Blood Pressure of Japanese and Bobwhite Quail

INTRODUCTION NORMAL blood pressure and heart rate values have been reported for several species of domesticated birds used as laboratory animals in biomedical research. These studies have also included the effect of age, sex, anesthesia and drugs (see Sturkie, 1965). The author could not find, in the literature, information on the blood pressure and heart rate of the Japanese or the Bobwhite quail. The object of this experiment was to determine the blood pressure and heart rate of the Japanese and of the bobwhite quail as influenced by sex. PROCEDURE Arterial blood pressures were determined on adult male and female Japanese quail (3 to 5 months of age) and Bobwhite quail (10 months of age) by direct cannulation of the carotid artery using polyethylene tubing PE50 (ID .584 × OD .965 mm.) connected to a Statham pressure transducer (Model P23AC) and recorded on either a Grass Model 5 Polygraph or . . .