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Food for mice

claireree

claireree

New member
anyone got any tips on what to feed my mice or is what there on ok, I live in Spain so whenever I go and get mice food it tends to be mostly sunflowers seeds so now I tend to mix up my own with a bit of budgie seed, dry dog biscuits, corn flakes and some rodent mix,

trying to attach pics
 

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What their on is perfect. :) What, are all those mice feeder mice? Very nice setups as well, I love the big one. ;)
 
Perhaps check feed or farm supply stores (or the equivalent, NOT pet shops) and see if anyone sells rodent lab block.

Mazuri 6F, Harlan 2018, Purina LabDiet 5l42 are some of those available here in the US.

A feed store that sells Purina feeds for livestock should be able to get the Mazuri or LabDiet.

The main problem with seed mixes is they pick and choose what they like and don't get the full nutrition.
 
They are feeders, the ones in the big house are my breeders and get very spoilt in there with all the room, there is 1:3 in there could do with maybe another female in but they all seem to be really happy and breed well so dont wont to rock the boat.

The ones on the top are all the weaned mice.
 
I found that my mice tended to waste a lot of the food from seed mixtures and I haven't got any access to lab blocks. I've got a huge bag of sow pellets (pig food!) from a feed store and they're doing well on it.
 
ok I will go to the food suppliers and see if I can get sow pellets, are they similar to pony nuts to look at the food I get have them in but they all seem to pick them out one of the mice throws all her unwanted food in her water bowl.
 
Yep, they are just like pony nuts to look at. The sow pellets I use are 18% protein. Not at home right now, so I can't tell you the exact ingredients. I give the mice extra treats of shelled sunflower seeds or dog biscuit by hand to keep them tame and friendly.
 
as said already pig pellets are really good, i tryed to find some lab blocks but couldnt get them in the UK, so i heard about breeding sow pellets, they contain exactly the same nutritional contents as lab blocks, but are a hell of a lot cheaper, i get 15kg worth of pellets for 7 pouds, which is really cheap. so it works out really well. i dont tend to give my mice any treats etc as i have over 25 breeding trio's of them, so and over 15 growing on tubs, so it would work out far too expensive, and hard to keep track, and they get all what they need from the pig pellets anyway.

lee
 
will try and explain that in spanish tom then, the bloke will prob think I am cracking up but will give it a go.
 
snakeboy24 said:
as said already pig pellets are really good, i tryed to find some lab blocks but couldnt get them in the UK, so i heard about breeding sow pellets, they contain exactly the same nutritional contents as lab blocks, but are a hell of a lot cheaper, i get 15kg worth of pellets for 7 pouds, which is really cheap. so it works out really well. i dont tend to give my mice any treats etc as i have over 25 breeding trio's of them, so and over 15 growing on tubs, so it would work out far too expensive, and hard to keep track, and they get all what they need from the pig pellets anyway.

lee
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How long does that 15kg last with all your mice?
 
Try using water bottles, it would greatly reduce the chances of them throwing food in their water. I can't imagine breeding mice and not having water bottles.

As for other food waste, if the pellets are big enough try making a food hopper out of 1/4" hardware mesh. Just sort of a basket with a solid top and hang it inside the tank. They will break off pieces through the bars and won't be able to haul the food away and hide it in the dirty bedding.
 
Has anyone over there in the UK or Europe actually contacted the local Purina branches and asked about rodent lab blocks?

I'm sure you have labs and universities over there with mice and rats for research. The blocks have to be available somewhere.
 
all of my mice are either in the large vivarium houses or in plastic tubs with wire lids so difficult for water bottles they all seem happy enough with the ceramic bowls which get cleaned out on a daily basis as with their food.
 
timmyjones said:
How long does that 15kg last with all your mice?
Click to expand...

well, looking at how many litters i have at the moment, i may of under estimated how many i have, i would say its near 600 at the moment, excluding mice that are still suckling, so i use about 2kg a day, which is quite a lot, but i like to keep them well fed, and happy. i use just over a bag a week anyway, so its around 2kgs a day.

lee
 
Flagg said:
Has anyone over there in the UK or Europe actually contacted the local Purina branches and asked about rodent lab blocks?

I'm sure you have labs and universities over there with mice and rats for research. The blocks have to be available somewhere.
Click to expand...

i did when i first started breeding them, cant remember were i traced it to, may of been ireland actually, but with shipping costs it worked out rediculasly expensive, so i went with the pig pellets, the amount i use its the cheapest option, and all the mice seem to love them.

lee
 
claireree said:
all of my mice are either in the large vivarium houses or in plastic tubs with wire lids so difficult for water bottles they all seem happy enough with the ceramic bowls which get cleaned out on a daily basis as with their food.
Click to expand...

all of my mice are in plastic tubs that i converted to breeding boxes, i drilled a whole in one end, just big enough for the drinking nipple to fit through, and then drilled a little hole each side of the bottle for the wire to go through. it works out so much easier than cleaning a bowl out every day.

lee
 
good idea, I will get the drill out and do that will save a bit of time and stop them filling the bowls up with shavings, the other cages are ok as their water bowls are on little shelves away from the floor.
 
claireree said:
good idea, I will get the drill out and do that will save a bit of time and stop them filling the bowls up with shavings, the other cages are ok as their water bowls are on little shelves away from the floor.
Click to expand...

aye, it can also be done with a soldering iron, i think thats what i did my last lot with. glad it helped :cheers:

lee
 
great been and got them all water bottles so that will be one less job for me to do everyday, it is quite funny watching them all trying to work out what to do with it.
 
claireree said:
great been and got them all water bottles so that will be one less job for me to do everyday, it is quite funny watching them all trying to work out what to do with it.
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awwwwww, its quite funny watching the little babies, they can just about reach it, but are still a bit wobbly on their feet, so fall over a lot, lol all the process of learning :p
 
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