Investigation of the functions of coprophagy in juvenile rats

Five experiments examined possible functions of the ingestion of maternal anal excreta by juvenile rats. Ss were 24 recently parturient Long-Evans rats and their 440 pups. No strong support was found for hypotheses suggesting that (a) maternal excreta serves as a major transition diet from mother's milk to solid food, (b) ingestion of maternal excreta influences pup diet selection at weaning, or (c) ingestion of maternal excreta is a necessary …