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My own formula

D

Dirk94

New member
Hey all,
Well, I made up my own formula for a sort of "supplement" to kind of "spread out" the dog food I've been using since it's so rich. Dogfood was all I had on hand, and it has a little bit more fat and protein than needed. So, I made my own little blocks of rodent feed to balance it out, plus provide a broader spectrum of nutrients. This is only my first day using it, and the pair of mice I have LOVE it! After a couple weeks we will know how good it is for them.

Here is the formula :

(--all ingredients can be scaled up to make more)

1c -- Whole grain rice
1/2c -- cheerios
1/2c -- bran flakes
1/2c -- oats
handful -- sunflower seeds
handful -- soybeans
3 -- egg whites

to prepare :

-- combine all dry ingredients into a bowl
-- crush them up with your hands and mix them as best as you can
-- put the combination into a blender
--blend until it is all a powder
-- put powder back into the bowl
-- add the three egg whites to the powder
-- mix together with your hand until the egg whites are evenly coating all of the dry ingredients
-- craft into small balls, cubes, etc. (like making russian teacakes) and place on a cookie sheet that has wax paper on it
-- bake at 350 for 15 minutes
-- let stand out over night to "stale out" and harden
-- feed to your mice!

So that was how to make it. I'll keep you all posted on how the mice are doing on this mixed diet of dog food/ homemade blocks!

Thanks,
--Mike
 
Oh and I almost forgot the warning!

WARNING : Dogs LOVE this stuff too! If you have dogs, don't store it out in the open or they will eat ALL OF IT!

Haha thanks,
--Mike
 
Sounds great. =) I can't wait to hear some more experienced opinions on this... I'm not surprised the dogs love it, too... They seem to love anything that isn't their own food!
 
That sounds like a great start!! Finding protein and nutrient rich feeds, for rodents is a lot of work and a lot of fun. I know my wife likes to visit the health food section and look through the loose product bins. Or, you could try the loose feed bins, at the grain store. In these places, you can find a lot of great grains, seeds and products, that my add flavor and nutrients, into the mixture. Don't be afraid to give them a try.

Sounds Great so far and please let us know, how this turns out!

Wayne
 
Thanks for the support Wayne! Haha do you think you could get your wife to take a look at it and give her expert opinion?

Thanks,
--Mike
 
Dirk94 said:
Thanks for the support Wayne! Haha do you think you could get your wife to take a look at it and give her expert opinion?

Thanks,
--Mike
Click to expand...

She likes it! It is definitely a great start! She said to be careful with the sun flower seeds, they are very fattening. The only two ingredients, that you add that she doesn't is the egg whites and rice. But, she is not baking them biscuits, either. There isn't anything wrong with those two ingredients, at all. The rice is a good starch and the egg whites offer great protein, plus bind the mixture together.

Check out flax seed and pine nuts, too! Also, find something that has a good supply of calcium, maybe the eggshells. Placing them in the blender and pulverizing them into a powder mixture, should work.

What you are doing is great and soon,your rodents will reap the benefits of a good diet.

Good Luck,

Wayne
 
Thanks for the tips! Honestly, the only reason I added egg whites was to bind the mixture together so that when you bake it it comes out in a hard block. Honestly, though, when you make it, the egg whites are a very very small portion of the whole mixture (I used the minumum amount possible that would still bind it together). Although, if you have any other suggestions of how to bind it that would be a great help!

And yes, I know that sunflower seeds are very fattening, but without them the blocks wouldn't really have any fat in them at all. And tbh, I guess it was actually more of a pinch of sunflower seeds than a handful (like maybe 15 unshelled seeds all together).

And thanks for the egg shell tip, I didn't even think of that!

Also, I do have flax seed in my freezer, I just wasn't sure if I should have added it or not, so I figured better safe than sorry. I'll be sure to add some in the next batch!

Thanks again for everything...tell your wife thanks!
--Mike
 
The egg whites are fine, they are a good for binding the mixture together, plus the added benefits of protein and it has very little to know saturated fat or cholesterol.

Here is a link: EggWhites

You can actually use that site to do a search for the nutritional value of just about any food item, you may wish to add.

Wayne

PS If I tell you something you may already know, I apologize, I am not sure what you know. I am just adding everything, so I can cover my bases. :cool:
 
Thanks again! Sorry if that comment sounded a tad snotty, I tried to make it as not rude as i could -- I really am extremely greatful for all of your input!

Thanks,
--Mike
 
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