> > Barbering (Hair Pulling) or hair biting is a vice commonly observed in
> > rodents and can occur under a variety of circumstances. Pups often bite
> > and ingest hair from the dam during and shortly after lactation, and this
> > behavior can persist into adulthood. Subordinate animals may be barbered
> > by dominant animals, and this vice as well as ear biting are often
> > exaggerated under conditions of crowding and stress, such as forming new
> > cohort groups. Barbering is easily recognized as patches of unevenly
> > chopped air; seldom is the underlying skin inflamed. The lesions are
> > usually over the dorsal lumbar area and flanks and less often about the
> > head and thorax. Ear biting, scratching, and other forms of more
> > aggressive activity are more likely to occur among adults, especially
> > mature males. Usually the problems are self-limited when predisposing
> > factors are identified and elimnated.
> >Source: Laboratory Animal Medicine, Fox, Cohen & Loew, ACLAM Series,
> >Academic Press 1984, pp 176-177.