# Oats question



## jessierose2006

ok i know you cant feed quick oats to any small animal

is the old fashioned oats ok or is it still quick oats it didnt say anywhere on the container about being quick oats wasnt sure if this was just another name for rolled oats


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## geordiesmice

I give mine porridge oats in there seed mix.Quick oats is just quickly cooked then dried.


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## jessierose2006

i thought quick oats were bad for them? i know we couldnt give our rabbits quick oats just rolled oats.


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## geordiesmice

Porridge oats mixed with other cereals is fine to give tyo mice , but I wouldnt just give them porridge oats on there own a Fancy mouse will eat 8g of food a day .Mix it with white, yellow red millet , barley, rice not cooked,mixed corn groats add some budgie seed too peanuts not too many fattening ,sunflower seeds.I took advice off this forum and went to the health food shops that sell pulses seeds etc in bulk where you help yourself .You can get some great foods there for your mice shop local they help you more.
• Green vegetables (small amounts)
-Leafy greens 
-Broccoli
• Crunchy Fruits (not citrus)
-Apples
-Celery
-Carrots
• Garden Peas
• Mealworms ,not giant mealworms they say Mice are frightened of them lol
-(bring out your mouse's inner hunter) 
-(warning: a little gross) 
• Cooked pasta 
-Wormlike pastas (spaghetti)
• Cereal
-(my mouse likes Cherios 
• Dry bread
• Store bought treats
Digestive biscuits


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## jessierose2006

ok. ive been feeding a hamster/gerbil blend or sometimes a cockatiel/hamster blend with corn flakes put on top 2 times a week. and they get 1 mouse/rat block per mouse a week. i have been puting oats on top of normal food with the pregnant doe and the hopefully pregnant doe to help with nutrition and i have been giving them 1 slice per mouse of carrot 2 times a week as they arent fast about eating it.


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## MouseHeaven

You can also give her some cooked eggs, which is a great source of protein. Little bits of meat won't hurt either, such as tuna, cooked turkey or chicken, chopped meat (rinse with hot water to remove the greese); stay away from any kind of pork products. Some things you might already find in your refridgerator are plain yogurt (low fat), tofu, low fat cottage cheese, cucumbers, broccoli, green beans, romane lettuce, apples, etc.


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## Jack Garcia

Oats are my mice's primary food, either plain (whole oats) or as ingredients in cereals and lab blocks.


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## jessierose2006

ok. and oats wont leed to fat mice i know with rabbits it would if you gave it to them in their everyday diet (or at least mine :roll: )


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## geordiesmice

If your not sure just buy a mouse mix.


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## moustress

Dairy products from cow's milk are not good for meeces. I think someone, (Rhasputin?) mentioned this when I was fostering an orphaned litter a few weeks ago. I believe liver damage was the problem. Rolled oats are good for meeces; I by straight whole grain oats for my meeces, but sometimes give them rolled oats as a spectial treat. The whole grain is good as it exercises their teeth and gives them something to do other than chew up their accessories.

Mousies riot for a little chunk of dry bread. It's a great thing to use as a lure to get a mousie to come to your hand, and then into your hand.


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## mice-lover

ahh yes Oats are good for mice and they love them.It is kind of a treat to them so dont give it 
to them everyday. You can get the oats in a packet at 
a food store that have oats,nuts and dried fruit in but some are different. Also bread & milk mixed is good
for them.  
With meat i would advise you not to give your mouse any if it is with other mice/mouse as they do get agressive
and could eat it's mates. If you want to get a really healthy mouse or if your mouse is looking a
bit on the skinny side you can give it human baby powder milk (lactose free) i love this stuff 
Here is a recipy that i use quite often.
. 1 weat biscuit (or more depending on how many mice your feeding)
. A sprinkle of rolled oats.
. A little bit of warm water (sometimes i use milk so either or)
. And a bit of mouse food mixture
-+then mix well!!
!!They love it!!

Hope this has helped,

thanx mice-lover


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## jessierose2006

Yeah i read about the milk. But as i have some piggie type mice i decided to only give dry foods lol

I guess what i was really trying to get at was. Are any type of oats bad for mice? I mean if i went to the store and i had a choice of quick oats and old fashioned oats could i buy either and be ok giving to my small furries. And is it ok to give it to them on a daily basis (health wise)?


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## Jack Garcia

geordiesmice said:


> If your not sure just buy a mouse mix.


This could work but is not always good advice. Many mouse mixes (specifically Kaytee brand in the US) are rubbish and are designed for the needs of other animals (like hamsters). You're better off feeding wild bird seed and oats, or lab blocks, or even some brands of dog food...


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## unicorn

I breed and exhibit rabbits and my rabbits have their food and whole oats 50-50 every day and most certainly are not fat. Oats do not make rabbits fat but too much of any feedstuff will make any animal fat.


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## geordiesmice

I use waags mouse munch Jack here in uk, My Mice also get a mix I make myself.One good thing they dont leave much lol


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## jessierose2006

Is there a specific type of bird seed ie (finch, cardinal etc)

and then i would do:

1 part oats
1 part seed(s)
1 part lab blocks (i buy the 8 in 1 brand)


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## SarahY

That's a bit too much seed. Too many seeds in the diet will make your mice fat and will often cause skin irritation and kidney problems. Seeds make up about 10% of my mix and my mice are in lovely condition. 

You can use any seed mix, I use wild bird seeds.

Sarah xxx


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## moustress

My mousies get whole oats every day and they are not fat. (I have just a couple who are really fat, and it's not their diet that's causing it. If I had to choose two things to be the entire diet for my meeces it would be oats and puppy chow.


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## jessierose2006

ok. so not a lot of seeds... any preference on type of seed? (millet mix, finch seed, wild bird seed?)


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## geordiesmice

My local warehouse has 15kg bags of wild bird seed lots of fanciers buy it, wild bird seed is cheaper than foreign finch. I used to buy Foreign Finch for My birds but it does not contain the correct mixture as wild bird seed contains for mice. Just get a regular bag of wild bird seed that mixture maybe just slightly different to here in the UK of course, because you have different wild birds.I used too feed my flock of Java sparrows with Paddy Rice or groats I think this bird is illegal too keep in the states, but mice love groats.


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## jessierose2006

ok  got it ill pick that up this weekend as my mice seem to be loving the hampster oat blend right now


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## mousemad

Just have a question, Is there any benefit of human grade oats over animal grade oats for mice?


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## evansrabbitranch

I've fed old fashioned rolled oats for people to both my mice and my rabbits, using it as treat with the mice before I knew how good it is for them, and I now use cleaned oats sold for horses. I have glossier coats on my rabbits with less crazy shedding, have not been feeding the mice long enough on their improved diet to know if I am seeing a difference or not.


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