Litter (animal)

“ The female Marten forms a nest of grass among the rocks, in a hollow tree, or utilises an old crow's nest by relining it, and produces a litter of four or five—sometimes varied in number from two to seven—and there are at least two litters each year. The young are exceedingly pretty and are easily tamed; though a captured adult is savage and untameable. ”

“ In summer the nest-chamber of the females, which is distinct from the summer-burrow of the males and is furnished with one exit and several entrances, is carefully lined with hay. Towards the end of April the males visit the females in their own apartments; and four or five weeks later the first litter of blind and naked young—varying in number from half a dozen to eighteen—is produced. These rapidly develop their fur, and open their eyes about the eighth or ninth day; and within a fortnight are driven away from the parental burrow to construct a new one of their own. ”

“ The animal is said frequently to put its trunk into its mouth, and then to cry like a duck; when irritated or threatened, it hisses, and tries to bite. The Desman is supposed to produce more than one litter in the course of the year. ”

“ The mother remains with her offspring only for the first five or six days after their birth, and then leaves them to shift for themselves.
The young hares of each litter remain together till half-grown, when they disperse; in fifteen months they attain full size, and their average duration of life is seven or eight years. Owing to their long hind-legs hares run much better uphill than downhill. ”

“ The field-mouse is prolific, the female producing several litters throughout the greater part of the year. The mother carries the young-born litter about for two or three weeks, nipping the skin of her offspring at the side, half-way between the fore and hind legs. The average number of young born at one time is probably somewhere about five, though litters of nine are by no means unknown. ”

“ The covering of litter is to remain constantly on the beds, day and night, in all weathers, only be careful to examine it after hard rains, to remove the wet litter, as before observed. During the Winter season, in time of snow or cold rains, augment the thickness of the covering both of the litter and the mats. ”

“ They store food but remain active under the ice all winter long.
Very prolific, they produce from two to five litters a year, with from four to as many as a dozen young in each litter. There is a reason for this. ”

“ As instances of the rapid increase of rodent families we may note that the mother rat has several litters of young each year, and ten or twelve at a litter. The fieldmouse has twelve little ones a year, but all of the same litter. ”

“ It is said, too, that the females which are produced by the mother in her first litter, are subject to the night-mare.1889 The best dog of the litter is the one which is last in obtaining its sight, or else the one which the mother carries first into her bed. ”

“ For the purpose of covering, you may provide either clean straw, or long dry horse-stable litter, sufficient to lay about half a foot thick at first, but gradually increased afterwards of due thickness to defend the bed effectually from the air, rain, and inclement weather, and to preserve a low kindly warmth. ”

“ The young are fully furred and have their eyes open when born. They are active but stay hidden close by one spot for the first two or three weeks. There are usually about four to the litter and there probably is more than one litter each year, at least in the warmer sections of their range. ”

“ During the winter there should be about 10 inches of dry litter in the form of straw, peat moss or shavings mixed with the straw. Small windows in the rear wall will make for better distribution of the litter, since the birds scratch away from the light. ”

“ The chicks remain in the nest until fully fledged, and display extraordinary cleverness in making their way among the reeds.
Little comes amiss to the bittern in the way of food, so long as it is of an animal nature; and its appetite is so great, that it is on the hunt for prey from sunrise till sunset. Water-rats, field-mice, birds of all kinds, fish, especially those inhabiting muddy water, snakes, lizards, leeches, worms, and insects and their larvæ are alike devoured by these voracious birds. ”

“ Any convenient shelter appears to satisfy them for a home, and they will occupy the deserted burrows of other animals, small cavities among the rocks, a hollow log, or a hole dug by themselves. A warm nest of grass and leaves is made at the end of the den, where the single litter of young, containing from four to ten, is born in April or May. As soon as the young are old enough they follow the mother, keeping close behind her, often in a long single file along a trail. ”

“ The young are weaned (in captivity) when about 4 weeks old. The females breed again soon after a litter is born. It seems likely that a female may have as many as three or four litters during a summer. ”

“ While litters are generally large, it should not be taken for granted that Nature intends the mother doe to raise all that come. Many will die in the natural state and old plainsmen tell me that the jack rabbit seldom raises more than a pair to the litter. ”

“ The Alpine litter is sometimes like a cushioned box made fast between the middles of two long poles, and sometimes it is a chair with a back to it and a support for the feet. It is carried by relays of strong porters. The motion is easier than that of any other conveyance. We met a few men and a great many ladies in litters; it seemed to me that most of the ladies looked pale and nauseated; their general aspect gave me the idea that they were patiently enduring a horrible suffering. As a rule, they looked at their laps, and left the scenery to take care of itself. ”

“ The young of the second litter are less successful than those of the first litter and make up only a small part of the breeding population the following year. In 28 litters of young the average was 7.4, but probably some of these litters had already sustained losses. ”

“ They should frequently have fresh litter and be kept very clean, by frequently rubbing them down with a wisp of straw. But they should not be tied up or curried till they are near three years old, their skin being till then too delicate to bear the comb. ”

“ They should have plenty of clean litter as often as needed. With such management, there will be an almost incredible saving of food.
Tight Stables should always be ventilated. The breath and manure from animals always causes impure air. ”

“ To all intents and purposes the litter is a couch with an arched roof above it, of the shape here indicated, but covered with cushions, which are often stuffed with down. Its woodwork is decorated with silver and ivory. The litter may either be carried open on all sides, or with curtains of coloured stuffs partially drawn, or it may be enclosed by windows of talc or glass. In the days when litters were in promiscuous use, persons who did not possess one, or perhaps the slaves to bear it, might hire such a vehicle from the "rank," after the modern manner of hiring a cab. ”

“ So every ton of litter produced near seven tons of dung.—But this weight must [270] have been obtained chiefly by the earth of the headland absorbing the urine, of which, when fed on turnips, sheep make great quantities, and being finally mixed with their dung and litter. This recital reminds me of the recommendation, in my address to this Society, in May, 1818, to carry earth into the barn yard, once in every two weeks, from spring to autumn; adding to every layer of earth a coat of litter. ”

“ The litter is weaned by simply taking the doe away from the youngsters and putting her in a separate hutch. The litter should be left in the same hutch in which they were born. They will be better satisfied and results will be better than if you move them. ”

“ When they suckle their young they sit upon their hind legs, and continue to nourish them in this manner for twelve or fifteen days, after which she brings them to the water, accustoms them to swim, and to search for their food; she carries them on her back when they are fatigued. As each litter does not consist of above two or three, her cares are not much divided, and the education of her little ones is soon completed. [68] In fact, these animals are very sagacious and docile; they understand and naturally assist each other in dangers. ”

“ There is much contrariety of opinion relative to the propriety of permitting horses to stand during the day on litter; and there are cogent arguments for and against it. Litter entices horses to lie down during the day, which relieves fatigue, and is favourable to the recovery of over-strained limbs: it also prevents an uneven or hurtful pressure on the feet when it is cobble-paved. On the other hand, gross feeding horses are apt to eat their litter, which is not desirable. ”

“ Inhabitants of leaf litter reside close to the surface and so must be able to experience exposure to dryer air and light for short times without damage. The larger litter livers are called primary decomposers. They spend most of their time chewing on the thick reserve of moist leaves contacting the forest floor. ”

“ Hamilton (1935:195) records litters of two, four, and five young and embryo counts of four, two, four, and four for Z. hudsonius in New York.
There seems to be two litters per year. According to Quimby (1951:69) , “most adult females breed soon after emergence from hibernation and produce the first litters within a month. The remaining females do not breed immediately but produce the first litter,” he says, “in the second month after emergence.” Both early-breeding females and late-breeding females produce at least 2 litters per year. Those that breed early may have 3 litters. ”

“ A profitable litter at 21 days may weigh 2 to 3 times as much as its mother. The importance of these considerations may not be overemphasized, and these are treated In detail in Parts IV and VIII. For instance, when a maximum number of well-developed females per litter are desired, either for sale, laboratory or one's own future breeders, some of the baby males may be removed from the litter about the 6th day, or earlier when caretaker becomes more experienced. Thus, one weans females in best number and quality per litter to make greater profit. ”

“ When caught they at first struggle to escape, but, like a rabbit, do not offer to bite, and soon become quiet. They have from two to six young, which may be born at any season. Nothing appears to be known concerning the number of litters in a year. ”

“ One doe can produce four litters a year without seriously crowding her. But this is not the best practice. We will, however, take it for granted that the fancier wants to get all he can out of her. Four litters with six in each litter will give him twenty-four rabbits in one year from the same mother doe. ”

“ They are known to have a litter of from two to six young in April, and young are born at various times throughout the summer, but it is still unsettled whether there is more than one litter a year. The mother is devoted to the young, and if driven from them will keep close by at the risk of her life, showing much anxiety and readiness to do what she can to protect them. One instance well illustrates this maternal care. From a nest in a hollow stub the helpless young were taken and placed on the ground at its base, while the despoiler of the home stood by to observe the result. ”

“ Several litters of from two to six young usually appear during the spring and summer. These are born blind and practically naked, their unclad helplessness strongly contrasting with the open-eyed, fully furred, and alert young of the hares at the same age. ”

“ I sat in my litter on a spring cushion, lent me for the cart by a Chinese gentleman, and I endeavoured to balance myself so that the litter should not—as it seemed to me to be threatening to do—turn topsy-turvy. It made me rather uncomfortable at first, because once in there is no way of getting out without 326lifting the litter off the mules. You may indeed slip down between it and the leading mule's hind legs, but that proceeding strikes me as decidedly risky, for a mule can kick and his temper does not seem to be improved by having the shafts of a litter on his back. ”

“ Right in this connection we may say, a deep litter does not necessarily mean one that is so broken up and packed together that the grain cannot readily sift through it. The litter straw should be constantly added to so as to offer a surface that the grain will readily sift through. ”

“ In litters with more than four young, there is competition for the inguinal teats, since, in most females at least, the pectoral teats seem to have an inadequate milk supply. As a result, it is doubtful whether more than four young to a litter are ever able to survive. From the time their eyes open, the young compete actively. When litters in confinement were fed with fresh greens, there was nearly always quarrelsome squeaking and scuffling, as the young competed for food. ”

“ When the she-one is about to litter, she chooses a place in the thick bushes at the foot of a tree, after which she and the male crop a great deal of fine dry grass, which is loaded upon her belly, and then the male drags her and her burden by the tail to the littering-place. She never quits her young a moment; but when she is obliged to change her lodging, carries them with her in a pouch or double skin that wraps round her belly, and there they may sleep or suck at their ease. The two sides of this pouch lap so close that the joining can hardly be observed ”