Use of partial mammectomy to produce malnutrition in the rat

Partial mammectomy in the Sprague-Dawley rat was studied as a method for producing malnutrition without accompanying differences in litter size. Throughout the litter period, experimental litters weighed less than controls. No difference in the rate of development of various anatomical landmarks was noted with this degree of malnutrition. Maternal behavior in the nursing dam was measured with respect to nursing, nesting, and retrieval behavior. Mammectomized subjects built and maintained better nests and spent more time in a nursing posture, but were less likely to retrieve their litter than were control animals. At weaning the intact mammae of the experimental animals were larger than those of control animals.