Because this has come up several times, I decided to share with everyone in
LACTNET.  If you are NOT interested in non-human mammals who have litters,
feel free to skip this post.  :-)

It is my observation that many times littermates develop a PREFERENCE for a
given teat and will basically go to it each time they have an opportunity.
That is not to say that there is not some exchange from one puppy or kitten
to the next, but very often, one of the reasons there is a runt (besides
size at birth) is that this pup or kitten gets what my great aunt (who
lived on a farm) called  "the hind tit."  Meaning: not much milk there, I'm
afraid.

Professional breeders may try to move pups or kittens around, but unless
they are baby-sitting 24 hours a day, my guess i s they only "rearrange the
young" for a few of the feedings that the babies indulge in....

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"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly
disguised as impossible situations."
Kathleen G. Auerbach,PhD, IBCLC (Ferndale, WA USA) [log in to unmask]
WEB PAGE: http://www.telcomplus.net/~kga/lactation.html
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