A time-sampling procedure was employed to examine the caretaking behavior of male mice housed with lactating females and their litters, and to investigate the effects of the male's presence on the behavior of the female. The incidences of 14 categories of behavior were recorded over 20 hr distributed throughout the period of lactation. The development of litters was monitored by regular weighing. The results show, contrary to earlier findings, that males display just as much caretaking behavior as females. Differences in other forms of behavior can be related to the increased nutritional needs of the nursing mothers. The presence of the male seems to have very little influence on the behavior of the female and no effect at all upon the physical development of the litter.
Eighty-three C3H mice were reared in litters of 2 or 8 pups until weaning and, thereafter, in isolation or in bisexual groups of 8-10 animals in a Litter Size X Postweaning Experience X Sex factorial design. At 70-75 days of age, subjects were tested in a modified version of the open-field test, designed to overcome some of the reported difficulties in using the conventional test with mice. Animals reared in small litters obtained significantly higher scores than animals reared in large litters on 3 measures of exploratory behavior, though no differences were observed in defecation, eating, and grooming in the arena. Subjects isolated after weaning showed significantly more exploratory behavior and significantly less grooming, eating, and defecation in the test situation than animals kept in groups; males obtained significantly lower scores on 2 of the measures of exploratory behavior and on grooming than females. In general, the pattern of behavior shown by animals reared in larger litters, by animals grouped at weaning, and by males, is taken as indicating a higher level of emotionality.
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