Milk intake in blue fox ( Alopex lagopus) and silver fox ( Vulpes vulpes) cubs in the early suckling period

Abstract

Milk intake of fox cubs (2–16 days of age; body weight, 96–649 g) in ten blue fox litters and ten silver fox litters were measured by the water isotope dilution (WID) technique following a single intraperitoneal injection of tritiated water ( 3HHO). Litter size varied from four to 14 in blue foxes and from three to eight in silver foxes. Silver fox cubs had higher birth weights than blue foxes. Inter-species body weights and growth rates were apparently dependent on litter size and the dam's constitution. In both species growth rate increased with age and body weight (7–35 g per day). In the cubs, the biological half-life of body water turnover (BWT) rose from 1.5 days at 2–3 days of age to 2.5 days at 13–16 days of age, although a considerable scatter was seen. The mean daily milk intake of the cubs varied with body weight, from 31 to 193 g per day, whereas daily milk intake per unit of body mass remained stable at 30–35 g per 100 g body weight. The ratio of milk intake to body weight gain varied considerably among cubs, averaging 4.5 g/g during the 3-week experimental period. In suckling fox cubs, the calculated daily intake of metabolically energy (ME) corresponded fairly with the estimated energy requirements for growth and maintenance of the young. Finally, the applicability and the accuracy of the WID technique was evaluated in ten 3-week-old fox cubs, by tube-feeding with a milk replacer for 48 h, which documented that the daily rates of milk intake and water turnover can be accurately measured in suckling fox cubs by the WID technique following a single injection of 3HHO.