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The goal of managing any mouse colony should be to maintain adequate numbers of animals in as little cage space as possible, while adhering to the university’s policies regarding health and well-being of the mice, and minimizing labor costs. What constitutes “adequate numbers” depends on a number of factors, including:
- experimental needs,
- breeding characteristics of a given strain/line,
- genotypes and phenotypes (morbidity/mortality) of individual mice,
- limits of approved animal use protocol.
Different strains of mice vary in productiveness, and certain mutant strains can be difficult to breed, due to a variety of factors such as small litter sizes, low fertility, poor mothering instincts, high rates of cannibalism of newborns, and higher morbidity or mortality resulting from the genetic mutation/alteration. Many of these issues can be dealt with by using foster mothers, back crossing a line into a different strain, putting new mothers with experienced mothers, etc. When acquiring a new genetically modified strain it is a good idea to consult with someone who has direct experience with maintaining that strain.
Services availiable for the management of your transgenic mouse colony:
Please keep in mind that all requests MUST be in writing and must be received at least one week in advance. You can submit a Request Form or you can send an email to Mindy Hollander.
List of services
Link to Request Service Form
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