Use of perphenazine to control cannibalism in DBA/1 mice

Maternal administration of perphenazine decreased the incidence of cannibalism in colonies of interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL-4, IL-10, and IL-12) knockout mice of the DBA/1 and C57BL/6 background strains. This colony had high incidence of neonatal death due to cannibalism in approximately 50% of the pups. Perphenazine was administered to the dams in the drinking water, beginning on the day before or the morning of parturition. The medicated water was supplied at two dosages: 0.5 mg/ml and 0.025 mg/ml, resulting in a dosage of 4 mg/kg of body weight and 2 mg/kg, respectively, to the dams. Dams that were treated with perphenazine weaned 76.4% of their pups, compared with nontreated dams that weaned only 59.4% of their pups. Timing of the administration of perphenazine did not have a significant impact on efficacy; also, both doses were equally effective at preventing cannibalism. These findings indicate that perphenazine can modify poor maternal behavior such as cannibalism, resulting in more efficient production of valuable knockout mice.