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The influence of weight, sex, birthdate and maternal age on the growth of weanling mink
Author(s) -
Mason Georgia J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1994.tb08584.x
Subject(s) - weanling , biology , weaning , mink , zoology , physiology , endocrinology , ecology
Mink kits ( Mustela vison ) are weaned at a mean age of 32·2 days. Litters born later in the season are weaned at a younger age than those born early, but are not significantly lighter in weight, suggesting that their development has been accelerated. In some litters the transition to reliance on solid food is preceded by a period of arrested growth. This does not appear to be because the mother's milk supply has been over‐stretched, as larger, heavier or male‐biased litters are no more likely to experience a growth pause, nor to enter it earlier in development. However, in litters with arrested growth, the greater the individual mean kit weight, the earlier the growth pause occurs. This suggests that certain mothers deny milk to their young when they reach a particular stage of development. Multiparous females are much more likely than primipares to have litters which experience a period of arrested growth. Multiparous females are also more likely to have illness in their litters, and appear less protective of their young. The growth of male kits seems to be more vulnerable than females; their growth pauses tend to last longer, and in this sex the presence of such a pause results in them being lighter at weaning than other males. Male kits also grow faster than females, and are heavier at weaning. However, there is no significant sex difference in the age at weaning.