# Mouse Food Idea - Think it would be popular?



## shadowmouse (Sep 17, 2010)

I was pondering starting up a mouse feed business. I know it would take lots of research/testing, but it might work if I could get generate interest. Does anyone know of any really good organic mouse food currently on the market?

I would need to buy in HUGE quantities and it would take awhile to find good suppliers. I would want to go with the best quality available. Pure organic and I was thinking I would probably go human grade. I could do a feed mix and a treat mix. I could even run custom mixes.

Before I went any further on exploring the idea... What do you all think? Would it even be something people would buy? I know breeders would probably just buy in bulk themselves, but what about pet owners?


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## The Boggit keeper (Mar 5, 2010)

Hi, I'm a pet owner and so only buy in reasonably small amounts as I don't have a great deal of storage space. I currently feed off the shelf Rat and also Mouse mix at about 25% of each and cut it with 50% mixed grains base mix which I buy from ratRations. The main problem with this for me is the delivery cost. My last order of 5kg of mixed grains (£5.)and a few other bits and pieces cost £6.95 to post. I am lucky as only having 7 mice I can afford to treat them but you may find that the delivery costs put people off.


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## bethmccallister (Mar 5, 2010)

You could always start out small and sell the mix in pet shops that might be more in tune to the needs of organix. I would have bought it for sure if I found it when I was first starting out. Sometimes I shop for quality and convenience rather then cost but it would have to be local too. The stuff I use now (and I'm always shopping around and experimenting) is from an exotic bird store that sells fresh mixes (about 20 different for all the breeds of birds) but I find it too fattening so now I'm trying to modify it.


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## shadowmouse (Sep 17, 2010)

Interesting... I would definitely need to ship to sell enough to make things profitable. We just don't have a lot of quality mouse people around here. By that I mean that people around here do not know that Kaytee is not the best food out there. They are the kind that buy one mouse from the pet store and feed it something that is labeled MOUSE FOOD. I would need to get out there and spread the word about Organic Mouse Food and it's benefits. That would mean going to Pet Expos and small animals swaps around the twin cities.


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## bethmccallister (Mar 5, 2010)

Your best bet is to start contacting pet shops near you. Perhaps take some samples in with your contact information on the label for ordering purposes. I'm wondering what the regulations are for pet food. Hopefully you just need to list out the ingredients. One thing I've noticed is that people like to buy the brands that say what vitamins & minerals are in it and that there are no added dyes or fillers...

You can always make business cards with a coupon code for discounts on first time orders...


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I wish there was a larger market for it over here. I'd love to be able to buy my mouse food pre-mixed without having to worry about looking at the ingredients like most pre mixed stuff over here. :roll:

Buying 6 50 pound bags isn't very . . . elegant? :lol:


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## shadowmouse (Sep 17, 2010)

bethmccallister said:


> Your best bet is to start contacting pet shops near you. Perhaps take some samples in with your contact information on the label for ordering purposes. I'm wondering what the regulations are for pet food. Hopefully you just need to list out the ingredients. One thing I've noticed is that people like to buy the brands that say what vitamins & minerals are in it and that there are no added dyes or fillers...
> 
> You can always make business cards with a coupon code for discounts on first time orders...


All very good thoughts. I do wonder about regulations.


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## CatWoman (Jun 19, 2010)

It's not nearly as easy as mixing up a batch of food, sticking a label on it, and taking it up to the pet shop to sell.

To start with, a reputable "regular" pet shop wouldn't even consider stocking food that doesn't meet the minimum regulatory standards. A specialty pet shop that is targeting people that want organic and holistic foods would have even higher standards, because their consumer base is comprised of people who don't want the "crap" that the regular pet stores sell.

In the US, producing and selling pet food is regulated at both the federal and state level. You need to start by exploring those regulations, including where your state regulations different from the federal regulations, and determining which regulation takes precedence in those cases. The FDA website s a good starting point - go under the "Animal and Veterinary" menu, then use the search box. (If you use the search box from the top level menu, you get too much junk.)

As far as labeling goes, there are restrictions on what you can name your product, based on the amounts of certain types of ingredients. At a bare minimum, the package must bear a label that includes a unique, registered name, the ingredient list, and a guaranteed analysis of the nutrition value of that specific combination of ingredients. You have to insure that each bag bearing that labeled contains the same formulation, unless you've initiated the label changes process. For the nutritional analysis, you have to send samples of each variety/formulation you produce to a FDA certified lab - you can't just add up the values of each ingredient yourself and call it a day.

There's a whole other boatload of regulations that apply to your physical production, packaging, and distribution areas and those are increased exponentially if you want to declare that the food is organic or that you're using human grade ingredients. Some of those regulations may even come from your local health department, so you have to be aware of that too. Then there's also issues of storage - both for outgoing product and ongoing storage, because the food has to be sampled at specific intervals and those samples have to be maintained for a specific amount of time, just in case a problem arises with a batch of food and you need to test for contaminants.

That doesn't even begin to address the personal and moral obligations involved in putting yourself out there as an authority on any aspect of caring for a pet. You have to stop and ask yourself those other important questions, too. Do you have enough education and personal knowledge of mouse physiology and health to know that the recipe you're providing is -truly- a complete, balanced, and species-appropriate diet? Do you have enough knowledge of grain storage and food production to insure product safety? If not, do you have ongoing support from people who do have that expertise?

If you decide to "go it alone" - on what information are you basing your recipe and production methods? Have you researched and reviewed published literature, found in peer-reviewed sources that are well-respected within the food production industry and the exotic veterinary community? Or are you basing your pet food on information "Iheartmymouse" posted on an internet forum, and "Mice4Ever" agreed was correct, even though they lacked any supporting documentation? I don't ask that question with the intention of disparaging internet forums - I ask it because when it comes to the health of -my- animals, the latter is simply NOT good enough.

You also have to consider the financial aspects. Are you in a position financially to bear the burden of veterinary costs involved in trying to save 50 or 100 family pets that became ill as a result of food borne illness? Or if you market wholesale, can you bear the personal burden of knowing the food cost a breeder years effort developing a particular line of mice, and the financial burden of the replacement value of their lost stock? The financial costs can climb very high, very quickly.

There's also some deeply personal issues involved. Are you willing to accept the incredible amount of responsibility that comes with making food for other people's pets? It's one thing to make a mistake that causes illness in our own pets, but what if you make a mistake that causes illness in another person's pet(s)? Stop and think back over the last few weeks with your family - just the things I've seen you post about how excited your son is, about bonding over popsicle stick creations, the shopping and preparing and choosing the exact mice. Can you live with knowing another family could experience that same kind of anticipation and excitement, then find their mice dead in the tanks one morning because of a "bad batch" of your food? It's easy to think it'll never happen to you, but look through the FDA website and you'll see just how often food contamination happens, even in production environments that were designed with that exact purpose in mind and that have specific safety regulations and cleaning protocols in place to prevent it.

It's a lot to think about.


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## shadowmouse (Sep 17, 2010)

Good thoughts, CatWoman. All good things to think about. I was still at the stage of wondering if the mouse hobby world would even support such an product, but you jumped way ahead. It's definitely a scary and daunting undertaking. It might be too much for me, but I'd still like to do some research. Who knows... Maybe by the time I've had mice for a few years I will be ready to get serious about it. I certainly wasn't foolish enough to think it would happen next week or even next year. Look how long it took me just to get to the point of owning a mouse! It's been at least a year since we started looking into it.


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## CatWoman (Jun 19, 2010)

I have a raw cat food recipe that I developed for some of my cats and friends ask me all the time if I'll make and sell them some or why I don't try to market it. Initially, I looked into it seriously, because people kept bugging me about it and let's face it - who can't use a little extra cash for something you're doing anyway?!

That post is the reasons my answer is now and will remain "sorry, but no." It doesn't necessarily mean someone else's answer has to be no though.


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## bethmccallister (Mar 5, 2010)

Very good information CatWoman, I appreciate you sharing all the research that you've done. That takes a lot of the quess work out of wondering when you are able to communicate with someone that has had the experience first hand. Kudos!

Shadowmouse, it's still a good idea even though it doesn't sound like it will be that easy. There is definately a hole to fill even though you might need a backhoe!


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