How does this seem?

by RenGale Thu 09 Jan 2020, 7:18 pm

Any thoughts on this feed recipe?

https://woodgreen.org.uk/pet-advice/article/what-to-feed-your-mice

by Nieve5552 Fri 10 Jan 2020, 3:00 am

I would say it isn't ideal diet for mice.

Most of the info on the page looks good, apart from the 'rabbit food' and 'low sugar cereals' section.
Rabbits are (almost) strictly herbivores while mice are omnivores/granivores/opportunists. Rabbit feed would usually contain alfalfa, hay etc which does not constitute mice diet even in the wild, and probably best avoided. I don't know the full ingredients of all the rat feed listed, but none of them jumps out as being familiar to me as 'good' quality rat food from my short few years of religiously foraging through rat forum back when I had rats. The supreme reggie rat for example has whole maize, which are susceptible to harbouring mycotoxins (microscopic fungus from my memory) which can be toxic to rodents. The same brand makes Science Selective Rat as well as Science Selective Mouse both of which would be better for mice health. Though these are processed blocks so it'd be best to largely supplement with whole grain/seed mix to encourage natural foraging behaviour which the page also mentions.

The cereal part, stuff like shredded wheat, oats, weetbix, rice krispies are OK. But I'd definitely rather lean towards completely no added sugar cereals. Some depending on the ingredients will have natural sugar from either the grain or dried fruit mixed into it, but any added sugar on top of that would be bad for mice health, and they already have very short lifespans.
Its correct in saying that there are very limited good quality diets available for mice though.

by RenGale Fri 10 Jan 2020, 3:24 am

I just mixed some seed mix I got at Walmart, mouse blocks I found at Petco, a handful of small dog treats and a handful of uncooked pasta. My mice seem to really not like the blocks, as they always eat that last. The yellow box is the seed mix, blue bag is mouse blocks.

by Nieve5552 Fri 10 Jan 2020, 3:34 am

RenGale wrote:I just mixed some seed mix I got at Walmart, mouse blocks I found at Petco, a handful of small dog treats and a handful of uncooked pasta. My mice seem to really not like the blocks, as they always eat that last.

Make sure to read the mouse diet info sticky'd on this forum Smile

http://www.petmousefanciers.com/t15-mouse-diet

I'd check the seed mix for any too fatty seeds like sunflower and make sure it has a good enough variety, and check the dog protein contents of the dog treats. If the dog treats take up too much % of your total feed mix your mice could be getting too much protein.

by Nieve5552 Fri 10 Jan 2020, 3:55 am

Hmm now that I see the photos.. I'd definitely recommend changing over to something more natural. There seems to be some type of food colouring in all of those, and since two of the bases have 19 - 20% protein it likely will be much too high in the final mix. Pets really don't need food colouring in their feed, it would do more harm than good. Kibbled corn can get mycotoxin too I believe, and I also don't think theres any need for added sucrose and molasses.

by Robin~ Fri 10 Jan 2020, 10:11 am

Mice should have a base of a good pellet (such as Mazuri Rat and Mouse or Oxbow Adult Rat) with a smaller portion of bird or hamster mix for variety. You’ll want to aim for a food without any added dyes and fewer allergens. I personally feed both of the block I listed with a pinch of bird seed every other day.

Relying solely off a bird mix like the topic linked implies can cause your mouse to become malnourished as bird seed isn’t fortified.