Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T16:26:13.907Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The behaviour of rats and mice feeding on whole grains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

Mary M. Spencer
Mary M. Spencer
Affiliation:
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Infestation Control Division, Tolworth, Surrey
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The way in which rats and mice eat whole grains of wheat, barley, oats and maize has been studied.

Rats (Rattus norvegicus and R. rattus) hold grains with the long axis parallel to that of the body and eat the germ end of the grain in preference to the rest.

Mice (Mus musculus) hold grains with the long axis at right angles to that of the body and attack first the cheeks of all grains except maize, of which only the germ and scutellum are eaten.

It is suggested that texture is in the main responsible for the selection of a particular part of a grain.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 51 , Issue 1 , March 1953 , pp. 35 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1953

References

Barnett, S. A. & Spencer, M. M. (1951). Feeding, social behaviour and interspecific competition in wild rats. Behaviour, 3, 229–42.Google Scholar
Barnett, S. A. & Spencer, M. M. (1953). Experiments on the food preferences of wild rats (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout). J. Hyg., Camb., 51, 16–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carlson, A. J. & Hoelzel, F. (1949). Influence of texture of food on its acceptance by rats. Science, 109, 63–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinton, J. J. C. (1947). The distribution of vitamin B1 and nitrogen in the wheat grain. Proc. Roy. Soc. B, 134, 418–29.Google ScholarPubMed
Kemper, H. (1940). Über die von tierischen Gesundheits- und Wohnungs-schädlingen hinter-lassenen Spuren. Z. hyg. Zool. Schädlingsbekämpfung, 32, 1–37.Google Scholar
Scott, E. M. & Verney, E. L. (1947). Self selection of diet. VI. The nature of appetites for B vitamins. J. Nutrit. 34, 471–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar