Nest building activity as thermoprotective maternal behaviour in rats - Rychlik, L.; Korda, P. (1989)
Every other day from the 4th to the 11th day postpartum mother rats and their litters were exposed to a lowering of the ambient temperature by 5°C for 2 hours (Experiment I), while on the 12th day the temperature was lowered by 10°C (EXperiment II). The drops in temperature resulted in a considerable increase in the total duration of nest-building activities by mother rats. The increase was easily perceptible within the first 30 minutes of cooling.
Keywords: nest building activity; thermoprotective maternal behaviour; Rattus norvegicus; budowanie gniazda; termoprotekcyjny behawior macierzyński; temperatura; szczur