Mammals: fresh brain, spinal cord, or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Avian: EDTA whole blood, 1g fresh tissue (liver, spleen, kidney, bone marrow, brain, heart), oral or cloacal swabs (preferably with a few drops of transport media or saline). Note that oral swabs may not be appropriate for all bird species such as raptors.
Measurement of zinc by inductively-coupled plasma/mass spectrometry. A $10.75 sample preparation fee will be added to tissue and feed specimens.
Specimen
One or more of the following:
1 mL serum or plasma
5 g fresh liver
50 mg fresh liver biopsy (at least 3 Tru-Cut samples, no fluid added)
500 g feed
For birds, 0.3 mL serum or plasma is adequate.
Blood, serum, and urine samples are tested on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays with a turnaround time of 7 days. Tissue and feed samples are tested on Mondays and Thursdays with a turnaround time of 10 days.