# Confused about Homemade Diet



## FishNMouse (Dec 10, 2013)

For my future mice, I intend to feed them a homemade diet, because I am not a fan of any of the store bought mixes. But, I'm having some trouble with calculating what goes into my food. When I am calculating the percentages of protein and fat, am I supposed to be taking the percentages from the Guaranteed Analysis? Or should I be looking for things like 5 grams of protein, etc? 
Also, how would using a food made for pets, like a finch food, ensure my mice get all the vitamins and minerals they need? Should I be calculating the carbs and fiber too?
Finally, am I overthinking this? 
Thanks!


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

To answer your questions in reverse order, yes you're overthinking it a little. But that's okay!

As for vitamins and minerals, in general if you're feeding whole foods as a majority of the diet, or you have a complete food as a substantial part of the diet, they'll be fine. By whole foods I mean things like oats. By complete foods I mean rodent/layer pellets or dog food. That said, homemade food mixes are often a work in progress. I had a great mix of all whole foods that hit all the right numbers for nutrients. They did great. But then they started LICKING THEIR OWN PEE OFF THE GLASS! (I use aquariums.) A quick Google later and I determined that my diet was lacking sufficient salt. An increase in the dog kibble portion of the diet solved the problem. So long as you don't make tons, you can edit as you go. As far as carbs and fiber, you should be okay so long as you're avoiding processed foods (no added sugars, bleached flour, etc) and using appropriate ingredients. So maybe use plain Cheerios instead of the honey nut ones, and no dried fruit. With the edit-as-you-go thing, you can pay attention to whether your mice are staying a little thin or getting too fat.

For the first question, it's kinda complicated. Yes, take the percentages off the GA, but then remember that those are percentages by WEIGHT not volume, and that different foods will have different densities, meaning that you can't necessarily use your ratios from the calculations as ratios for scoops. Are you having trouble with the process?


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## FishNMouse (Dec 10, 2013)

Thank you so much for replying, your reply was really informational! I plan on doing a mix of whole foods and commercial bird and dog food. I've basically narrowed down my mix to a few ingredients. 
A mix of rye, barley, oat, and wheat flakes that I can get from the grocery store. The food should be 70% this, correct?
Whole Earth Farms Chicken and Turkey Dog Food for protein and fat. http://www.petco.com/product/124289/Who ... ood-124289
Higgins Vita Seed Parakeet Food http://www.petco.com/product/122490/Hig ... _Parakeets (Safe, right?)
And possibly this http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=7702 if there is not enough fat and protein. 
How do I calculate the percentages?

I'm still stumped on whether or not I should just feed the dog food separately or include it in the mix. I may go to the petstore to see what kind of dog food samples they have that I could use, so I'm not stuck with a giant bag.


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