The cage floor space recommended for a female rat with a litter is greater in the 8th edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals than in previous editions. As a result, research institutions using commonly available cages to house rats may not offer the recommended amount of space for a breeding pair and litter housed in the same cage. We evaluated breeding parameters in rats housed in cages with 143 in2 (922.6 cm2) compared with 210 in2 (1355 cm2) of floor space. Given the strains of rats typically used at our institution, a monogamous breeding pair and litter requires 164 in2 (1058.1 cm2) of floor space according to the Guide. Pairs of breeding animals were housed in each type of cage; and average time between litters, number of litters born, percentage of litter weaned, numbers of pups born and weaned, and average weaning weights were evaluated. None of the breeding parameters evaluated differed according to the floor space of the cage in which the rats were housed.
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机译：在第8版的《实验动物的护理和使用指南》中，建议给有垫料的雌鼠使用的笼子地板空间要比以前的版本大。结果，使用普通笼子饲养老鼠的研究机构可能无法为容纳在同一笼子中的一对繁殖对和垫料提供建议的空间。我们评估了饲养在143 in 2 （922.6 cm 2 ）笼中的大鼠的繁殖参数，而210 in 2 （1355 cm 2 ）。考虑到我们机构通常使用的大鼠品系，根据《指南》，一夫一妻制的繁殖对和垫料需要164 in 2 （1058.1 cm 2 ）的占地面积。每种笼子中都有成对的繁殖动物。并评估了平均产仔间隔，产仔数，断奶仔猪的百分比，产仔和断奶的幼仔数以及平均断奶重量。所评估的任何繁殖参数都没有根据饲养大鼠的笼子的占地面积而有所不同。
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