Specifications of Rodent Diet

The natural ingredient NIH #31M Rodent Diet is used as the standard diet in rodent production colonies at all US Taconic production sites. This diet formulation is a modification of the widely used NIH #31 rodent diet with the energy concentration increased by slightly increasing the percentage of soybean oil in the formulation. This is an open formula diet and the quantitative ingredient composition is presented in the table below.

Vendors providing the NIH#31M Rodent Diet to Taconic are required to provide a record of the amount of each ingredient used to manufacture every batch of feed shipped to Taconic. Vendors also provide the results of a proximate analyses conducted on a representative feed sample collected from the shipment. This information is used to document the quality of feed provided by the manufacturer. In addition, representative feed samples are periodically collected at Taconic and sent to an independent laboratory to be assayed for various vitamins, minerals, heavy metals, and chemical contaminants.

Formulation for the NIH #31M Rodent Diet

Ingredient	Percentage by Weight
Ground whole wheat	35.17
Ground whole yellow corn	20.00
Ground whole oats	10.00
Wheat middlings	10.00
Fish meal (60% protein)	9.00
Soybean meal (47.5% protein)	5.00
Soy bean oil (no additives)	2.50
Alfalfa meal (17% protein)	2.00
Corn gluten meal (60% protein)	2.00
Dicalcium phosphate	1.50
Brewer’s dried yeast	1.00
Ground limestone	0.50
Salt	0.50
NIH #31 vitamin premix	0.25
NIH #31 mineral premix	0.25
Choline chloride	0.13
L-lysine	0.10
DL-methionine	0.10

The NIH # 31M Diet Vitamin Premix, Added per 2,000 Pounds of Diet

Vitamin	Amount	Source
Vitamin A	22,000,000 IU	Stabilized Vitamin A Palmitate or Acetate
Vitamin D3	3,800,000 IU	D-Activated animal sterol
Vitamin K	20.0 g	Menadione activity
dl alpha Tocopherol Acetate	15.0 g
Biotin	120.0 mg	d-Biotin
Folic acid	1.0 g
Niacin	20.0 g
Pantothenic acid	25.0 g	d-Calcium pantothenate
Pyridoxine	2.0 g	Pyridoxine hydrochloride
Riboflavin supplement	5.0 g
Thiamine	65.0 g	Thiamine mononitrate
Vitamin B12 supplement	14,000.0 mcg

The NIH #31M Diet Mineral Premix, Added per 2,000 Pounds of Diet

Mineral	Amount	Source
Cobalt	0.4 g Cobalt	carbonate
Copper	4.0 g	Copper Sulfate
Iron	60.0 g	Iron sulfate
Magnesium	400.0 g	Magnesium oxide
Manganese	100.0 g	Manganese oxide
Zinc	10.0 g	Zinc oxide
Iodine	1.5 g	Calcium iodate

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude protein minimum	18.0%
Crude fat minimum	5.3%
Crude fiber maximum	4.5%
Ash maximum	8.0%

Calculated Microanalysis

Amino acids	% of Total Diet
Arginine	1.00
Lysine	96
Methionine	.46
Cystine	.26
Tryptophan	.20
Glycine	.90
Histidine	.42
Leucine	1.47
Isoleucine	.79
Phenylalanine	.82
Tyrosine	.64
Threonine	.66
Valine	.90
Minerals	Amount
Calcium	1.12%
Phosphorous	.96%
Potassium	.60%
Sodium	.28%
Magnesium	.22%
Iron	206 mg/kg
Zinc	58 mg/kg
Manganese	150 mg/kg
Copper	17 mg/kg
Cobalt	0.8 mg/kg
Iodine	1.9 mg/kg
Vitamins	Amount
Vitamin A	26 IU/gm
Vitamin D	4 IU/gm
Alpha-Tocopherol acetate	50 mg/kg
Thiamine	76 mg/kg
Riboflavin	7.6 mg/kg
Niacin	83 mg/kg
Pantothenic acid	34 mg/kg
Choline	1910 mg/kg
Pyridoxine	11 mg/kg
Folic acid	1.7 mg/kg
Biotin	.25 mg/kg
Vitamin B 12	56 mcg/kg
Vitamin K	20 mg/kg

Taconic has the NIH #31M diet available for sale in the U.S. The finished product is made into oval shape pellets (5/8" - 3/4") wide; (3/8" - 7/16") thick; and (1 - 1 3/8") long. Pelleting is accomplished by using conventional steam pelleting techniques routinely used in the feed manufacturing industry. The finished product is packaged in three (3) ply laminated paper bags, 30 lbs. per bag. The bags are closed by sewing and they are of a quality that will withstand the temperatures associated with steam sterilization of the diet without bursting open.

To Order NIH #31M Diet Contact the US Customer Service Departments at:
518-697-3915 (toll free at 888-822-6642)
e-mail: custserv@taconic.com