Cereal Grain Based Diets
General comments and comparison of cereal based and semi-pure diets.
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Control Diets
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Rat and Mouse Cubes ( SF00-100 )
A fixed formulation diet for Laboratory Rats and Mice fortified with vitamins and minerals to meet the requirements of breeding animals after the diet is autoclaved or irradiated.
- All nutritional parameters of this diet meet or exceed the NRC guidelines for Rats and Mice.
- The diet has been designed as a general ration for breeding and early growth in all rat and mouse strains. The total fat content has been deliberately kept low at around 5%, to maximize the long term breeding performance of most strains.
- The formulation is designed to be fed ad-lib to rodents of all ages. There is some indication that growth performance in a minority of strains can be improved by increasing dietary energy (fat content). BalbC mice, DA rats and some of the modified strains appear to be most susceptible to this problem. Please contact us if you are concerned about this issue.
- Mammalian meals have been excluded from the diet, however the diet does contain fish meal. We have formulated totally vegetarian diets, and maintained colonies for some time on these diets. Please contact us if you require such a diet.
- The feed is manufactured in a cylindrical form with a diameter of around 12 mm, length is variable from 10 mm to 30 mm. We have found that this form is ideal for overhead hopper feeding, maximizing the ease of handling whilst minimizing fines formation and the risk of bridging in the feed hopper. Pellet strength has been kept lower than conventional pelletised diets. While this leads to a slight increase in transit and storage damage to the diet (fines generation), we have found that juvenile mice often have a lower feed intake on harder pellets.
- The diet is packed in permeable bags suitable for direct loading into an autoclave. It is recommended that the diet be autoclaved at 120o C for 20 minutes with a post autoclaving vacuum drying cycle. Some clumping of the diet can be expected, but the diet clumps can usually be easily broken. Modifying the drying time to leave some residual moisture in the diet can minimize the clumping. Do not autoclave at 135o C as this will result in significant clumping that will be difficult to break.
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SF06-053 – Soya Free Rat and Mouse Diet
A fixed formulation diet for laboratory rodents of all ages, based on our standard rat and mouse diet
but free of soya meal and lupins.
- This diet was designed to reduce phytoestrogen content. Gas chromatography – Mass
spectrophotometry analysis indicates a range of phytosterols are present, however in
bioassays the activity is very low or not detectable. - Although several research groups have been using the diet for some time as a low
phytoestrogen diet, care must be taken in contemplating the use of this diet as completely
free of phytosterol activity. - Analyses could not detect isoflavones or phytoestrogens in this diet but to be confident of a truly phytosterol free diet we recommend the semi-pure diet AIN93G.
Keywords: phytoestrogen free, phytosterol free, alfalfa, leucerne, genstein, isoflavones
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SF08-025 Low Gluten Rat and Mouse Cubes
A low gluten cereal grain base diet formulated for rats and mice. This formulation satisfies the nutritional requirements for growth of rats and mice.
- This diet is manufactured as a 12mm diameter cube, vacuum packed.
Keywords: cereal diet, gluten free,
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NIH 07 Open Formula Rat and Mouse Diet 23.6% Protein
A rat and mouse diet based on the open formulae diet NIH-07.
- The diet is manufactured as a 12 mm diameter cube 10 – 25 mm long.
- Diet is vacuum packed in 5 Kg oxygen impermeable bags under Nitrogen, bags are then packed in cartons to protect them during transit
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NIH 31 Open Formulation Rat and Mouse Diet 18% Protein
A rat and mouse diet based on the open formula diet NIH-31.
- The diet is manufactured as a 12 mm diameter cube 10 – 25 mm long.
- Diet is vacuum packed in 5 Kg oxygen impermeable bags under Nitrogen, bags are then packed in cartons to protect them during transit
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SF14-156 Dough Form Recovery Diet
A fixed formulation diet for Laboratory Rats and Mice fortified with vitamins and minerals to meet the requirements of breeding animals after the diet is autoclaved or irradiated.
- Diet supplied as powder to be mixed with water to make dough by facility. Mix 20g Diet with 8g Water. Kneed into dough.
- Standard rat and mouse chow supplemented with peanuts, dextrose and sodium caseinate to make diet more palatable for animals in recovery.
Keywords: sf14-156, dough, form, recovery, control, medication
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Lipid Modifications
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SF01-025 Rat and Mouse 22% Fat
A high fat diet based on our standard Rat and Mouse formulation.
- For general comments see the standard Rat and Mouse formulation
- The total fat content of this diet has been increased to 22%. In our experience this is the maximum fat content that can be included into a standard pelletised diet. Even at this content a significant loss in pellet strength is apparent. Higher fat contents are possible but we have found that the diet form must change.
- The increased fat content has resulted in a 28% increase in calculated energy from 14.3 MJ/Kg to 18.3 MJ/Kg.
- All other nutritional parameters have been kept as close as possible to our standard diet
- A suitable control diet is Rat and Mouse cubes
Keywords: high fat cereal grain based diet, metabolic disease, obesity
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SF15-150 High Fat Soya Free Rat and Mouse
A high fat modification of SF06-053 Soya Free Rat and Mouse Diet
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Fat has been increased to 23.5%
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Canola oil has been reduced to 1%, to meet minimum Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acid requirements.
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Kreamolene (Hydrogenated Coconut Oil) has been added to increase fat content to 23.5%
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See data sheet SF06-053 for more information on the Soya Free diet.
Keywords: Soy Free, phytoestrogens, cereal, rodent, high fat, soy
SF14-004 High Fat High Sodium Rodent Diet
A high fat diet based on our standard rat and mouse diet.
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For general comments see our standard rat and mouse formulation data sheet.
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The total fat content of this diet has been increased to 22%. In our experience this is the maximum fat content that can be included into a standard pelletised diet. Even at this content a significant loss in pellet strength is apparent. Higher fat contents are possible but we have found that the diet form must change.
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The increased fat content has resulted in a 28% increase in calculated digestible energy from 14.3 MJ/Kg to 18 MJ/Kg.
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Sodium has been increased from 0.18% to 0.8%
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All other nutritional parameters have been kept as close as possible to our standard rat and mouse diet.
Keywords: Cereal, Fat, Salt, cardiac, vascular function, dysfunction, arterial hyper-tension,
Mineral Modifications
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SF01-001 0.05% Sodium Rat and Mouse
A low sodium cereal diet based on our standard Rat and Mouse cubes.
- This diet has been designed to be Sodium deficient. All other nutritional parameters of this diet meet or exceed the NRC guidelines for Rats and Mice.
- This diet is free of mammalian and fish meal. All ingredients are of vegetable origin.
- For other information refer to Standard Rat and Mouse Cubes data sheet
- The feed is manufactured in a cylindrical form with a diameter of around 12 mm, length is variable from 10 mm to 30 mm
- The diet is packed in 5 Kg low gas permeability bags. Vacuum sealed after filling with nitrogen. 2 x 5 Kg bags are loaded into a cardboard carton. This packing form is suited to irradiation, if diet is to be autoclaved it must be transferred into permeable packing.
- A suitable control diet is SF01-002 but Rat and Mouse cubes could be used.
Keywords: low salt, no salt,
SF01-002 0.2% Sodium Rat and Mouse
A controlled sodium cereal diet.
- This diet has been designed as part of a series of diets with increasing sodium and chloride content. The basal diet is SF01-001 with added sodium chloride. No correction was made for the dilution effect of the added salt. Hence as the salt content increases there are small changes in all nutritional parameters
- All other nutritional parameters of this diet meet or exceed the NRC guidelines for Rats and Mice.
- This diet is free of mammalian and fish meal. All ingredients are of vegetable origin.
- For other information refer to Standard Rat and Mouse Cubes data sheet.
- The feed is manufactured in a cylindrical form with a diameter of around 12 mm, length is variable from 10 mm to 30 mm.
- The diet is packed in 5 Kg low gas permeability bags. Vacuum sealed after filling with nitrogen. 2 x 5 Kg bags are loaded into a cardboard carton. This packing form is suited to irradiation, if diet is to be autoclaved it must be transferred into permeable packing.
- A suitable control diet is SF01-002 but Rat and Mouse cubes could be used.
Keywords: low salt, controlled salt,
SF01-003 1.6% Sodium Rat and Mouse
A controlled sodium cereal diet.
- This diet has been designed as part of a series of diets with increasing sodium and chloride content. The basal diet is SF01-001 with added sodium chloride. The only correction made was in addition of premix to maintain added vitamins and trace minerals. Hence as the salt content increases there are small changes in some nutritional parameters.
- All other nutritional parameters of this diet meet or exceed the NRC guidelines for Rats and Mice.
- This diet is free of mammalian and fish meal. All ingredients are of vegetable origin.
- For other information refer to Standard Rat and Mouse Cubes data sheet.
- The feed is manufactured in a cylindrical form with a diameter of around 12 mm, length is variable from 10 mm to 30 mm.
- The diet is packed in 5 Kg low gas permeability bags. Vacuum sealed after filling with nitrogen. 2 x 5 Kg bags are loaded into a cardboard carton. This packing form is suited to irradiation, if diet is to be autoclaved it must be transferred into permeable packing.
- A suitable control diet is SF01-002 but Rat and Mouse cubes could be used.
Keywords: added salt, 4% salt,
SF01-004 3.1% Sodium Rat and Mouse
A controlled sodium cereal diet.
- This diet has been designed as part of a series of diets with increasing sodium and chloride content. The basal diet is SF01-001 with added sodium chloride. The only correction made was in addition of premix to maintain added vitamins and trace minerals. Hence as the salt content increases there are small changes in some nutritional parameters.
- All other nutritional parameters of this diet meet or exceed the NRC guidelines for Rats and Mice.
- We were surprised that the mice fed this diet still found the diet palatable, if anything diet intake increased on the high sodium diet.
- This diet is free of mammalian and fish meal. All ingredients are of vegetable origin.
- For other information refer to Standard Rat and Mouse Cubes data sheet.
- The feed is manufactured in a cylindrical form with a diameter of around 12 mm, length is variable from 10 mm to 30 mm.
- The diet is packed in 5 Kg low gas permeability bags. Vacuum sealed after filling with nitrogen. 2 x 5 Kg bags are loaded into a cardboard carton. This packing form is suited to irradiation, if diet is to be autoclaved it must be transferred into permeable packing.
- A suitable control diet is SF01-002 but Rat and Mouse cubes could be used.
Keywords: high salt, 8% salt,
SF05-065 Low Calcium Rat and Mouse
A fixed formulation for laboratory rats and mice based on our standard ration but with low calcium content.
- Calcium content of this diet is less than that generally recognised to meet nutritional requirements. Calcium:Phosphorous ratio is outside the range considered optimal for maintenance or growth of rats and mice.
- All other nutritional parameters meet or exceed NRC requirements.
- For further information see standard Rat and Mouse diet.
Keywords: low calcium, calcium deficient,
Vitamin Modifications
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SF00-242 High Vitamin A Rat and Mouse
Standard meat free rat and mouse diet plus an additional 240,000 IU / Kg of Vitamin A as Retinol acetate.
- For further information see standard Rat and Mouse diet.
SF04-036 Meat Free Rat and Mouse with Low Vitamin K
A fixed formulation diet for Laboratory Rats and Mice fortified with vitamins and minerals to meet the requirements of breeding animals after the diet is autoclaved or irradiated. No Vitamin K has been added to this diet and insufficient data is available on the raw materials to measure total Vitamin K.
- All nutritional parameters of this diet meet or exceed the NRC guidelines for Rats and Mice.
- The diet has been designed as a general ration for breeding and early growth in all rat and mouse strains. The total fat content has been deliberately kept low at around 5%, to maximize the long term breeding performance of most strains.
- The formulation is designed to be fed ad-lib to rodents of all ages. There is some indication that growth performance in a minority of strains can be improved by increasing dietary energy (fat content). BalbC mice, DA rats and some of the modified strains appear to be most susceptible to this problem. Please contact us if you are concerned about this issue.
- Mammalian meals have been excluded from the diet, however the diet does contain fish meal. We have formulated totally vegetarian diets, and maintained colonies for some time on these diets. Please contact us if you require such a diet.
- The feed is manufactured in a cylindrical form with a diameter of around 12 mm, length is variable from 10 mm to 30 mm. We have found that this form is ideal for overhead hopper feeding, maximizing the ease of handling whilst minimizing fines formation and the risk of bridging in the feed hopper. Pellet strength has been kept lower than conventional pelletised diets. While this leads to a slight increase in transit and storage damage to the diet (fines generation), we have found that juvenile mice often have a lower feed intake on harder pellets.
- The diet is packed in permeable bags suitable for direct loading into an autoclave. It is recommended that the diet be autoclaved at 120O C for 20 minutes with a post autoclaving vacuum drying cycle. Some clumping of the diet can be expected, but the diet clumps can usually be easily broken. Modifying the drying time to leave some residual moisture in the diet can minimize the clumping. Do not autoclave at 1350 C as this will result in significant clumping that will be difficult to break.
Medicated Laboratory Animal Diets
Medications can be incorporated into almost any diet. Examples of common medications include:
- Addition of Fenbendazole to rodent diet for the control of pin worm.
- Addition of coccidiostats to rabbit, poultry or ruminant diets.
In our large scale plant the only medication we use is Fenbendazole. Following manufacture of fenbendazole diets we have a rigorous cleaning procedure aiming to eliminate residual medication.
Our small scale plant is specifically designed so that it can be taken apart and cleaned thoroughly between batches of feed, this reduces the risk of cross contamination. In this plant we can incorporate almost any drug into diets, with some restrictions to ensure the safety of our staff.
In Australia a veterinary prescription is required for the incorporation of medications into feeds.
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Meat Free Rat and Mouse Plus 150 mg Fenbendazole / Kg Diet
A medicated diet for the treatment of pinworms in Rats and Mice. The diet is based on our standard Meat Free Rat and Mouse formulation, for general comments please see the appropriated data
- The standard ration has Fenbendazole added at the rate of 150 mg / Kg finished diet.
- The diet also has a red food colouring added (Ponceux S) at the rate of 30 mg / Kg finished
diet. - Although Fenbendazole is not a restricted medication, it is not registered for use in rodents,
therefore this diet MUST BE USED IN ACCORDANCE WITH INSTRUCTIONS OF A
REGISTERED VETERINARY PRACTITIONER.
Keywords:pinworm treatment
SF08-008 Meat Free Rat and Mouse plus Helicobacter treatment
CAUTION: PRESCRIPTION ONLY MEDICINE FOR ANIMAL TREATMENT ONLY.
Use Strictly as directed- Feed Ad Libitum to all animals in the affected colony for 8 weeks.
Keep out of reach of children.
Contains 600 mg Amoxycillin /Kg, 100 mg Clarithromycin / Kg, 200 mg Metronidazole / Kg and 4 mg Omeprazole / Kg
A medicated diet for Laboratory Rats and Mice for the treatment of Helicobacter sp.
- This diet can only be supplied under the specific direction of a registered Veterinary Scientist.
- The diet is manufactured as 12 mm diameter pellets. Vacuum packed in 5 Kg oxygen impermeable bags under Nitrogen, bags are then packed in cartons to protect them during transit. .
Keywords:
Diets including compounds for inducible genes
Increasingly research is being assisted by incorporating inducible genes. The compounds used are often regulated pharmaceuticals (S4 in Australia) including:
- Doxycycline incorporated at varying doses.
- Tetracycline incorporated at varying doses.
- Tamoxifen incorporated at varying doses.
In Australia a veterinary prescription is required for the incorporation of S4 medications into feeds.
If you require us to incorporate a different compound or a compound at a differing dose than the list below please contact us.
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SF08-026 Meat Free Rat and Mouse plus 600 mg Doxycycline per Kg
CAUTION: PRESCRIPTION ONLY MEDICINE FOR ANIMAL TREATMENT ONLY.
Doxycycline is an Irritant
Contains 600 mg Doxycycline A medicated diet for Laboratory Rats and Mice for the treatment of Helicobacter sp.
- This diet can only be supplied under the specific direction of a registered Veterinary Practitioner.
- The diet is manufactured as 12 mm diameter pellets. Vacuum packed in 5 Kg oxygen impermeable bags under Nitrogen, bags are then packed in cartons to protect them during transit.
- Diet has a red colouring added
- We have had feedback of the doxycycline becoming inactive if the diet is not used within the recommend storage period. Please contact us for more information on appropriate storage of the diet.
Keywords: inducible genes,
SF03-024 Meat Free Rat and Mouse Plus 1000 mg
Tamoxifen / Kg
CAUTION: PRESCRIPTION ONLY MEDICINE, FOR ANIMAL TREATMENT ONLY.
A fixed formulation diet for Laboratory Rats and Mice fortified with vitamins and minerals to meet the
requirements of breeding animals after the diet is autoclaved or irradiated.
- Tamoxifen has been included into the ration at a rate of 1000 mg/kg finished diet
- Banana Flavouring has been added at 19 g / kg to improve palatability
- See meat free rat and mouse data sheet for more information on the base diet.
Keywords: tamoxifen, gene switch, tamoxifen inducible
Other Inclusions
SF04-058 NIH31 plus methyl donors
A rat and mouse diet based on the open formulae NIH-31. Some modifications have been made to the original formulation to suit locally available raw materials.
- A suitable control diet is NIH 31
- Diet has been supplemented with the methyl donors Betaine, DL Methionine, Choline Chloride, Zinc oxide and Folic acid
Keywords:methyl donors, epigenetic gene regulation, epigenitics
SF15-049 Rat and Mouse Chow Plus 2% Creatine
A fixed formulation diet for Laboratory Rats and Mice fortified with vitamins and minerals to meet the requirements of breeding animals after the diet is autoclaved or irradiated.
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Creatine has been included into the ration at a rate of 2% finished diet
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See Meat Free Rat and Mouse Cubes data sheet for more information on the base diet.
Keywords: creatine, aging
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