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Husbandry

Facilities Guidelines Husbandry IACUC Policies Safety

Lessons Learned from Winter 2023 Semi-Annual Facility Inspections

The Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) completed its latest round of semi-annual facility inspections in mid-March. These inspections are one of the most important tools we have for routinely assessing programmatic strengths and identifying areas for individual and collective improvement(s) in service to the animals entrusted to our care. Through this lens of ...
Multi-colored graph showing common deficiency areas identified during Winter 2023 semi-annual IACUC facility inspections

Facilities Forms Husbandry ULAM

ULAM Containment Housing Request Form Moving to eRAM

In an effort to reduce Study Team burden and eliminate redundancies in our processes, the Containment Housing Request Form managed by the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) will be moved to eRAM beginning Monday, April 17, 2023. Study Teams will notice several changes as a result of this transition: The following processes and procedures will ...
Coming soon banner over Containment Housing Form icon

Facilities Husbandry Safety SOP

Hazardous Substance Administration SOP Recently Updated

To ensure that all members of the U-M animal care and use community have the tools and resources necessary to comply with best practice standards in animal care and laboratory safety, the Animals Administered a Hazardous Substance Requiring Containment Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been updated. Key SOP changes are summarized below and will be highlighted on posters ...
Button listing expected May 2023 adherence date for new Hazardous Agents Administration SOP procedures

Facilities Husbandry ULAM

ULAM Operations Update: Contacting Your Animal Care Team

Like many organizations throughout U-M and around the world, the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) is struggling with staffing shortages, especially in the husbandry and veterinary technician divisions. Use the following to determine the best way to contact your animal care team during this unusually busy time: With Routine Questions That Do NOT Require ...
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Facilities Husbandry Safety SOP ULAM

Handle With Care: Reminders for Safe Animal Transport

Transporting animals on campus (either from room to room, building to building, or through a public area) requires heightened attention to detail to ensure that animal health and welfare is maintained at all times. This includes, but is NOT limited to, preventing injury or escape, reducing environmental stressors (e.g., ambient temperature extremes, odors, and excessive ...
Handle with Care blue and green hands icon with yellow health shield

Drugs Facilities Guidelines Husbandry IACUC Policies Safety

Lessons Learned from Fall 2022 Semi-Annual Facility Inspections

The Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) completed its latest round of semi-annual facility inspections in mid-September. These inspections are one of the most important tools we have for routinely assessing programmatic strengths and identifying areas for individual and collective improvement(s) in service to the animals entrusted to our care. Through this lens of ...
Multi-colored graph showing common deficiency areas identified during Fall 2022 semi-annual facility inspections

Drugs Facilities Guidelines Husbandry IACUC Policies Safety

Lessons Learned from Winter 2022 Semi-Annual Facility Inspections

The Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) completed its latest round of semi-annual facility inspections in mid-March. These inspections are one of the most important tools we have for routinely assessing programmatic strengths and identifying areas for individual and collective improvement(s) in service to the animals entrusted to our care. Through this lens of ...
Multi-colored graph showing common deficiency areas identified during Winter 2022 semi-annual facility inspections

Forms Guidelines Husbandry

Enhanced Rodent Surgical Record Templates Now Available

Templates for the Rodent Surgery and Post-Operative Record (Notebook Size)  and Rodent Surgery and Post-Operative Record by Cage  have been recently updated to increase functionality and ease-of-use for research personnel. Specific changes include: To simplify recordkeeping requirements, templates are provided as fillable PDF documents that can be bookmarked, downloaded, and printed from the Animal Care ...
New banner with illustration of enhanced rodent surgical record templates

Facilities Husbandry ULAM

​​Important Updates on Availability of Irradiated Bedding

Labs currently using Pure-o’Cel bedding and PIs housing rodents in select buildings using Pure-o’Cel or autoclaved corn cob bedding are NOT impacted by this notice. About the Shortage Due to increasing national demand for irradiators in the human patient care industry, the U-M’s bedding distributor notified us in early December that we should consider substitutions ...
Corn cob bedding product shortage notice icon

Guidelines Husbandry ULAM

Changes to CO2 Flow Rates

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recently updated the Guidelines for Euthanasia of Animals. An important feature of the changes in the AVMA Guidelines includes updates to recommended carbon dioxide (CO2) flow rates for rodent euthanasia. Subsequently, the University of Michigan (U-M) has updated our practices and guidance documents to ensure that we are compliant with ...
CO2 flow meter icon denoting guideline changes coming soon

Forms Husbandry

Avoiding Common Mistakes When Completing Surgical Records for Mice (Mus) and Rats (Rattus)

The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals states that medical records are critical for documenting animal well-being; this includes a history of surgical procedures and post-operative care. The U-M Animal Care & Use (ACU) Program requires a peri-operative record for each rodent cage that contains post-operative animals. To simplify recordkeeping requirements, fillable ...
Surgical records illustration with mouse, rat, and vital signs icon