McLain D E, Harper S M, Roe D A, Babish J G, Wilkinson C F
Lab Anim Sci. 1985 Jun;35(3):251-5.
Demographic data of ferrets from a commercial breeding colony were analyzed for the effects of maternal age, parity and strain on reproductive performance and the frequency of gross congenital abnormalities observed at parturition. Litter size (mean +/- SEM) was found to be greatest for young, primiparous females (10.3 +/- 0.2) and decreased with advancing maternal age and parity to a cohort mean of 8.1 +/- 0.1 for third parity females 16 months of age. Age, parity or strain had no effect on 24-hour neonatal mortality (7%) or mortality from birth to weaning (20%) and an examination of the causes for death suggested that these rates can be reduced. The malformation rate from two cohorts of females whelping at different times of the year was low (less than 1.0%) and not significantly different. A higher frequency of malformed offspring was detected in females of low previous parity (0-2) than in those with three or more. Based on data obtained in this survey, the ferret would seem a valuable alternative, nonrodent species for teratologic investigations using currently recommended protocols.
分析了来自一个商业繁殖群体的雪貂的人口统计学数据，以研究母龄、胎次和品系对繁殖性能以及分娩时观察到的明显先天性异常频率的影响。发现幼龄初产雌性雪貂的窝仔数（平均值±标准误）最大（10.3±0.2），随着母龄和胎次的增加，16月龄三胎雌性雪貂的窝仔数降至队列平均值8.1±0.1。年龄、胎次或品系对24小时新生儿死亡率（7%）或出生至断奶死亡率（20%）没有影响，对死亡原因的检查表明这些比率可以降低。在一年中不同时间产仔的两批雌性雪貂中，畸形率较低（低于1.0%），且无显著差异。与胎次为三胎或更多胎次的雌性雪貂相比，先前胎次较低（0-2胎）的雌性雪貂中检测到的畸形后代频率更高。根据本次调查获得的数据，雪貂似乎是一种有价值的替代非啮齿动物物种，可用于采用当前推荐方案的致畸学研究。
