Farahat,, A., Hassan, M., Abdelwanees, M. (2007). FOOD CONSUMPTION AND PREFERENCE OF THE ROOF RAT, Rattus rattus (Linnaeus).. Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, 32(9), 7737-7741. doi: 10.21608/jppp.2007.220600
A. A Farahat,; M. F. Hassan; M. A. Abdelwanees. "FOOD CONSUMPTION AND PREFERENCE OF THE ROOF RAT, Rattus rattus (Linnaeus).". Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, 32, 9, 2007, 7737-7741. doi: 10.21608/jppp.2007.220600
Farahat,, A., Hassan, M., Abdelwanees, M. (2007). 'FOOD CONSUMPTION AND PREFERENCE OF THE ROOF RAT, Rattus rattus (Linnaeus).', Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, 32(9), pp. 7737-7741. doi: 10.21608/jppp.2007.220600
Farahat,, A., Hassan, M., Abdelwanees, M. FOOD CONSUMPTION AND PREFERENCE OF THE ROOF RAT, Rattus rattus (Linnaeus).. Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, 2007; 32(9): 7737-7741. doi: 10.21608/jppp.2007.220600
FOOD CONSUMPTION AND PREFERENCE OF THE ROOF RAT, Rattus rattus (Linnaeus).
Zoology and Agricultural Nematology Department, Fac. of Agric., Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt.
Abstract
Food consumption and preference of the roof rat, Rattus rattus, were investigated. Two groups of foods were used: the first included wheat, barley and maize; the second included peanut, date and squash. Daily rate of consumption of wheat, barley, maize, peanut, date and squash was 77.16, 86.33, 96.06, 70.19, 88.74 and 326.51 g/kg body weight /day when introduced individually (no-choice feeding test). Further, foods were introduced to rats in double-choice and triple choice feeding experiments. In double-choice feeding experiment, wheat was more preferable than barley (65%:35%), barley was more preferable than maize (60.47%:39.53%), and maize was less preferable than wheat (69.23%:30.77%), also, squash was more preferable than peanut (61%:39%), peanut was more preferable than date (53.63%:47.37%) and date was less preferable than squash (43.08%:56.92%). In triple-choice feeding test, preferences of foods could be arranged in descending order as follow: wheat, barley and maize (49.11%:26.45%:24.44%) – in the first group, and squash, peanut and finally date (77.5%:13.32%:9.18%) – in the second group. When wheat was tested against peanut in a double choice feeding test, the first was found to be more preferable (65.96%:34.04%).