Maternal milk intake by infant rats temporarily denied acces to other food sources.

The onset of the weaning period for infant rats was artificially postponed to the 24th day of life by denying the young access to solid food and/or water. Study of 85-Sr transfer in the maternal milk showed that the artificial shift in the initiation of weaning did not influence the time of its termination. The weaning period, defined as the time between the first intake of solid food and the last intake of maternal milk, was shortened to about 4 days in these young. We also found that the young did not compensate the lack of solid food by a higher maternal milk intake, but that they tried to do so by drinking more water.