134 



RADIOISOTOPES IN BIOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE 



Supporting 

 ring 



the feces pan for the collection of urine from females and beneath the 

 stand for collection from males. In practice it is convenient to tape 

 heavy paper inside the feces pan; in this way the inside of the pan seldom 

 becomes contaminated with feces, and the cleaning problem is greatly 

 simplified. A heavy matting can be used on the floor area under the 

 animal's feet to minimize slipping. 



For collection from males a soft rubber funnel can be constructed from 

 wire and rubber sheeting as follows (Fig. 4-11) : A piece of steel wire about 



36 in. long is inserted into rubber tubing, 

 and a ring is formed by braising or taping 

 together the ends of the wire. By gluing 

 or vulcanizing sections of thin rubber 

 sheeting, a funnel is made so as to be 

 about 13 to 14 in. in diameter at the top, 

 3 in. in diameter at the bottom, and 

 about 10 in. long. The wire ring is at- 

 tached to the top of the funnel to pro- 

 vide rigidity ; to do this, the rubber sides 

 are turned down over the ring and glued 

 so as to hold the ring firmly in place. 

 To hold the funnel in place on the animal, 

 another wire ring, called the su'p'porting 

 ring, is constructed about 10 to 11 in. in 

 diameter. The supporting ring is held 

 in place on the animal by 2-in. webbing 

 straps which are attached to the ring and 

 pass up the side and buckle over the 

 back of the animal. Movement of the 

 harness can be prevented by cementing 

 it at various places to the skin ; branding 

 cement (from Nebraska Salesbook Co.) 

 is suitable for this purpose. If necessary, additional webbing straps can 

 be employed. The rubber funnel is then simply placed in the supporting 

 ring. The main advantage of this arrangement is that the funnel can be 

 removed and replaced in position without the necessity of removing the 

 harness. The bottom of the funnel is attached to 3-in. rubber tubing 

 which directs the urine to the collection carboy. The funnel is protected 

 from the rear feet of the animal by a heavy canvas apron supported 

 between the funnel and the rear feet. The bottom end of the apron is 

 tacked to the floor and is held in position against the animal's belly by a 

 rope that ties over the back. 



The urine conduits for the female are made from a 4-ft length of 3-in. 

 seamless rubber tubing. One end is slit about 5 in., and a cold rubber 



Fig. 4-11. Schematic diagram of 

 steer urinal and supporting ring. 

 [From Sam L. Hansard, C. L. 

 Comar, and M. P. Plumlee, Radio- 

 isotope Procedures with Farm Ani- 

 mals, Nucleonics, 9: 13-25, 38-45 

 (1951).] 



