Responses of mink to auditory stimuli: Prerequisites for applying the ‘cognitive bias’ approach
The aim of the study was to determine and validate prerequisites for applying a cognitive (judgement) bias approach to assessing welfare in farmed mink (Neovison vison). We investigated discrimination ability and associative learning ability using auditory cues. The mink (n = 15 females) were divided into two groups (High, n = 8; Low, n = […]
Additional foraging elements reduce abnormal behaviour – fur-chewing and stereotypic behaviour – in farmed mink (Neovison vison)
We investigated whether provision of additional appetitive and consummatory elements of foraging reduces baseline stress and abnormal behaviour – in terms of fur-chewing and stereotypic behaviour – in farmed mink. We studied 200 juveniles (n = 100 females and 100 males) during the 5-month growth period with plenty of feed, and subsequently the females as […]
Early transfer of mated females into the maternity unit reduces stress and increases maternal care in farm mink
Mated mammals on farms are typically transferred to another housing environment prior to delivery. We investigated whether the timing of this transfer – EARLY (Day −36), INTERMEDIATE (Day −18), or LATE (Day −3) relative to the expected day of birth (Day 0) – affects maternal stress, maternal care and the early kit vitality in farmed […]