Mouse Colony will guide you through the creation of mating records with fields asking for pertinent information (cage, mating date, Stud ID and Dam ID).  Mouse Colony also determines if the cages have enough room for the mating.  If you enter a plug date, the dates for MEF production and delivery are calculated automatically.  Similarly, the weaning date is calculated automatically once you enter the date of birth (DOB).  This information will also show up in the Cage Inventory and Scheduler.  The “X” on the upper right corner (Current Mating) indicates that the mating is active. It is automatically entered when the mating record is created and you can erase it when the animals are weaned.  This check is important for Mouse Colony to determine the status of the mating for many pieces of information including the mating status, current mating list, etc.  Mouse Colony will detect a terminated mating that you may have forgotten to erase and it will erase it for you the next time Mouse Colony is launched. A mating record must be generated for every litter even if the animals are mated permanently.

When pups are born, the date and number of mice born must be entered.  At the time of weaning, the animal ID, sex and weaning check must be assigned.  To create a record, simply click on “create record” and Mouse Colony will ask for the information required (cage and date).