Stress during mother-infant separation in ranch mink.

Effects of different mother-infant separation procedures on experienced stress by adults and young were studied using changes in circulating eosinophil levels as a stress indicator. It was found that (1) the amount of stress experienced by the mothers increases with the age of the pups at separation, when separation occurs as 6-week-, 8-week-, and 10-week-old pups, (2) eosinophil levels of mink pups show an ontogenetic development which complicates interpretations of the levels in terms of experienced stress, and (3) complete separation from 6-week-, 8-week-, or 10-week-old pups reduces experienced stress of the mothers more radically than simple physical separation involving removal of the pups to adjoining cages.