Social effects in the weaning of domestic rat pups

Conducted 3 experiments with 33 female hooded rats and their offspring. Results of previous experiments by B. Galef and M. Clark (see PA, Vol.46:Issue 4) had indicated that adult members of a wild rat colony play a major role in determining the diet on which rat pups born to colony members 1st feed. The present experiments examined the nature of the interactions between adult and young rats which affect the initial food choices of the young. Results indicate that the interaction is not due to imitation of the adults by the young, but rather to a tendency on the part of the young to approach areas in which the adults are located and begin feeding there.