Food
1.Type
1.Animal food must supply all required nutrients unless the requirements of the study preclude it.
2.Animals should be fed commercially available complete diets appropriate for their physiologic status.
3.Rodents normally are fed a pelleted chow, which helps to wear down continuously erupting teeth. If powdered diets are to be fed a chewing substrate may be necessary, or tooth growth must be monitored.
2.Amount
1.Animals should be fed amounts of food to provide at least their maintenance requirements. The National Research Council publishes nutritional requirements for most animals. These are also available through RAR. [Nutrient requirements for laboratory animals; Dogs; Cats; Rabbits; Nonhuman Primates; Swine; Sheep; Poultry; Fish and Shrimp]
2.If food is restricted for more than 8 hours for neonates, rabbits or rodents, 48 hours for ruminants, or 24 hours for other animals:
1.For experimental reasons this must be approved by the IACUC, written criteria for assessing the animals’ body condition must be provided.
2.For medical reasons this decision should be made with veterinary input.
3.Quality Control
1.Commercially prepared food must be used within 6 months of its milling date (usually printed on the bottom of the bag).
2.Specially formulated diets may not have an expiration date. Generally these should be refrigerated and used within 6 months of manufacture.
3.Quality control or nutritional analysis data should be obtained from the food manufacturer. If diets are prepared in-house, nutritional analysis should be performed following mixing and again at a later time point to determine the amount of degradation over time.
4.Food should be stored in sealed, sanitizable containers. The type of food and expiration date should be marked on the container. Containers should be cleaned out weekly and sanitized monthly.
5.Food should not be stored adjacent to animal waste containers or chemicals.
6.Sterilized food should be stored in sterilized containers and the date of sterilization marked on the container.