# grains and seeds



## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I know most (or all) of us feed our mice grains and seeds of some sort.

Which types do you use?

I use:
red wheat 
white wheat 
oats 
pearl barley 
red millet
white millet
flax
rye
rape
amaranth
safflower
sunflower

I think that's it. Their lab blocks and dried bread have assorted grains and seeds in them too, and the millet is included in both the sprays and the bird seed I use.


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

I use:

Rolled Naked Oats
Wheat
White Millet
Linseed
Brown Rice
sunflower seeds as treats

Those are just my straight seeds, the other complete diet stuff i feed has more in them.

W xx


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I feed mainly whole oats and wheat.

Things I add in small quantities:

White millet
Safflower
Barley
Thistle

Rarely:

Sunflower
Peanuts

Both these last two are not really good for rodents and can lead to obesity, cancer, skin problems. They are like Big Mac and French Fries for Rodents. Nice once or twice; deadly if taken daily.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

All of mine are straight seeds too. I mix it on my own. The majority of the grains they get is oats, I think, because it's the easiest to obtain.

I also give them peanuts every once in a while, but peanuts aren't seeds or grains.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

I use bruised oats, flaked barley and a mixed bird seed that has various seeds and grains in. There are some sunflower seeds in it but not huge amounts. I don't give nuts because I am allergic myself, but if I wasn't then I would probably give them monkey nuts (peanuts in their shells) to make them work for their treat.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Nut allergies are yucky! I dated a guy who had a peanut allergy and I have a shellfish allergy so we basically gave up both foods. 

I also make them work for their treat. I've given them just about every kind of shelled nut. The only ones they don't realize are food are Brazil nuts. I've found, though, that if you crack them open with a hammer or something beforehand, they realize that there's food in there.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

Jack Garcia said:


> The only ones they don't realize are food are Brazil nuts. I've found, though, that if you crack them open with a hammer or something beforehand, they realize that there's food in there.


Brazil nuts are the ones I'm most allergic to, I don't have eat them, just touching them is bad enough. I have been to hospital for this allergy before - not fun!


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I have too (well not for Brazil nuts, but you know). I find that other people don't realize how deadly some foods can be to other people. One time I asked a waiter in a restaurant if their pasta sauce was made with shellfish and she said, "yeah, but just a little bit. You'll be ok." I'm just glad she told me. :shock:


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

It's a difficult one. I have had an occasion where I was told _everything _might have nuts in (to cover the restaurant if anything did) and one case where I was told nothing contained nuts when in fact it did - which could have been a lot worse than it was because not only was I on holiday I was on my way back from a day out before I decided to open the 'lunch'. If I had eaten it at lunchtime and couldn't get back to the cruise ship as quickly as I did there would have been trouble!


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I see warnings for tree nuts and peanuts all the time on foods (in the US) but rarely for other allergies (shellfish, strawberries and soy are common ones). I think this might be because nut allergies are more deadly.

It's interesting (to me at least) that when you hear of mice developing sunflower or peanut allergies, it never seems to affect them as negatively as it does people., i.e. I've never heard of a mouse dying because it was allergic to its food. It could be that it affects them the same and we just don't know it, I guess...


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

I have an allergy to wheat and gluten... not deadly, just damn uncomfortable.

I've only been really bad with it twice, and once I had to literally rip the phone out of my partners hand to stop her from phoning an ambulance... the only real 'danger' to me (albiet very real) is chronic dehydration. But I do drink ALOT of water everyday so i'm usually safe from that.

My mother sufferes with this allergy too, but worse than me... she can't touch anything that has a high wheat/gluten content, she gets terrible blisters and stuff.

Willow xx


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

The doctors told me that once you have an allergy, every subsequent exposure to the allergen makes it worse. This was in reference to bee stings (which I'm also allergic to, oh, unfortunate me lol) so I don't know if it applies to food allergies.


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

I have Peanut allergy too.


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