Communal nursing in mice: influence of multiple mothers on the growth of the young.
Female mice will combine their litters into a communal nest. The young raised in a communal nest show faster rates of growth during the first 20 days than young raised by single females, even when the ratio of mothers to young is the same.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006127:Group Structure; D006128:Growth; D007774:Lactation; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D051379:Mice; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D011247:Pregnancy; D012919:Social Behavior