The feeding and breeding of laboratory animals. VI. The breeding of mice

Abstract

1. The total reproductive performance of two groups each of twenty-four mice over a period of one year under two different systems of mating has been recorded.2. In the first system (monogamous pairs) the male was kept continuously with the female; in 78% of cases the females became pregnant again at post-partum oestrus and were thus subjected for the most part to unbroken intensive breeding.3. In the second system (polygynous groups) several females were kept with one male and were removed to individual cages for the birth and rearing of the litters and were returned to the male again only after the litter had been weaned.4. Under the first system 1149 young were successfully reared to weaning in one year by the twenty-four females; under the second system 559 young were weaned during the same period.5. Mortality of breeding females, litter size, weight of young at weaning, the effect of parity, loss of litters and of young between birth and weaning and the sex-ratio of the young weaned were alike for both methods of mating.6. The interaction of concurrent gestation and lactation upon the length of the gestation period is discussed, and regression lines showing the relation between the number of young suckled, the number of young in the uterus and the length of the gestation period are given.My best thanks are due to Dr A. S. Parkes, F.R.S., for advice during the course of the work and for help in the preparation of the manuscript. I should also like to thank Dr C. W. Emmens for the statistical analyses and the calculation of the regression lines.