IACUC Ongoing Training
Dr. A. Nonymouse is onboarding new staff to maintain their breeding colony. The new staff members have been asked to setup harem breeding as approved in their animal study protocol. How many animals are permitted to be in the cage during the harem breeding scheme?
- Two males, two females, and 20 pups.
- One male and more than two females.
- One male and more than two females, one of which is visibly pregnant.
- One male and six females.
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Dr. A. Nonymouse is onboarding new staff to maintain their breeding colony. The new staff members have been asked to setup harem breeding as approved in their animal study protocol. How many animals are permitted to be in the cage during the harem breeding scheme?
- Two males, two females, and 20 pups.
- One male and more than two females.
- One male and more than two females, one of which is visibly pregnant.
- One male and six females.
Learner Feedback: Answer #2 is correct, if there are no more than five animals in a ventilated cage or no more than four animals greater than 25 grams in a static cage. #1 is incorrect as multiple males in a breeding cage can lead to aggression. Additionally, if the total number of pups exceeds 16, one female and litter must be removed to a separate cage when the older litter is 10 days of age. #3 is incorrect because harem breeding requires the separation of a visibly pregnant female - they must be separated until a trio breeding density is reached in the original cage. #4 is incorrect since the total number of mice exceeds the maximum density allowed in one cage. For more information on mouse breeding and housing density, please see the Mouse Breeding and Housing Density Policy. For density information for other rodent species, please refer to the CCM Rodent Housing Density SOP and overcrowding flowchart found on the CCM website's Resources page under SOPs -> Rodents.