Husbandry Services
The LAF husbandry staff has a combined average of 25 years' experience, serving as an invaluable resource for anyone doing animal research. Find information about Identifications, Mouse Breeding, Special Cards and Transfer Animals.
Identification
In the LAF, we identify and track all animals through a cage card. For many species, especially those covered by the Animal Welfare Act (USDA Covered Species), the cage tag combined with tattoos, bands and tags makes it easy to identify an individual animal. It is more difficult with the smaller laboratory animals so we use methods common among research institutions to identify the individual animals. This is particularly important during the genotyping process.
Ear Punching
Ear Tags
Neonatal & Adult Tattooing
All these methods have been or are being used at UB. We also have used implantable chips. While costly, it ensures proper identification and may provide additional information such as body temperature.
These are some of the more commonly used methods of identification. If you have questions or would like to use an alternative method, please contact veterinary service or the facility manager.
Mouse Breeding
The LAF consults with investigators on managing rodent breeding colonies, offers breeding services and coordinates specialized husbandry needs for individual colonies.
Consultation Services
LAF can help you identify husbandry needs before establishing your breeding colony. This lets us develop a colony-specific standard operating procedure (SOP) if necessary.
We also can help if production is less than anticipated by identifying potential factors that may be adversely affecting production and to discuss strategies that might improve your results.
Animal Emergency
Please contact the veterinary on call if you have an animal emergency.
Weekend Facilities Emergencies
Please call 645-2025 if you have a physical plant emergency on the weekend.
Colony Management Services
LAF offers many rodent breeding colony management services including:
- Setting up breeding groups (pairs, or trios);
- Weaning;
- Separating offspring into groups by sex and parental source.
The LAF also maintains breeding records for colonies that it fully manages.
Additional and/or special services are available on a fee for service basis. Such services might include:
- Timed matings;
- vaginal plug checks;
- daily checks for new litters; and
- Tissue collection for genotyping submissions
- tail snipping
- identification - ear notching, tagging or tattooing
If an investigator wants the LAF to manage their rodent breeding colony or has special requests, they should make arrangements with the facility manager.
We bill colony management services as animal caretaker time chargeable in 15 minute increments.
Rodent Genetics, Reproductive Biology, Breeding and Colony Management
The LAF recommends several sources for more information on rodent breeding and colony management.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about breeding mice.
NCBI mouse genome website has links to mutant mouse repositories and mouse genome resources.
Mouse Breeding Recommendations
The University of Michigan has a transgenic animal website that offers mouse breeding suggestions.
The National Institutes of Health through the National Center for Research Resources (NCCR) sponsors the Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Centers (MMRRC). The program ensures an ongoing supply of scientifically valuable, genetically engineered mice and distribution of these mice to qualified researchers studying human and animal biology, and disease. A national network of regional breeding and distribution centers serves as NIH's premier repository of spontaneous and induced mutant mouse lines.
A world-leading resource for mice, the Jackson Laboratories provide comprehensive information on inbred and genetically altered mice.
Special Cards
The LAF uses several special cards to help staff members and investigators quickly identify animals that have special husbandry requirements, have recently had surgical procedures or may need to be quickly and easily located for purposes of transfer or to correct some problem.
Investigators use the “Special Diet/Water Card” to indicate the animal needs a special diet or treated water. The LAF staff puts the card on the cage and administers the special diet and/or water supplied by the investigator.
The “Over Crowded Card” is placed on cages with too many animals. LAF staff follows up with an email or phone call to the investigator. If the researcher does not remedy the situation, the animal care staff will adjust the animal numbers to acceptable levels.
The surgeon or person returning the animal to the holding room will place the “Post-Operative Observation Card” on the animal's cage just after surgery.
The investigator puts the “Animal Sacrifice Request Card” on the cage of an animal to indicate a request for euthanasia. That day's on-duty technician euthanizes the animal and dates the cage card. The investigator is charged for tech time.
The investigator places the “Investigator Will Feed or Water Card” on any cage for which he/she wants to control the type and/or amount of food or water given to the animals per the IACUC approved protocol. This usually requires the investigator to monitor and record the weight of the animals, leaving the log in the room with the animals. This also requires that a daily log be kept indicating the animals have been fed and or watered each day.
Animal care staff will put a “Dead Animal Found Card” on the cage where an animal has been found dead. Placing the animal in a plastic bag tagged with a Mortality Tracking sticker, they will leave it in the treatment/procedure room. The staff will call or email the investigator.
The “Transfer Card” is placed on any cages of animals that need to be transferred to a new room, protocol or facility. This helps identify correctly those animals and cages that need to be transferred.
The animal care or veterinary staff place the “Please Wean Card” on cages of animals that need to be weaned. If the animals are not weaned by the date noted on the card, the LAF staff will wean the animals and charge the investigator tech time.
The “Do Not Feed Card” replaces the “Fast Card” and is put on the cage at the investigator's request. It's most commonly used to identify animals which require fasting prior to surgery. Please note there are two requested dates: one to begin fasting; another to resume feeding.
The “Approved Delayed Weaning Card” card is put on a breeding cage to indicate that the pups need additional time (more than the usual 25 days) with their mother before being weaned safely. Investigators can obtain approval from the veterinary staff on a litter by litter basis or for an entire strain of animals through the IACUC approval process.
The Animal Removal Card is used whenever an animal has been euthanized. All information concerning the animal or group of animals that have been removed is on the front of the card. You can use a single animal removal card for mice, rats, birds and frogs, if all the animals are of the same species and removed from the same protocol on the same day using the same method. The card numbers may be recorded on the back of the card. For USDA covered species, you must use one Animal Removal Card for each animal removed.
Transfer Animals: Rodent Imports and Exports
To report newly weaned and unweaned used, complete the "Cage Card Request for Newly Weaned" form. To internally transfer animals from one IACUC protocol to another, or between rooms/ UB facilities, complete the "Animal Transfer Request" form. To request importation of animals from an outside institution, complete the "Rodent Import Request " form. To request exportation of animals to an outside institution, complete the "Request to Export Rodents" form.
You need to report newly weaned animals on a monthly basis so the animals can be charged against the investigator's IACUC number.
Please leave completed forms:
- With the floor supervisor; or
- Send to the LAF Main Office at 116 BEB.
Importation of rodents from outside agencies other than standard, approved vendors (JAX, Taconic, Charles River, Inotiv) are coordinated by the LAF Import/Export Coordinator. Principal Investigators wishing to import rodents to UB’s LAF should complete the above “Rodent Import Request Form” and submit it to LAFimport-export@buffalo.edu. Submission of this form initiates the import process on the UB side.
The Import/Export Coordinator will work with the shipping institution to request the necessary information for LAF veterinary review. The PI will be informed when the import is approved, and the Import/Export Coordinator will then work with the shipping institution to arrange shipment of the animals. Cost estimates can be requested by contacting LAFimport-export@buffalo.edu.
Imported rodents will be required to undergo a quarantine period and health monitoring to ensure that no excluded pathogens are introduced into the LAF facilities.
Types of Quarantine and Associated Fees:
$100 per import
- Animals are housed in the LAF BEB quarantine unit for 8 weeks
- Import Sampling Fee: $24 per 100 cages
- PCR testing is conducted for excluded pathogens at the end of the quarantine period, 1 test charged per 100 cages
- Conventional housing IDEXX test fee: $220.50 (mouse), $159.25 (rat)
- High Level Barrier housing IDEXX test fee: $245.00 (mouse only)
- Animals are housed in the LAF BEB quarantine unit for 2-3 weeks
- Import Sampling Fee: $24 per 10 animals
- PCR testing is conducted for excluded pathogens upon arrival, 1 test charged per 10 animals
- Conventional housing IDEXX test fee: $220.50 (mouse), $159.25 (rat)
- High Level Barrier housing IDEXX test fee: $245.00 (mouse only)
- Conventional housing IDEXX test fee: $220.50 (mouse), $159.25 (rat)
**IDEXX prices are not established in house and are subject to change.
The LAF Import/Export Manager coordinates the shipment of rodents from UB LAF facilities to other institutions, including gaining approval from the receiving institution to accept the animals. To begin the process, a completed “Rodent Export Request Form” should be submitted to LAFimport-export@buffalo.edu. Shipping for the animals will not be scheduled until the receiving institution grants approval of the shipment. The fee to export rodents is $132.00 per 10 animals.
Shipping costs are additional.