Comparative Research Data on Rats
Comparing
TestDiet® 5755 purified ingredient Basal Diet
to LabDiet® 5008 grain-based Rat Feed
Rat Research
Similar growth and reproduction studies were conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats as were done with the ICR mice. Three generations of animals were used in the study. The performance comparison is made against the natural grain-based LabDiet® 5008 which is known for its excellent value in the production of rats. Each generation test consisted of 10 male and 10 female weanling animals from the colony maintained at the Purina Mills Animal Research Center. The experimental animals were randomly assigned to the treatments. The diets were provided in meal form during the 28-day test period. The rats from the growth studies were maintained on the respective diet until breeding age at approximately 90 days of age and served as breeder pairs in this study. Each breeder pair was maintained in production for a maximum of four months. Consequently, if 10 breeding females were used in each phase of the study, many of the fourth litters were not recorded during the time provided.
|
Rat Growth Studies |
TestDiet® "Basal Diet" |
|
LabDiet® |
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|
|
(Purified) |
|
(Grain-Based) |
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|
|
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|
Average gains (gms) |
M |
F |
|
M |
F |
|
|
|
F1 generation |
157 |
110 |
|
162 |
115 |
|
|
F2 generation |
155 |
108 |
|
172 |
114 |
|
|
F3 generation |
155 |
105 |
|
166 |
109 |
|
Average F1 - F3 |
156 |
108 |
|
167 |
113 |
|
|
Grams feed/grams gain |
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|
|
F1 generation |
2.5 |
3.4 |
|
2.6 |
3.4 |
|
|
F2 generation |
2.4 |
3.1 |
|
2.5 |
3.3 |
|
|
F3 generation |
2.8 |
4.4 |
|
2.5 |
3.7 |
|
Average F1 - F3 |
2.6 |
3.6 |
|
2.5 |
3.5 |
|
|
|
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|
Rat Breeding Studies |
TestDiet® "Basal Diet" |
|
LabDiet® |
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|
Number of females started |
30 |
|
29 |
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|
Number of litters produced |
116 |
|
107 |
|||
|
Number of litters weaned |
109 |
|
99 |
|||
|
Average number born alive |
10.5 |
|
10.8 |
|||
|
Average number weaned |
9.2 |
|
9.0 |
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|
Average 20-day weights (gms) |
M |
F |
|
M |
F |
|
|
|
F1 generation |
43.2 |
42.7 |
|
38.2 |
37.2 |
|
|
F2 generation |
51.6 |
48.0 |
|
44.7 |
42.4 |
|
|
F3 generation |
41.6 |
41.6 |
|
36.4 |
37.8 |
|
Average F1 - F3 |
45.5 |
44.1 |
|
39.8 |
39.1 |
|
|
Number of
rats weaned: |
1003 |
|
891 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Actual
litters weaned x 100 |
90.8 |
|
85.3 |
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|
|
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Conclusions
The reproductive performance of the breeder rats maintained for three generations on the TestDiet® 5755 ("Basal Diet") was excellent. The growth rate from birth to 20 days (weaning) on 5755 was outstanding for each generation of young. The females did an excellent job of suckling the young and the young began to eat the diet at an early age. Through the three generations no evidence of nutrient depletion occurred in any of the animals.
8/14/98
See also:
Comparative Research Data on Mice