| Keywords |
Length to litter birth ; Floor heating ; Reproduction and temperature ; Spermatogenesis |
| Abstract |
This study elucidates the acceptable floor temperature for reproduction in rats. Floor systems were constructed to maintain surface temperatures (tf) of 12o, 18o, 23o, 28o, 33o and 40oC. A total of 60 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 6 groups. Each group consisted of 10 rats (5 males and 5 females), and rats were maintained at the designed floor surface temperatures for three months. The fastest group to breed was housed at tf 23oC (57.4 days) and the longest group was at tf 40°C (74.8 days). Rats kept on the cooled floors (12, 18 and 23oC) took 7.6 days less to breed than the warm floors (28, 33 and 40oC) (p<0.05). The most fertile group was housed in the tf 28oC environment (born: 71/perished: 4) and the least fertile group was tf 12oC (b: 37/p: 21). The recommended floor temperature range for reproduction is 18-33°C and for newborn infants is 28-33oC. |