• Before you start your experiments, please discuss your animal requirements with the CCMR first. All orders for animals have to be processed via our online system at https://extranet.hku.hk/hkulau/servlet/custServices/login. All orders should be placed at least two working days before the requested date of delivery/collection of ordered items and they should reach our General Office by 11:00 a.m. on Monday to Friday. The Centre will try its best to process every order but cannot guarantee issue/delivery of ordered animals in case of unforeseen circumstances like fluctuating reproductive performance of breeding colonies and inclement weather.
• If you require a regular supply of a particular strain of animals for a defined period of time, please place a "standing order" with us by stating the animal specifications and delivery schedule on your order. Standing orders are encouraged as stocks will be set aside in CCMR to assure continuous availability once we have confirmed acceptance of your order.
• The Centre's Specific Pathogen-Free Breeding Area (SPFBA) on the 2/F of the LAU Building maintains only limited surplus stock of its central breeding colonies to minimise unnecessary wastage. Please ensure that orders for large quantities of animals (in particular those orders with narrow specifications like single sex, restrictive weight/age range and orders for time-mated/pregnant animals) are submitted well in advance because it takes time to set up breeders to meet these difficult/bulk orders (please refer to "Waiting Time for Bulk Animal Orders" table).
• Orders for time-mated/pregnant animals can be problematic particularly if inbred animals (with poor reproduction performance) are requested. Please note that CCMR cannot guarantee the outcome of the mating even though the presence of vaginal plugs may serve as an indicator of mating and abdominal palpation can be used to estimate the stage of pregnancy. Not all pregnancies are expected to be maintained. The average success rate varies by strain and can vary naturally within a given strain. Due to natural variation, there is no guarantee for the exact date of birth or number of offspring per litter.
• Birth dates of production animals are not recorded. Mice and rats are maintained in age cohorts relative to the week in which the animal is weaned (note: weaning is normally done on Thursdays). If exact age is required, the Centre will need to set up a supplementary colony at the applicant's own cost for the specific order.
• CCMR accepts that orders may have to be cancelled but the Centre will not accept cancellations on the day of issue/delivery or if animals have been specifically held/bred for the order. If an order is cancelled under these circumstances, the applicant will be required to pay for the ordered animals. In case of enquiries about availability of large quantities of animals or animals with narrow specifications, a service charge will be levied if an enquirer fails to submit a firm order after the Centre staff have spent a significant amount of time to handle the enquiry and confirmed availability of the requested animals.
• For disease control reasons, CCMR will not accept the return of animals after dispatch as they cannot be returned to the SPFBA.
• Please contact our General Office at 3910 2042 or email us at compmed@hku.hk if you have any problems with or queries on animal orders.

Time required to set up Supplementary Breeding Colonies for Bulk Animal Orders

Laboratory Animal Unit August, 2015

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Please login to our Animal Ordering System.

**You will also need to log on via HKU Portal using the HKU network (i.e. Lan / “HKU” WiFi in HKU campus or VPN outside HKU). The “Wi-Fi.HK via HKU” network is not sufficient**

If you would like to activate your online system account, please contact our General Office at 3910 2042 or email us at compmed@hku.hk