# deer meat?



## GibblyGiblets (Oct 2, 2011)

I was thinking of something.

We're going to be getting a bunch of deer meat over the next few weeks from several of my grandfathers friends who went hunting this season (about 180 total pounds o3o)

and while I could live off the stuff, my grandfather isn't supposed to eat a lot of red meat anymore so he won't be eating much, a lot of it will be for the cats as well. but I was thinking.

would feeding deer meat (fully cooked of course) to the mice be ok?

I have never fed them "red" meat before but they do like chicken and turkey

or would the risk of parasites be too great? It wouldn't be an everyday thing, maybe once or twice every week whenever the mood strikes me to cook some for myself.

what do you think? good idea, or no?


----------



## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I can't see parasites in cooked meat being a problem,if it's fit for you it must be for them.If I had access to surplus meat I'd def use it.I wonder if it could be dried?I've used dried fish and they liked that.You can buy dried meat in the UK,to expensive for the mice though.


----------



## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

Deer meat should be fine for them in small doses, or like you said once or twice a week. If you have access to the deer antlers or bones mice love those and that is what they chew on in the wild.


----------



## TrixYogurt (iM) (Oct 28, 2012)

I've always read that all "red" meat is harmful and shouldn't be fed to mice, but I don't know...


----------



## Cordane (May 22, 2012)

That's what I have come across every now and then as well but no one ever said why


----------



## TrixYogurt (iM) (Oct 28, 2012)

I'm not really sure either. I was told it could affect their liver. I'd rather be safe than sorry when feeding my mice anything. If more than three people haven't said they feed their mice something I won't try it. And if even one person says it might be bad I'm not risking it.


----------



## littlelovesmousery (May 19, 2012)

Would the bones cause the same problems as the red meat?


----------



## GibblyGiblets (Oct 2, 2011)

Well, in the "foods mice like" thread in the meat section is says cooked ground beef, beef is a "red meat" and surely wild game meat wouldn't be as harsh as domestic meat?

I dunno maybe I'll test it out on one of my expendable bucks (as mean as that sounds xD, planning on replacing him anyways o3o) to see how he acts?

I have babies right now and I was thinking mainly as an extra boost of protien but I don't want to kill off the mothers or something.


----------



## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

I'm not really sure. There can't be too many bad effects because this is what they use in the wild to chew on. Apparently chicken bones are safe to chew on and I'm pretty sure deer bones aren't any worse than chicken bones. When I still used my 50 gallon tank, my dad shot a deer and the skull of it went in the mouse cage. They chewed it all the time. It was in there for a few months because I thought it looked cool, ya know, mice sleeping in the eye sockets and stuff, and my mice never got sick from it. It was the coolest thing.


----------



## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

That does sound quite a cool ornament!


----------



## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

It's highly unlikely cooked meat of any kind would be harmful...mice are scavengers and opportunistic, I imagine they'd eat it if they came accross it in the wild. I've always given my rodents dog food with various meats in them...usually just chicken b/c its cheapest, but they've gotten foods with beef, bison, and pork before. I imagine large amounts of red meats could cause the same potential problems as in humans....but that is the only reason I could red meat being an issue at all.


----------



## AyJay658 (Jan 15, 2012)

I spoil one of my mice a bit...I tend to give him food that I am eating at the time if I am holding him or if he is out of his nest. But I have given him tiny mouthfuls of sausage without any problems and he loved it.


----------



## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

I do that too with Tippy and Solly. If I am eating something I will throw my leftovers in their cage if they're not in the nest. Stuff like pizza crust, apple cores, croutons, as long as it wont make them sick, and only very small portions. They are spoiled rotten.


----------

