# Questions About Homemade Feed



## FishNMouse

I'm looking into having pet mice, about 3 does. I really want to make a homemade mix, but don't know if that's a great idea with only a few mice. I don't really like lab blocks, and those are the only healthy foods for mice I can find around here. 
Is this mix alright?

30%- Rolled Oats
20%- Barley Flakes
20%- Wheat Germ
30%- Parakeet Mix or Wild Bird seed

I need to supplement with dog food or some sort of animal protein, correct?

I'm ordering online, and can only buy the wheat and barley online in 1lb bags. I'm guessing it could expire before it is all eaten, unless we eat some ourselves. (Not the bird food of course :lol: )

Thanks in advance!


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## Cait

Mice eat more than you might think. Personally I'd skip the wheat. I breed for show and I use a mix of rolled oats, flaked barley, mixed wild bird seed and complete dog food (dry). You'll need less protein and fat if you're not breeding though. There are loads of things available in supermarkets and health food shops if you're only feeding a few pet mice that would be suitable.


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## FishNMouse

Thanks for the reply!
Could I substitute it with something like quinoa, lentils, or rye? I'll have to look more closely next time we go grocery shopping. I won't be breeding, but I'm hoping to get mice from a breeder since I don't want to support rodent mills. My pet store seems to organize them by color, even though the tags say male and female. So they would still need a higher protein diet than normal pet store mice, right?
Would this parakeet mix be okay? http://www.petco.com/product/110119/Hea ... Parakeets# Is there too much millet? If I do use this, could I still use millet to get them used to me?

Thanks again! Sorry for all the questions.


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## Cait

That mix has mint in it and mice aren't supposed to like that (natural repellent) although how true that is I can't say since I've never tested the theory! Bird products also sometimes contain grit, which can cause problems for mice. Simple may well be the best option. I don't know what products are available in the US but hopefully someone else can guide you on brand names or sources.

As for the grains, oats and barley would be sufficient but you could add more variation if you want to. The dog food is likely to contain corn anyway though (grain based is fine for mice).


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## FishNMouse

Haha, it's amazing how much I've learned about UK products and become let-downed when I find it isn't available in the US. :lol:

Huh, never knew mice didn't like mint. That's interesting! I might just look into a wild bird seed so we can use it in our backyard too. Although I remember our last bird food had lots of corn and sunflower, but I can pick those out no problem.

Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate it!


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## Cait

Sunflower is fine for mice, it's just higher in fat so beware of giving too much. They also like millet. Since you have pets rather than exhibition mice, it's probably still practical for you to offer millet sprigs hung from the cage roof or just placed inside the cage. They will strip these pretty quickly!


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## FishNMouse

I read on here about sunflower seeds causing tumors/cancer? It was a old post from 2010 I believe, though. 
Millet snips are on the shopping list then, bet they will be handy for socializing too. 
Would a piece of kibble per mouse every or every other day be good for the animal protein? Could I also use a little piece of chicken meat too? 
Sorry, these questions keep popping into my head!


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## Serena

The problem with cancer is, that there are many contributing factors to it.
It is very difficult to pin it exactly to one cause in most cases.
I have read about corn causing cancers. Am I sure it does- definitely not. The same goes for most other food sources.
In most cases there's just not enough statistical evidence to support it. 
Anecdotes are useful in giving ideas to investigate certain things further, but they don't offer proof. (the plural of anecdote is not evidence)-
You need large studies under controlles situations to confirm "hunches". Otherwise it's just not reliable.

kibble is a good source of animal protein. so is plain boiled chicken without any spices. You could use mealworms, too. My mice really love them when they are alive.


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## Laigaie

Other good protein sources: pig ears, dried snouts, scrambled or hardboiled eggs.


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## FishNMouse

Serena- Thank you so much! That's a really good lesson in general. I'll be feeding them sunflower seeds then. 
Is freeze-dried a suitable substitute when it comes to meal worms? I know with fish (of course they are completely different) freeze dried foods can cause bloating because they soak up water, so maybe it could cause more thirst. Of course, it wouldn't be like a giant meal of them, but just wondering.

Laigaie- Cool, didn't know about the pig ears or snouts. I'll be using egg too, I don't mind sharing those! :lol:


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## Serena

What I forgot last time- there's even a mouse mammary tumor virus. nasty thing.

I feed freeze dried mealworms, too. I also got some dried silkworm pupae and some dried small fish for them. A little bit for every taste  I treid the pig ears once, too. Some really liked it. I have to get some more, soon.
Since they chew before they swallow and the food gets moist with saliva, dried food shouldn't really be a problem. Mine seem to do finde with the dried proteins. (Unlike my guppys- they look like marbles with fins after eating FD red mosquito larvae  )


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## FishNMouse

Oh gosh, when my Betta is good at begging, I just picture him looking like a balloon and convince myself to stop feeding him more bloodworms. :lol:

I think I'm going to end up feeding a wild bird food with the corn and some sunflower seeds picked out. All the pet bird foods have so much ground soy and corn. But all the wild bird food seems to be just millet if I pick out the corn. *shakes head* I wouldn't be suprised if I end up getting a pet bird food, I guess. More variety of seeds. I might just try to find a bird food with the least corn and soy.
I was never good with decisions. :roll:

Edit- Is milo alright for mice? Seems to be in all the bird food.


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## FishNMouse

Hey, sorry for the double post, I was just hoping you guys could help me choose a good bird food.

At the moment, my will-be mix is
30%- Rolled Oats
30%- Buckwheat
20%- Rolled Barley
30%- Bird Food

I'm stumped on which bird food I should get. I'm trying to find one with a good variety, maybe good enough that I'll take out the buckwheat and replace it with oats or barley. I just want lots of variety! So, I was considering

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... lInUS%2FNo

Thought this would be good, no corn or wheat, and not too much sunflower.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... lInUS%2FNo

This one looked really good, not that much wheat, but I'm not sure about the popcorn? I could always pick that out, no big deal. I can always buy sunflower seeds separate too!

Main reason I don't want the normal wild bird food is because nearly all I can find is mostly corn and sunflower seeds, and all that would be left is some millet and milo.

Thanks!


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## Laigaie

The first food is mostly millet, which is fine for about 10-15% of your feed. The second feed has "field peas" which I assume is dried peas. Some folks avoid legumes on the idea that raw legumes have anti-nutrients--stuff that makes it more difficult to digest nutrients. Even making up the other fifteen percent of your food with additional oats should be fine. What protein are you using? Using all grains is great for the bulk of their nutrition, but it tends to be a bit shy of protein, and lacks salt (they start licking the salts out of their dried urine after a while, so I highly recommend a bit of kibble).


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## FishNMouse

I'll be using freeze dried mealworms and dog kibble, maybe dog treats? I'll see if I can get dog food samples since it'd take forever to get through a bag, and not sure if the animal shelter would take an opened bag of food. 
My LAST try at finding bird-food, I promise! Sorry for all the questions, I'm so bad at deciding and you guys are a great help!

http://www.petco.com/product/109085/eCO ... _Parakeets

So that one is kinda expensive, but I think it might work?? I'm not sure about the charcoal and the chili, but it seems pretty far down the list. Also, it has a high protein, so even if it's expensive, I'd use less, right? I promise, my last attempt. :roll:

Thank you so much though, you guys don't know how big of a help you are to me!


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## Laigaie

Chili is in bird feeds in part to stop rodents from eating it.


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## Miceandmore64

Havent seen any chilli in mine  i have parrot mix the sunflower seeds are fine for my mice I have never had an overweight mouse


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