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Who mixes their own rodent chow?

ghosthousecorns

ghosthousecorns

Well-known member
Well Mazuri is what I usually use to feed mice, but my ASF don't seem to like it much. I tried to get them to eat it and they just pile it in front of the hide as a "privacy screen" and it goes to waste.
I have been experimenting with different mixes for them. I've been using a mixture of "sweet feed" made for horses, dog chow (I made sure it had no dyes in it) and black oil sunflower seeds. They seem to be doing fine on it. I may switch the mice to it when the lab blocks run out as the Mazuri gets spendy.. I got to wondering if anybody else does this and what ingredients do you use?
 
Sweet feed tends to have molasses in it, and it might be a tad high in sugar for a small mammal, but it has lots of fiber and grain in it as well.

I mix my own rodent chow. They get a cycle of three different foods, one being my marvelous Micecream, inspired by BML sugarglider food. I'm sure humans could live off the stuff. :D

The next diet is a simple mixed-grain scratch staple with oats, corn, alfalfa pellets, and whatever else they put in scratch grain. ;)

The third is a high-protien & high calcium version of my micecream. It has RepCal in it as well as high-quality kitten chow and chicken & turkey babyfood. :)

My mice get water and apple juice or orange juice, as a sweet drink. ;)
 
So funny, Jen! I just made a new batch of my rodent chow today and was thinking about posting the ingredients! :) Since you made the post, here it is!

  • 5lb Black Oil Sunflower Seeds $2.50
  • 5lb Premium Rabbit Pellets $2.00 (I buy a big 50lb bag at a time)
  • 42oz Oatmeal $3.00
  • 24oz Raisins $2.50
  • 2lb Dried Bananas $1.50 (dry my own)
  • 2lb Dried Peas $5.00

I offer a scoop of this every other day in addition to their lab block.
 
This is the mix I use. I buy 50 pounds of each so it makes 400 pounds. The finished mix has a crude analysis of 14.2% protein, 7.0% fat, 8.9% fiber. I have used this mix as total diet and also as a supplement to lab blocks.

16% Lay Pellets
Whole Milo
Cracked Corn
Bird Scratch (mix of corn, wheat, milo)
Crimped Oats
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
Purina Turkey Grower 22% protein
Farm and Ranch Cat Food
 
I don't know if you experience this but ASFs are huge chewers. I noticed that if I gave them rodent chow they would simply chew to dust anything they didn't actually eat. They have wood blocks and pumice stone for this activity but they don't seem to differentiate. It helped when I added whole kernel corn to the mix. I think it slowed them down.
Terri
 
I mix my own, its not always the same but the basic ingredients are:

Millet, like what you feed to parakeets
safflower seeds, less fat then sunflower seed
dried lentils
uncooked brown rice
alfalfa pellets
calf mana- this is a new ingredient and I won't use it again, the mice don't seem to like it.
I need to get some cracked corn to add, they seem to like that also.

Any other dry grain I have can also go in the mix along with a little dried fruit. Once a week I feed a good quality dog food for a bit of extra protein and variety. I've also been known to give mealworms as a treat.
ASF rats shouldn't get the extra protein, they do better with a vegatable based diet.

I've given up on premade rodent food, its usually too heavy in sunflower seeds and has things in it they won't eat. Everyone is doing really well and producing great. I've also notuced the babies grow better with a good seed mix then on rodent block.
 
out here in Spain lab block is hard to find, so I mainly mix mine with sunflower seeds then a mix of rabbit and bird seed with kitten biscuits and cornflakes mixed in and they love it. At the moment as it is cold then are also getting hay for bedding and food.

The alfafa you all talk about, what is this???
 
just read my last post, stupid me he got Straw instead of hay. Mainly need it for the warmth as cold at night even though the hay is good for food as well.
 
Here are pics of my rodent chow. Sort of colorful. :laugh:

rodent-chow.jpg


asf-eatting.jpg
 
My asfs won't eat the lab blocks either. I buy hamster/gerbil mix then add sunflower seeds, raisins and more millet to it. I give them a mix of carrots, broccoli and whatever other veggie scraps I have left over and they really like that. I only have a fairly small colony (a dozen breeders set up in 1.2 trios) so i didn't do a cost analysis but they like it and seem to be producing at a rate faster than I need for my own snakes.
 
Mine are like rabbits too! Big litters and often. I have been giving them a carrot piece every few days and they love it. Apples too. I tried green beans and they ate those too. I am not sure about the strict vegetarianism of them because when I had them on lab blocks they did eat a couple of their babies. I might just have really vicious ones though.
TME yours are cute! Looks like they love their chow...
 
Really want to see them get excited throw a few crickets in their cage. They will freak out and chase them all over the cage. I feed mine lab block and also a seed mixture. They seem to really enjoy crickets and Carrots.
 
NEAT. I never thought of that. That's hours of entertainment right there, lol! I'm definitely going to try a little "live" food soon ^_^.
 
My ASFs eat dog pellets with parrot mix (sunflower seeds etc) mixed in and are very happy on it. I have also read that ASFs like getting more fresh veggies. So mine get the odd carrot, boiled egg, cow hooves (like the ones you get for your dogs) which they really enjoy chewing.

PS: ASFs ROCK!!!!!!! I've combined my two mouse colonies into one so that I can have more ASFs!!! lol
 
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