# Seeds



## MouseHeaven (Oct 25, 2010)

I met someone who owns a nursery and sells thousands of seeds at super cheap prices, I would like to buy some to feed to my mice..but I don't know if they are safe for mice to eat.. Any help?

Here are a list of the seeds:
Iceberg Head Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Seed
Danvers Half Long Carrot (Daucus carota) Seed
Organic Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) Seeds
Organic Hard Red Wheat (Triticum ssp.) Seed
Tendergreen Mustard (Brassica rapa) Seeds
White Egg Turnip (Brassica rapa) Seeds
Amber Globe Turnip (Brassica rapa) Seeds
Georgia Blue-Stem Collard (Brassica oleracea) Seeds
Late Flat Dutch Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) Seeds
Athena Rapeseed (Brassica napus) Seeds
American Purple Top Rutabaga (B. napobrassica) Seeds
Italian (Crimson) Clover (Trifolium incarnatum) Seeds

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

None of those are familiar to me in regards to seeds that mice can safely eat, but I did look into Quinoa and it should be cooked or sprouted before given to mice. The others sound a bit dubious to be honest. Rapeseed (usually very tiny black seeds) are not loved by mice. I get those in my canary mix and the girls don`t eat them.

I would`nt risk them.


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## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

Most of those seeds are the Brassica familly, are fine turnip and rape seed can have a mustardy taste but should be ok,crimson clover is a green manure farmers use to plough back into the land Trifolium that is ok too .Chenopodium which is a weed known as fat hen chickens love to eat that plant the seeds are not poisonous the one you have quinoa is an edible seed but dont you try to eat it just in case lol but will be ok for the mice.I think if these seeds were left in a shed the wild mice would eat them lol .Im not sure about the nutrient content of the seed but maybe washing the seed and sprouting some of it they may like that.Daucus carota is classed as a serious weed in the U.S so dont know why he had that seed. Water hemlock a plant related to Daucus carota shouldnt be handled it is toxic and deadly, Daucus carota is the only seed im not sure about it grows wild all over the uk very prolific im not sure about feeding this seed to mice so be carefull incase this has a toxicity in it, the rest using my knowledge seems fine but like I said I dont know what nutritonal value if any your mice could get.They love Marigold seed , Dahlia seed, Zinnia, alot of the composite familly.I dont know alot about the biology of a mouse but I would think it would know by its smell if it was safe to eat or not?
Mice love grass seed the nurseryman migt have some of that for you.Its strange what a wild mouse will eat if its hungry they love Tulip bulbs, crocus bulbs and will eat seed sown in a greenhouse or garden , they wait till the seed swells up then steal it.


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

I would google and research each seed in turn to find out it`s toxicity if fed to mice. I mean, if most flower and veggie seeds were all safe, why are they never added to animal feeds in the first place if they hold any nutritional value? Approach with caution because once ingested, it`s not easy to reverse symptoms. If you can`t eat them, neither can the mice! Mice are usually good at knowing what`s safe and what`s not in terms of foodstuffs, but please, don`t risk it. Wild mice might indeed eat some of them, but do they live to tell the tale? They are not captive mice.


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## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

Like racingmouse said do your own research if your still not sure,I just looked up about the seed Daucus carota and studies were done on it for it properties of birth control .Tests were done on mice and was found to disrupt the ovum implantation process so if you breed mice I wouldnt feed them that, I found it on wilkpedia.Thats probably why the seed has no nutritional value racingmouse so they would never add turnip or cabbage seed into a mouse mix lol, she was given the seed and wondered if it was any good for feeding.Obviously the most popular seed in mixes is the sunflower but they can be fattening .Like any plant or seed your not sure about do not risk it if you wouldnt eat it dont let your mice, but the seeds such as I described before are ok .Do your own research its great fun looking up plant names and finding out who discovered them and where etc I have a big plant dictionary of latin names and a description of the plant.I havnt got a garden now but I brought my library ofplant books with me.


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## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

I was reading the contents of Rabbit food today and one of the items is carob meal what is that? the Rabbit feed had a content of 13% protein so you wouldnt need to add any kibble if you were making your own mix.


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

Try googling it geordie? Rabbit mix does`nt contain animal proteins as rabbits are vegetarian! That`s why I have to add the gravy bones (or in others` cases, dog kibble) to rabbit mix or home-made grain/seed mixes) It`s not truly necessary, but I hav`nt got the superior knowledge to know what the overall protein content would be either way, so I chose to use the gravy bones as a small addition to my mix. Only a small addition as I don`t like feeding high protein levels.


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## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

Im certainly not knowledgeable either Racingmouse ,I was reading the analytical constituents of the waag Bunny brunch Protein 13%, Fat Content 4.5%, Crude Fibre 10%, Crude Ash 5%. Seeds and some other items must contain protein as well? there is the link.Rabbits certainly do need proteinjust like Humans but too much is harmfull our Rabbit fanciers on the forum will explain it im sure
http://www.waggfoods.co.uk/products.aspx?ProductID=8
http://www1.extension.umn.edu/youth/mn4 ... t-feed.pdf


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

Had a look at the Wagg food geordie and typically, it contains many of the things I would pick out:

Flaked maize (corn)
Lucerne (alfalfa and pelleted grass)
Whole maize (corn....again!)
Carob meal (Locust beans)

These four listed above are usually found in many commercial mixes, be them for rats, rabbits, hamsters etc.... The rabbit mix I use is Burgess Supa Natural rabbit fibre mix. It only has the maize/corn in it and none of the other things and has lovely flaked grains like barley, oats and wheat. So that was my main reason for choosing this rabbit mix over many others, which all seem to have the alfalfa and locust beans. At least with my mix, I don`t have those to pick out aswell as the corn!

And yes, many grains (if not all) contain proteins. Some more than others.


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## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

The only items my mice would really eat in the waag RM was the green flakes, and flaked maze thats why I started to make my own too much waste.


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

I`ve never had a mouse yet that will eat pea flakes! Most of mine get chucked aswell as the corn. :roll:


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