Animal Ordering & Acquisition
Ordering animals through the appropriate channels is critical to ensuring that your project gets off to the right start. The services below are available to the U-M animal care and use community.
Please note that all animal orders must be placed through U-M’s eResearch Animal Management (eRAM) system.
Orders are submitted through eRAM via the completion of an Animal Purchase Request. Step-by-step instructions on how to order animals through eRAM can be found here.
Ordering from Approved Commercial Vendors
U-M works with the following approved commercial vendors:
- Charles River Laboratories, Inc.
- ENVIGO
- Jackson Laboratory
- Taconic Farms
- Elm Hill Breeding Laboratories
- Covance Research Products, Inc.
To help ensure availability and timely delivery, please make sure that animals are ordered seven (7) days prior to your requested delivery date. Sheep orders must be placed ten (10) days prior to the requested delivery date.
The Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) will handle and receive animals shipped directly from vendors and/or other institutions.
ULAM responsibilities upon animal arrival include the following:
- Assure that shipping box, cage cards, and delivery schedule(s) match
- Assure that all new arrivals have appropriate cage cards to identify the animals
- Assure, upon arrival and receipt of the animals into the animal room,
that all animals are accounted for and healthy - House animals according to specific cage housing densities and in accordance with
any lab requests/comments noted upon the delivery schedule - House animals in accordance with the way they were shipped from the vendor and/or other institution
- Immediately submit an Animal Treatment Report to obtain veterinary care if any health concerns
(e.g., scratches, wounds, hunched, scruffy, etc.) are noticed during unpacking - Report any discrepancies to the Area Husbandry Supervisor and ULAM Purchasing Support Team
ULAM personnel will also initiate clinical examinations and quarantining or conditioning protocols as appropriate for the species/source.
Although ULAM is responsible for checking and delivering animals to their assigned housing room, investigators are strongly encouraged to conduct their own examinations upon arrival to ensure that the animal order is correct.
Order discrepancies must be reported to ULAM at (734) 764-0277 within 48 hours of delivery.
The University tracks many of the costs associated with day-to-day animal care and use through a barcoding system, which is primarily managed through eRAM. ULAM also uses cage cards and barcoding to track all animals in U-M’s facilities. This includes important information about the Principal Investigator, approved protocol, animal handling details, animal health history, and more.
Barcode information, Breeding Sheets, and Cage Cards can all be requested directly through eRAM. For more information, please review the following Quick Reference Guides:
Ordering from Non-Commercial Vendors and Other Institutions
Study teams who wish to have animals shipped/imported to the University of Michigan from other institutions or non-commercial vendors (i.e., not the approved vendors listed above) should contact the ULAM Rodent Health Surveillance Team at ulam-rhst@umich.edu or (734) 936-1699 at least two weeks in advance of the desired delivery date.
Please note that all rodents shipped to the U-M from non-approved vendors and/or other institutions must be quarantined for approximately three weeks to avoid the possible introduction of infectious agents to the University’s rodent colonies.
Investigators are responsible for paying all quarantine-associated costs, including technician time, laboratory testing, and per-diems. Once the animals are released from quarantine, ULAM will transfer them to the appropriate animal housing room. Additional details can be found on the Transporting Animals page.
Questions?
- General questions about animal ordering and acquisition should be directed to ULAM at ulam-questions@umich.edu.
- Specific questions about barcoding should be directed to the ULAM Barcoding Team at ulam-barcode@umich.edu or (734) 764-0277.