[Reproductive lifespan and reproductive performance in SPF C3H mice: the onset of reproductive life and production efficiency (author's transl)]

To improve the production system, the onset and the termination of reproductive life of C3Hf/HeMsNrs mice mated immediately after weaning and reared for 400 days of life, were studied. From weaning females mated with a full grown male (group A), the first litter was obtained at a mean age of 47 days, suggesting the first copulation at 26 days of age. The age of males at the first copulation was estimated to be at 44 days of age from the age giving the first litters in weanling males mated with weanling (group B) and full grown (group C) females. The sex ratio of litters delivered by young dams tended to be excess in males. The reproductive performance of dams in later life was not affected by the parturition in earlier age. The production efficiency with weaned youngs per pair during the first 200 days after mating was the highest in group A. It was found from these results that the C3H females attained their sexual maturity at 5 to 6 days after weaning, being available for breeding without any deletion in reproductive performance.