Weanling pigs tend to avoid wind, and suckling piglets are thought to be more sensitive to wind than weanlings, owing to their thinner s.c. fat layer. We developed a crush-reducing device based on the anticipated behavior of suckling piglets toward wind and evaluated the performance of the device through field testing. The crush-reducing device consisted of six photo sensors, a controller, six ...

Milk yield and plasma oxytocin (OT), prolactin (PRL), and cortisol (CORT) during suckling and machine milking were measured in multiparous ewes subjected to a mixed management system of 3 sucklings and two daily milkings. Peak hormones were significantly increased and were similar during suckling and milking for PRL (181 vs. 163.3 ng x mL(-1)) and CORT (12.5 vs. 11.5 ng x mL(-1)). During the pe...

The replicative responses of suckling and adult rat hepatocytes in primary culture to growth-stimulating factors were compared. By addition of L-proline alone, the [3H]-thymidine labeling of suckling rat hepatocytes was dramatically enhanced, but that of adult ones was not. Epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin, triiodothyronine (T3) and glucagon also enhanced the labeling of suckling rat hepa...

Lactation is the most energy demanding part of parental care in mammals, so parent-offspring conflict arises over milk provided by the mother. In some species females commonly become pregnant shortly after parturition of previous young. This further intensifies mother-offspring conflict due to concurrent pregnancy and lactation. In equids it has been well established that pregnant females wean ...

Traditionally, the development of oral feeding is viewed as a continuous, unitary process in which reflex-dominated sucking behavior gives rise to a more varied and volitional feeding behavior. In contrast, we consider the thesis that the infant develops two separable ingestive systems, one for suckling and one for feeding. First, we apply an evolutionary perspective, recognizing that suckling-...

BACKGROUND Soon after birth, all mammals must initiate milk suckling to survive. In rodents, this innate behavior is critically dependent on uncharacterized maternally derived chemosensory ligands. Recently, the first pheromone sufficient to initiate suckling was isolated from the rabbit. Identification of the olfactory cues that trigger first suckling in the mouse would provide the means to de...

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of age of calf on the behaviour of Zebu and crossbred calves during restricted suckling (RS) periods. The behaviours of 20 Zebu and 16 crossbred calves were recorded during two 30-min sessions each day after milking when the calves and their dams were brought together in a group for suckling. This was made for a time period of 2 weeks/mo...

The domestic pig has complex nursing and suckling behaviour, consisting of several distinct phases of suckling by the piglets and a characteristic pattern of grunting by the sow. A review of observations and experimental findings suggests cause-and-effect relationships between the different elements of sow and piglet behaviour, and the relationship of the behaviour to milk ejection. Characteris...