Transition to New Cage Cards Begins in October 2018

We are pleased to announce that newly designed cage cards are now being rolled out across campus. To ensure that all animal care and use personnel have adequate time to become acclimated with the new cage cards, the rollout will be conducted in two phases and will be done building by building.

View and download the complete New Cage Card Facility Rollout Schedule. 

Signs highlighting key changes between the old and new cards will be posted in each facility prior to, and throughout the duration of, the transition. Depending on the size of the facility, we expect the transition to take approximately 2–3 weeks per building, with all facilities being fully transitioned by early 2019.

What is Changing?

The layout and design of Offspring Cage Cards (blue and pink) and Breeding Cage Cards (yellow) have been updated, and sections have been added and removed. Please note that New Arrival/Generic Cage Cards (white) have not been updated.

Key changes to each card are summarized below and on this downloadable poster.

What Do I Need to Do?

Existing cages with the old cage card design do NOT need to be changed. The new cage cards will be used when new cages are created. Labs that have been approved to use their own unique cage cards will NOT be affected.  

If you have any questions or concerns about how the new cage cards may impact your research processes, please contact your facility’s ULAM Husbandry Supervisor or your ULAM Faculty Veterinarian.

General questions may also be submitted via email to ulam-questions@umich.edu or by calling (734) 764-0277.

Why Was This Change Made?

This transition is the result of a substantial re-design process that began in August 2017. The Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) partnered with labs across campus to assess the design and usefulness of the old cage cards prior to beginning the re-design. The cards underwent several rounds of revisions based on the feedback we received from these same labs.

The primary goal(s) in re-designing the cage cards were to:

• Improve access to important information (e.g., clinical number, genotype)
• Better facilitate communication between labs and animal care staff (added checkboxes for who weaned animals,
  added additional space for notes, and space to add a lab group email address)
• Enhance usability and readability

We Want to Hear From You!

We are committed to providing the tools, resources, and information necessary to ensure that your research projects are successful. We encourage you to reach out to your facility’s ULAM Husbandry Supervisor with any questions, comments, or concerns about the new cage cards.

Questions may also be directed to your ULAM Faculty Veterinarian. If you don’t know your faculty veterinarian, send an inquiry to ulam-questions@umich.edu and your question will be routed appropriately.

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