0.001). Significant differences in locomotor activity or stereotypies were not found between the groups. In multiparous fearful females, the whelping result declined significantly with the increasing incidence of stereotypies (r = -0.37, P = 0.04). In primiparous fearful female mink, the relationship was the reverse (r = 0.37; P = 0.01). We conclude that the significant temperament dichotomy (confident vs. fearful) found in farmed mink stock has a marked effect on the reproductive performance of this species. . On a évalué le tempérament des animaux en utilisant un bâton et leurs réactions à la présence d'un humain durant la période antérieure à l'accouplement en déambulant entre les cages. L'expérience portait sur 100 femelles confiantes et 100 femelles craintives de type Scanblack. Chaque groupe de tempérament différent comprenait 58 femelles primipares et 42 multipares. La durée et le moment de l'accouplement et la durée de la gestation étaient similaires pour tous les groupes. Selon les données recueillies, la durée de la gestation présente une corrélation négative avec la taille de la portée (r = -0,17, P = 0,03). La proportion de reproducteurs s'établissait respec...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mots Clésmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison)

Korhonen¹,

Jauhiainen²,

auml³

2002

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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“…On an individual level, mink that are very inactive tend to exhibit negligible stereotypic behaviour in non-enriched fur farm cages (Axelsson et al, 2009;Bildsøe et al, 1991;Svendsen et al, 2007a). Low-stereotyping mink have, in some studies, been found to have the highest levels of glucocorticoids (Bildsøe et al, 1991) and an increased risk of being fearful (Hansen and Jeppesen, 2006). However, such patterns are not always found (see Malmkvist et al, 2011;Svendsen et al, 2007b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleeping tight or hiding in fright? The welfare implications of different subtypes of inactivity in mink

Meagher

Campbell

Ahloy‐Dallaire

et al. 2013

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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Effects of sub-optimal housing on inactivity vary across species and experiments, probably because inactivity is heterogeneous, reflecting both positive states (e.g. relaxation) and negative ones (e.g. fear). We therefore aimed to identify specific subtypes of inactivity that could indicate poor welfare in mink, by comparing their behaviour in enriched and non-enriched conditions (the former having been previously demonstrated to be highly preferred by mink and to enhance their welfare). We assessed this in three groups of subjects, as well as after housing conditions were reversed for the last group. During live scans, inactive animals were scored for posture, location, and whether awake or apparently asleep. Data on temperament and physiological stress indicators were also collected for one group; these confirmed that non-enriched housing increased faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM; P=0.040). Non-enriched housing also increased locomotor stereotypy in females (sex*housing: P=0.004). Inactivity in the nest-box (vs. in the open cage) was higher among females in non-enriched housing (housing*sex P<0.001), and increased by 20% of observations after enrichment removal (P=0.018) for both sexes. Furthermore, males with fearful temperaments spent the most time inactive in the nest-box (sex*temperament P=0.054), while females whose FCM decreased most when given enrichment also showed the largest decreases in this behaviour (sex*FCM change P=0.019). Together, this suggests that inactivity in the nest-box may reflect anxiety-induced hiding. Lying awake (i.e. prone with eyes open) was also higher in non-enriched housing (3.1% of observations vs. 1.7%; P=0.002); furthermore, this subtype of inactivity increased after enrichment removal (by 1.0% of observations; P=0.021), and decreased when non-enriched mink were given enrichment (by 2.4% of observations; P=0.004). This behaviour did not co-vary with fearfulness, however, nor with FCM (both P>0.05). This suggests that lying awake is not fear-related (e.g. not reflecting enhanced vigilance) but instead reflects some other negative state. Effects on inactivity subtypes as defined by posture were less consistent. For example, time spent lying belly down tended to decrease in mink moved from non-enriched to enriched cages (P=0.054), but enriched mink spent significantly less time belly down (in one of the three groups; P=0.002). Overall, two subtypes of inactivity, lying in the nestbox and lying awake seem likely to be valid indicators of housing-induced poor welfare in this species, being consistently increased by non-enriched cages. Lying in the nest-box may indicate fear or anxiety, and lying awake, a boredom-like state.

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“…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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Effects of immobility stress and food restriction on stereotypies in low and high stereotyping female ranch mink

Cited by 60 publications

References 6 publications

Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison)

Effect of temperament and behavioural reactions to the presence of a human during the pre-mating period on reproductive performance in farmed mink (Mustela vison)

Sleeping tight or hiding in fright? The welfare implications of different subtypes of inactivity in mink

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

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