A refined technique for feeding newborn rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Nursery-reared infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) have a relatively high risk of aspiration pneumonia because they are typically fed using kitten bottles or syringes or by gavage. These feeding techniques also have the disadvantage of making it difficult to determine how much formula an infant actually consumes. To address these concerns, the authors developed a refined feeding device for infant macaques. Use of this device resulted in no cases of aspiration pneumonia or other feeding-related health complications. The authors conclude that the refined device is a safe and effective way to feed infant macaques.