Hog feed?

I have a friend that uses hog feed and has for several years. The only thing is to look for one with no meds. I am trying it in my one rack as we speak. The price is 9 dollars for 50 pounds. I have found one rat food that was that cheap, but it crumbled easy and had alot of fat and smelled horrible. Going in and coming back out. My rats are in my snake room inside the house so smell is important. I will post the details later. The only thing I saw that is a little low was the fat. The rest looked pretty good. But I supplemnt with sunflower seeds and other things. Todd

Alright.. I went to the feed store and bought a 50# bag of hog grower pellets. The pellets are small (similar to rabbit or guinea pig food pellets) and I'll need to install a smaller mesh in my rat racks so it won't fall through.

The protein level is 16%
fat is 3% -a bit low so I plan on supplementing with black oil sunflower seeds

It contains various grain and plant protein ingredients, as well as added vitamins and minerals. It contains no medications or anything like that.

I'm going to give this stuff a try. Heck at $8.80 for 50# it's worth a shot!

Southern states 15%sow feed. Hufe very hard cubes.
Crude protein 15.00min
lysine .65min
crude fat 3.30min
crude fiber 5.00min

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Originally Posted by Shelby

Alright.. I went to the feed store and bought a 50# bag of hog grower pellets. The pellets are small (similar to rabbit or guinea pig food pellets) and I'll need to install a smaller mesh in my rat racks so it won't fall through.

The protein level is 16%
fat is 3% -a bit low so I plan on supplementing with black oil sunflower seeds

It contains various grain and plant protein ingredients, as well as added vitamins and minerals. It contains no medications or anything like that.

I'm going to give this stuff a try. Heck at $8.80 for 50# it's worth a shot!

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What size mesh do you currently use? I have 1/2" and if it is that much cheaper, I will definitely use it. I need to go back soon to buy another few bags of rat food soon anyway.

Well I use freedom breeder rat racks. The mesh is probably 1/2" or comparable.. but I don't really know.

I'd be interested in this too, however I also need something that will sit on top of 1/2" mesh hardware cloth. I'll have to check it out next time I'm at the feed store.

I used pellet hog feed in the beginning for 3 months and it was the worst three months of rodent breeding I've ever had :( The hog feed just didn't sit well with the rats and they were malnourished as a result the litters were very small and unhealthy.

Ever since then I've used Mazuri and it's been worth the extra coin.

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Originally Posted by Larry Suttles

I used pellet hog feed in the beginning for 3 months and it was the worst three months of rodent breeding I've ever had :( The hog feed just doesn't still well with rats and they were malnourished as a result the litters were very small and unhealthy.

Ever since then I've used Mazuri and it's been worth the extra coin.

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Interesting and something I was expecting to hear. I would guess the ingredients are different (although I still haven't seen a list of what's in the hog feed). Someone who supplements their rat diet with greens, cereals, fruits, nuts and seeds may not see those kinds of negatives but for me, I'd rather spend the extra money on Mazuri and have healthy rats that make more healthy rats for healthy snakes! :D

I have been using a mixture of rodent chow and hog food for years, I know some people who use nothing but hog food.

I add some hog food in the tub when I clean them and the bedding is fresh...

As far as it falling through the screen, I put down a base of rodent chow blocks and then some hog food on top. Just enough hog food falls through when they move the blocks and it doesn't get wasted...

They actually seem to prefer the hog food and eat it all before the chow blocks...If I add the hog food to the top often enough I don't put down nearly as much rodent chow...Jon

Hairless Dumbo
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...airless007.jpg

I am definately going to try this.. $25 for a 50# bag of SunSeed rat blocks vs. $9.. we'll see..! I do plan on using the BOSS seeds too since it's so lowfat..