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1.
Abstract

The effect of cage size and nest box environment on circadian rhythm and on stereotyped and non-stereotyped activities was measured for 66 farmed female mink fed ad libitum. The behaviour of the animals was recorded over 24 h on video in the months of September and October. Weight and feed consumption were measured for the 66 females and the 66 male mink placed with the females. The experiment included three cage sizes (0.10, 0.27 and 1.10 m2) and cages with and without nest boxes. In the cages with nest boxes the use of wire netting cylinders and shelves was evaluated.

Farm mink, fed ad libitum, had their primary activity period from 04:00 to 10:00 h. There was no food anticipatory activity, but the actual feeding at noon caused an interruption of the animals' resting period. Mink in cages without nest boxes performed more stereotyped behaviour than mink with nest boxes. There was no effect of cage size on the measured behavioural elements. Mink were passive for more than 70% of the day and night and preferred to rest together. Apart from resting in the nest box, mink preferred to rest on shelves above floor level. Lacking the possibility of using a nest box and performance of stereotyped behaviour increase the feed intake of farm mink. A large variation between animals, having a significant effect on all the measured behavioural elements, indicates different coping patterns and/or stress sensitivity.  相似文献   

2.

Eighty farm mink were used to investigate whether access to swimming water and:or difference in cage size led to a difference in the level of stereotypies. Half of the animals grew up with free access to swimming water, and the other half without. In addition, two different cage sizes were used. Over 2 weeks the animals were scanned a total of 141 times. Animals in small cages had a higher level of stereotypies and were more active than those in large cages. No difference between animals with swimming water and animals with an empty basin was detected. The level of activity was lowest in animals in large cages, although not significantly so when water was present. The results presented here do not offer any support for the claim that farm mink with access to swimming water have a lower level of stereotypies than mink with access to an empty basin. Whether swimming is a behavioural need in farm mink is still debatable.  相似文献   

3.
Eight repaired and eight contralateral control superficial digital flexor tendons were collected from rabbits (2–6 kg) 1, 4, and 8 weeks after surgery. Acid soluble and pepsin solubilized collagen fractions were prepared and separated using SDS-PAGE to determine if healing tendons contain detectable amounts of Type III collagen. No biochemical differences between normal and healing tendon collagen content could be detected. Type I collagen was the predominant collagen species found in all 88 samples examined. Alpha chains indicative of Type III collagen were detected in control and experimental tendons of five animals. Alpha chains suggestive of Type IV collagen were detected in control and experimental tendons of eight rabbits.  相似文献   

4.
Holstein cow 1 was examined because of skin fragility and delayed healing of skin wounds, which were markedly exacerbated around the time of parturition. A skin biopsy sample was obtained, and light microscopy revealed irregular deposition of thin collagen fibers in a dermal matrix. Although diffuse inflammation did not occur, the number of plump fibroblasts was increased. Electron microscopy revealed poor construction of collagen fibrils in the dermal matrix. Biochemical analysis of the dermis revealed a normal amount of collagen and uronic acid, but sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed an increased proportion of soluble alpha-, beta-, and gamma-collagen chains of normal molecular weights. Neither procollagen nor its intermediates devoid of amino- or carboxy-terminal extension peptide were observed. Dermal collagen from cow 1 was more soluble in a neutral salt solvent, 0.5M acetic acid, and the acid containing pepsin than was dermal collagen from healthy cow 2. The peptic digestion profile of dermis from cow 1 revealed a lowered degree of intermolecular cross-linking and destabilization of helical structure in the dermis collagen. The extrahelical peptic cleavage of collagen before cyanogen bromide digestion resulted in release of more fragments derived from carboxy-terminal part of alpha 1 chains in dermis of cow 1 than in dermis of healthy cow 2.  相似文献   

5.
Between 1998 and 2001, mortalities due to verrucous endocarditis were experienced at several mink farms. Gram-positive cocci were isolated from the endocardium of all the animals examined but not always from other internal organs. Almost all the isolates were identified as Streptococcus bovis and only a few isolates belonged to other Streptococcus species. Typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of a selection of isolates revealed several patterns and several different clones. Attempts to reproduce disease by the injection of cultures of a field isolate into healthy mink failed.  相似文献   

6.
Staphylococcus intermedius from pigeons, dogs, foxes, mink, and horses, was characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to evaluate the use of this typing method for discriminating among strains. SmaI cut the chromosomal DNA into 7-13 fragments ranging from approximately 48 kb to 655 kb, with most of the detectable fragments being smaller than 172 kb. S. intermedius from various animals had a high degree of restriction fragment length polymorphism. Pigeon strains have a similar genotype, despite the difference in their isolation area. Phage typing indicated that the dog, fox, and mink strains belong to the canine I or canine II type. The PFGE method further differentiated the mink strains from the dog and fox strains with regard to three fragments between 256 kb and 570 kb. As such, genomic DNA fingerprinting by PFGE appears to be an effective technique for discriminating S. intermedius strains from various animals. A combination of PFGE typing and phage typing would provide more detailed information than the single method for ecological investigations of S. intermedius.  相似文献   

7.
Data collected from an outbreak of excessive mortality of mink kits in 4 Danish mink farms in 1982 were analysed. The mortality of the mink kits was found to be highest for the kits from Aleutian Disease (AD)-positive females, and the Scanblack mink was found to be the most frequently affected mink type. Furthermore the mortality was found to depend on the farm of origin and to be highest for the lastest born kits. The age of the females and their location in sheds were found not to influence the mortality of the kits. However, the mortality for the Pastel mink decreased with increasing distance from the Scanblack mink. The possibility that the excess mortality of the kits might be due to an AD-virus infection is discussed.Key words: mink, neonatal mortality, mink kits, Aleutian Disease, analytic epidemiology  相似文献   

8.
In this study, blood samples and jaws were collected from 2 genotypes of blue mink (n = 289) in order to examine phenotypic expression of specific characteristics of Chediak-Higashi Syndrome (C-HS). Blood samples were subjected to differential counts to assess the proportion of abnormal polymorphonuclear leukocytes characteristic for CH-S (C-HS-leukocytes). Abnormal leukocytes with characteristic signs of C-HS were found in blood smears from all mink included in this study. Four teeth in one half of the mandible (P3, P4, M1, M2) were subjected to quantitative radiographic evaluation of alveolar bone loss and tooth loss. There was a high prevalence of destructive periodontal disease among blue mink included in this study. Mild to moderate periodontal disease (defined by less than 50% alveolar bone loss related to 1 or more teeth) affected 73.7% of young mink (age = 7 mo) and 67.9% of older animals (age > or = 19 mo). Severe periodontal disease (defined by more than 50% bone loss related to one or more teeth) was not detected in mink aged 7 mo, but affected 15.3% of mink aged 19 mo and 39.6% of mink aged 31 mo. The positive relationship between age and periodontal disease was statistically significant (P < 0.01). The prevalence of tooth loss was found to be high among blue mink aged > 19 mo (21.6%) and was also significantly related to age (P < 0.01). A significant positive interaction between alveolar bone loss and tooth loss (P < 0.01), implies that the highly prevalent tooth loss in the mink was related to and possibly caused by destructive periodontal disease. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of periodontal disease between the 2 genotypes and age was found to be the only statistical predictor of poor production results (P < 0.01) in blue mink.  相似文献   

9.
The welfare of an animal is ensured if it is able to fully satisfy its essential species‐typical needs in all functional aspects of behaviour. In mink, stereotypies and apathy, internal and/or external injuries as well as increased susceptibility to disease have been known to occur as a result of chronic stress. The non‐invasive method of analysing faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) allows conclusions to be drawn about the stress level in the respective housing system. The objective of this study is to find out how the cortisol metabolites content in the faecal changes with increasing age of the mink under semi‐natural housing conditions. Thus, 40 American mink (Neovison vison) were housed in two outdoor enclosures imitating natural conditions. Throughout the entire study (13th to 32nd week of life), faecal samples were collected to measure cortisol metabolites. No differences in FCM concentrations between the two outdoor enclosures were found. In the young mink lower, less fluctuating FCM levels were found than in older animals. After the first faecal collection in the 13th/14th week of life, the level of metabolites decreased slightly (p = 0.032; 17th/18th week). From the 22nd/23rd week onwards until the 30th/31st week, shortly before the animals were pelted, continuously increasing concentrations were then measured. Increasing FCM levels with advancing age of the animals are probably attributable to the onset of sexual maturity and/or the respective season. This has to be taken into account in future studies using this method for assessing welfare and when comparing different mink housing systems.  相似文献   

10.

Microspectrophotometric methods were used to provide objective correlates to the visually judged colour shade (CS) of the underfur in scanbrown mink pelts. The study included 21 scanbrown mink pelts (winter coat), representing a larger group of 87 mink pelts coming from a feeding trial with experimental and control animals. The pelts were visually graded from 1 (blue-greyish) to 5 (reddish), primarily in respect of the CS (in auction classification=clarity of colour) of the underfur seen on the edge of the pelt. Prepared samples of underfur fibres showed in visual inspection a gliding change of colour from paler to darker in a proximal-distal direction and were consequently examined at three levels above the skin surface. The means of the dominant wavelengths (hues) were 589.40, 588.00 and 586.70 nm, respectively, indicating that the variation between levels was small. Investigation of the small pelt material concerned showed that CS was significantly correlated with the measured lightness (L*) and with the yellow chromaticity coordinate (b*) of the underfur samples. In this investigation it was also shown that the underfur fibres with a visually blue-greyish colour shade were relatively dark and less yellow compared with underfur fibres with a reddish colour shade. However, data and the model estimating the colour shade demonstrated that, for the material concerned, visually very reddish underfur colour shades were not found in the lightest coloured pelts.  相似文献   

11.

Various behavioural, physiological and production-related parameters were examined in 200 adult female pastel and pearl mink either family housed in three-room cages with no weaning or housed singly in one-room cages after normal weaning procedures. Scanning observations of behaviour and use of the cages were performed in the nursing period and several parameters related to reproduction were registered. The adult female mink were weighed when kits were 16 weeks old (September) and again at pelting time (November). Blood samples were collected from all adult female mink in September at which time the teat condition and fur damage were evaluated. After pelting, bite marks on the leather side of the skin were counted, fur damage was graded after severity and the fur size was measured. Some positive consequences of being family housed were revealed. The familyhoused adult female mink showed a lower level of stereotypes and a higher level of defensiveness and curiosity than the adult female mink in one-room cages during the nursing period. In September and November, family-housed adult females were heavier than singly housed adult females. However, most of the physiological or production-related parameters pointed in a negative direction for familyhoused adult female mink. Reproductive success was somewhat reduced, although not significantly. Plasma cortisol levels were elevated in September, indicating higher levels of stress in these females. They showed a generally poor teat condition in September, with a high proportion of swollen or bitten teats. A high proportion of these adult females showed fur damage in both September and November, and a high number of bite marks was found on the leather side of the skins of these females, indicating that family housing had a high cost for the adult female mink. In conclusion, there seem to be some benefits, at least on the behavioural level, in keeping adult female mink in three-room cages during the nursing period, but both physiological and production-related parameters indicated that the welfare of the adult female mink was threatened if she was continuously cohoused with her litter past the normal age of weaning.  相似文献   

12.
The proportion of types I and III intramuscular collagen in longissimus muscles of Simmental bulls (n = 8) and steers (n = 8) 17 mo of age was studied. Longissimus samples taken 7 d after slaughter were evaluated for total collagen, types I and III collagen, heat-soluble collagen, sensory panel traits and Warner-Bratzler shear force. Intramuscular collagen (IMC) was isolated and digested with cyanogen bromide, and peptides were resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Percentage of type III IMC was calculated from the total of types I and III collagen as determined from the peak area of densitometric scans of the cyanogen bromide peptides alpha 1(I)CB8 and alpha 1(III)CB8. Longissimus muscles from steers had lower (P less than .05) Warner-Bratzler shear values, less (P less than .05) sensory panel-detectable connective tissue and more (P less than .05) tender panel ratings for muscle fiber tenderness and overall tenderness. Muscles from steers had more (P less than .05) heat-soluble collagen than those from bulls, but no differences (P greater than .05) were found for total collagen and percentage of type III collagen. Some intramuscular-collagen characteristics may have contributed to the less tender muscle of bulls. However, the proportion of types I and III collagen did not account entirely for the tenderness difference between steer and bull muscles. Because there were differences in collagen solubility in muscles from steers and bulls, other collagen characteristics such as crosslinking or fiber size may have been more important than collagen type.  相似文献   

13.
A 10-month-old greyhound bitch was referred to the Massey University Small Animal Clinic in January 1979, with a history of frequently occurring skin lacerations, especially of the feet and limbs. Clinical findings included multiple skin scars, lacerations and hyperextensibility of the skin.

Investigations showed an increased extensibility index of the skin and a sevenfold reduction in its tensile strength, as compared with that of a normal greyhound. On light microscopy dermal collagen fibres appeared to be slightly decreased in density and more whorled in appearance than that of normal sections. Electron microscopy showed dermal collagen fibrils and bundles which were largely normal, but areas could be found, in the papillary layer of the dermis, where malformed fibrils were prominent, and other areas showed disorganisation of fibrillar packing.

These findings indicated that this bitch had features of a collagen fibrillogenesis disorder similar to some of those described in the various forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in man, and cats and mink. Whether the disease is inherited in the greyhound breed has not yet been determined.  相似文献   

14.
Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from clinical infections in mink were subjected to serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using SpeI. A total of 212 isolates of P. aeruginosa from the year 1998 to 2001 were included in this study: 168 isolates from mink obtained from 74 farm outbreaks of haemorrhagic pneumonia. Isolates from mink were separated into 34 distinct clones by PFGE subtyping. All isolates from mink infected during the same farm outbreak were identical, except in one case where two different strains were isolated from mink obtained from the same farm outbreak. P. aeruginosa of specific PFGE types were found to cause clusters of outbreaks on several farms within a few weeks of each other. However, PFGE types of strains causing clusters of farm outbreaks changed from year to year. These results suggest that some outbreaks of haemorrhagic pneumonia are caused by pathogenic strains of P. aeruginosa spread between farms and animals either mechanically, or through feed or water from a common source, rather than by random nosocomial infections with strains from the farm environment.  相似文献   

15.

Background

Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) is widespread among ranched and free-ranging American mink in Canada, but there is no information on its prevalence in other wild animal species. This paper describes the prevalence of AMDV of 12 furbearing species in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada.

Methods

Samples were collected from carcasses of 462 wild animals of 12 furbearing species, trapped in 10 NS counties between November 2009 and February 2011. Viral DNA was tested by PCR using two primer pairs, and anti-viral antibodies were tested by counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) on spleen homogenates.

Results

Positive PCR or CIEP samples were detected in 56 of 60 (93.3%) American mink, 43 of 61 (70.5%) short-tailed weasels, 2 of 8 (25.0%) striped skunks, 2 of 11 (18.2%) North American river otters, 9 of 85 (10.6%) raccoons, and 2 of 20 (10.0%) bobcats. Samples from six fishers, 24 coyotes, 25 red foxes, 58 beavers, 45 red-squirrels and 59 muskrats were negative. Antibodies to AMDV were detected by CIEP in 16 of 56 (28.6%) mink and one of the 8 skunks (12.5%). Thirteen of the mink were positive for PCR and CIEP, but three mink and one skunk were CIEP positive and PCR negative. Positive CIEP or PCR animals were present in all nine counties from which mink or weasel samples were collected.

Conclusions

The presence of AMDV in so many species across the province has important epidemiological ramifications and could pose a serious health problem for the captive mink, as well as for susceptible wildlife. The mechanism of virus transmission between wildlife and captive mink and the effects of AMDV exposure on the viability of the susceptible species deserve further investigation.  相似文献   

16.
Experiments aiming at elucidation of the toxicity of Clostridium botulinum type E for mink are described. The observations indicate that amounts in the order of 2 x10s intraperitoneal MLD (mice) or approximately 200 MLD per g of type E toxin will kill a mink after oral administration. The symptoms observed in the animals were atypical as there was an unusually short period between administration of the toxin and the onset of symptoms and deaths of the animals. Similar results were obtained when Clostridium botulinum type E toxin was fed to Swiss mice. When mice were protected by subcutaneous injections of type E antitoxin prior to feeding the animals survived without showing any symptoms.Subcutaneous injection of type E toxin in amounts of the order of 2 x10s intraperitoneal MLD (mice) killed mink, and typical symptoms of botulism were observed. This quantity corresponds to ap-proximately 2 intraperitoneal MLD (mice) per g.Comparison is made with previous observations obtained in similar experiments made with Clostridium botulinum type C toxin. It is shown that mink arc substantially less susceptible to type E than to type C toxin when the toxins are given by mouth. On this basis previous results in reports on outbreaks of botulism in mink caused by Clostridium botulinum type E may be regarded as questionable.  相似文献   

17.

An investigation into swimming behaviour and its relationship to outdoor temperature was conducted in 40 ranch mink. Two different cage sizes were used and all animals had access to a basin filled with water 15 cm deep. During the years 1994-1998, water loss from the basin and temperatures at a nearby weather station were recorded once a week. In the last year 11 mink were video-recorded for 24 h. Using the monthly average daily water loss as an indicator, swimming activity showed a clear annual variation over 4 years and was positively correlated with average monthly temperature. With regard to swimming activity, a large individual variation existed: average water loss varied from 10 ml to nearly 4 litres per day, with those in large cage units having the greatest water loss. The video-recordings confirmed this variation: the number of swims ranged from zero to 177 during 24 h and there was an indication of more swimming bouts in the mink in the large cage units. The duration of swims varied from 2 to 55 s per bout. The relationship between swimming and general activity is discussed, along with the importance of water for swimming as a means of thermoregulation.  相似文献   

18.
Growth‐related changes in the histochemical properties and collagen architecture of the Musculus puboischiofemoralis pars medialis were compared among Silky, layer‐type, and meat‐type cockerels. Histochemical and immunohistochemical methods were employed and collagen architecture was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Total intramuscular collagen was also determined. The myofibers were categorized as type I, type IIA and a transitional form, type I‐tr. The proportion of type I‐tr myofibers diminished and these myofibers were transformed entirely into type I myofibers in meat‐type but incompletely in the others. The largest diameter of type I myofiber was found in layer‐type at 30 weeks of age. At 30 weeks of age, layer‐type birds had attained well‐developed perimysial collagen bundles while meat‐type birds had less developed bundles. The endomysial collagen network had a large mesh size at 1 week and then accumulated many collagen fibrils to form a felt‐like fabric of fibrils by 30 weeks of age. Silky birds developed the thickest endomysial collagen plates of all the breeds. From these results it appears that growth‐related changes in the histological structure of M. puboischiofemoralis pars medialis are not necessarily causally affected by the different growth rates of chicken breeds.  相似文献   

19.
The aim of this study was to determine whether farming leads to changes in gastrointestinal function and nitrogen metabolism in farmed mink (FA), as compared with their wild‐living counterparts. Three digestibility and balance trials were carried out. Experiment I was performed in May, and experiments II and III were conducted in September 2011. Farmed mink with the standard coat colour were purchased from a production farm in south‐eastern Poland. Feral mink were harvested using cages in the hunting grounds of the Polish Hunting Association, Branch in Olsztyn. The experimental materials comprised of the following: trial I – adult males (eight animals per group), trial II – young females (six animals per group), trial III–young animals (five males and five females per group). Food transit time was measured during digestibility trials, on 10 consecutive days. The coefficients of nutrient and energy digestibility and daily nitrogen balance values were compared between groups in each experiment. It was found that farming contributed to changes in gastrointestinal function and nitrogen metabolism in mink. Farmed animals were characterized by a longer bowel transit time, a tendency towards higher nutrient digestibility and higher nitrogen retention, which resulted from selection for higher productivity.  相似文献   

20.
The distribution and three-dimensional architecture of collagen fibers were compared between pig, goat and chicken livers. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that collagen type I was identified in the interlobular connective tissue region and intralobular areas in pigs and goats. Type III collagen was also identified in the interlobular connective tissue region and intralobular sinusoidal walls. In the chicken liver, only the circumference region of the vessels was immunostained with collagen type I and III antibodies and the interlobular connective tissue wall could not be distinguished clearly. In the intralobular region, collagen type I antibody immunoreacted around the hepatic cells but collagen type III antibody immunoreacted weakly. In the NaOH macerated specimen, well-developed collagen bundles formed the prominent interlobular walls in pigs. In contrast, the wall in the goat liver comprised a thin layer of the bundles. In the chicken liver, there were no notable collagen septa between lobules. The intralobular collagen construction was quite different between the animals, indicating a fragile collagen fibril networks in pigs, a robust framework in goats and dense fabric-like septa in chickens. These results indicate that the distinct collagen frameworks may contribute to the histological strength of the livers in each of the animal species.  相似文献   

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