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.
| 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 |
| Vitamin | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 24,300,000 IU | Stabilized Vitamin A Palmitate or Acetate |
| Vitamin D | 4,200,000 IU | D-Activated animal sterol |
| Vitamin K | 22.0 g | Menadione activity |
| Vitmain E | 16.5 g | dl alpha Tocopherol Acetate |
| Biotin | 132.0 mg | d-Biotin |
| Folic acid | 1.1 g | |
| Niacin | 22.0 g | |
| Pantothenic acid | 27.5 g | d-Calcium pantothenate |
| Pyridoxine | 2.2 g | Pyridoxine hydrochloride |
| Riboflavin supplement | 5.5 g | |
| Thiamine | 71.5 g | Thiamine mononitrate |
| Vitamin B12 supplement | 15,400.0 μg |
| Mineral | Amount | Source |
| Cobalt | 440.0 mg | Carbonate |
| Copper | 4.4 g | Copper Sulfate |
| Iron | 66.0 g | Iron sulfate |
| Magnesium | 440.0 g | Magnesium oxide |
| Manganese | 110.0 g | Manganese oxide |
| Zinc | 11.0 g | Zinc oxide |
| Iodine | 1.7 g | Calcium iodate |
| Nutrient | Minimum | Maximum |
| Crude protein | 18.00% | 19.54% |
| Crude fat | 4.98% | 6.08% |
| Crude fiber | 3.28% | 5.00% |
| Ash | 5.17% | 8.00% |
| Moisture | 8.00% | 13.00% |
| Amino acids | % of Total Diet |
|---|---|
| Arginine | 1.01 |
| Lysine | 0.99 |
| Methionine | 0.46 |
| Cystine | 0.27 |
| Tryptophan | 0.20 |
| Histidine | 0.41 |
| Leucine | 1.47 |
| Isoleucine | 0.79 |
| Phenylalanine | 0.82 |
| Tyrosine | 0.63 |
| Threonine | 0.67 |
| Valine | 0.90 |
| Minerals | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calcium | 1.11% |
| Phosphorous | 0.93% |
| Potassium | 0.57% |
| Sodium | 0.28% |
| Magnesium | 0.22% |
| Iron | 206 mg/kg |
| Zinc | 58 mg/kg |
| Manganese | 152 mg/kg |
| Copper | 17 mg/kg |
| Cobalt | 0.7 mg/kg |
| Iodine | 1.97 mg/kg |
| Vitamins | Amount |
|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 25.90 IU/g |
| Vitamin D3 | 4.1 IU/g |
| Thiamine | 76.90 mg/kg |
| Riboflavin | 7.6 mg/kg |
| Niacin | 82.80 mg/kg |
| Pantothenic acid | 38.10 mg/kg |
| Choline | 1880 mg/kg |
| Pyridoxine | 10.60 mg/kg |
| Folic acid | 1.56 mg/kg |
| Biotin | 0.29 mg/kg |
| Vitamin B 12 | 56 mcg/kg |
| Vitamin K | 22 mg/kg |
| Vitamin E | 46.80 mg/kg |
| Calories provided by: | Amount |
|---|---|
| Protein | 20.940% |
| Fat (ether extract) | 13.736% |
| Carbohydrates | 65.324% |
