Mouse Breeding

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.

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. 

The LAF recommends several sources for more information on rodent breeding and colony management. 

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.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about breeding mice.

NCBI mouse genome website has links to mutant mouse repositories and mouse genome resources.

The University of Michigan has a transgenic animal website that offers mouse breeding suggestions.