> [The details of how the mice actually eat their food is not
> provided, although the food was given ad lib (as much as they wanted
> to eat). Maybe one of the group can provide the information of how
> mice in a laboratory being fed ad lib actually consume the food
> given. **Kitty]

I worked in a lab 43 years ago, caring for rats and dogs while building a
pressure and pH sensing radio-transmitter-in-a-pill for research purposes.....

[I didn't think that the size of electronics was nearly small enough to do such
a thing 43 years ago. --Paul]


I assume things have not changed much. The rats lived in racks of plexiglass
cages, each cage labeled with an identification code. Water bottle on the side
of each cage, with a drinking tube. The food was in bins attached to the side of
each cage. We would refill the bottles and bins daily; if a feed bin in a cage
was consistently empty in the morning, we assumed the cage was too crowded and
would divide the rats between two cages, or put in two feed bins if we didn't
have a spare cage. The rats were seen eating most often when we first gave them
food in the morning. They preferred fresh feed. After that they ate somewhat
randomly, perhaps from boredom as much as hunger. They slept a lot. More than
half of the food remained when we left the lab in late afternoon. When we came
in the next morning, most of the food was gone. I think they partied all
night.

Max Watt (Richard Kaufman)

[I have seen similar mice, rat and rabbit cages also and participated in some
experiments. The food was always given only once daily, but I simply never noted
how they ate it. I think mice are fed and likely eat in this same way. However,
I think that rats are quite nocturnal, so it might be more realistic to give
them their daily dose at night (just before the experimenters leave the lab for
the day). --Paul]

[Was the lab you worked in darkened when the staff left? Or at least the
lighting greatly reduced? **Kitty]