Abstract
The addition of supplemental diets to laboratory animals, specifically rodents, is a common practice for the provision of additional nutritional support. We set out to investigate whether the use of commercially available supplemental diets during breeding affected fertility rate, litter size, pup health, and pup survival. Genetically modified female breeding mice with a C57BL/6 background were divided into 3 groups (n = 16 per group) that received standard rodent chow alone or standard rodent chow with one of 2 commercially available supplemental diets: Love Mash (Bio-Serv) extruded pellet or Nutra-Gel (Bio-Serv) diet gel. Male and female mice began receiving the supplemental diet 1 wk before being paired with a partner of the same supplemental group. The mice were allowed to breed for 1 wk before separation from the male. The dams were continued on the diet until all pups were weaned. Overall, breeding dams supplemented with the Love Mash diet experienced significantly greater reproductive success rates and pup survivability compared with the standard diet control group. Dams supplemented with either of the 2 supplemental diets supported significantly larger litters compared with the standard diet control group. Furthermore, Love Mash supplemented diet groups produced significantly larger pups compared with the Nutra-Gel supplemented groups. This study demonstrates that supplemental diets given 1 wk before breeding and continued throughout gestation, parturition, and weaning significantly improved reproductive success, increased litter sizes, and supported pup health and survival.