Abstract
Abstract
The normal once-a-day frequency of suckling in rabbits was altered on Day 10 (early) and Day 30 (late lactation) by the addition of either one (8 hr after) or two extra sucklings (8 and 16 hr after) the daily suckling. One additional suckling significantly increased milk yield on Day 10 in comparison with the average 4-day milk yield before and after Day 10 whereas two additional sucklings decreased the increment. Either one or two additional sucklings on Day 30 significantly accelerated the already decreasing daily milk yields characteristic of late lactation. Not only was less milk secreted on Day 30 than on Day 10, as expected, but it was also secreted in a less consistent manner throughout the 24-hr period. The lower milk yields in late lactating rabbits were not due to depressed food intake; paradoxically the quantity of food ingested per gram of milk produced was greater at this time. These data suggest that suckling may activate mechanisms in late lactation in the rabbit which offset the stimulatory effects of suckling upon milk secretion.
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