Social and husbandry factors affecting the prevalence and severity of barbering ('whisker trimming') by laboratory mice (2004)

Abstract

Barbering was found to be related to ... cage design, cage location, cagemate relatedness, and the presence of other barbers in the cage [social facilitiation]. .. The relative dominance score of a mouse within its cage was unrelated to barbering, and the relative severity of hair loss on a mouse was unrelated to its relative dominance. Barbering therefore cannot be considered to be a dominance behavior.