rat food

I will keep saying it until it sinks in or I get the carpal tunnel from typing...

Doggy Bag dog food from Tractor Supply Co.

That is ALL I feed my rats. They are free fed in a rack system and they are all doing great. There is no reason to spend a lot of money feeding rats fancy food. These animals evolved to live, breed, and thrive in less than ideal conditions with less than ideal food to eat. If you are feeding anything else you are wasting money in my opinion.

I get it for about $0.27 per pound.

If you only have a handful of rats you can feed them whatever you like. When you are going through a few hundred pounds of food every week you need to explore every possible option to make things more economical.

Right now I'm feeding the rats I just got the left over rat/mouse lab blocks I have made by LM Animal Farms. I am also feeding them some Nature's Recipe dog food for toy breeds, as my mom bought an extra bag and said I could have it. Walmart carries some hog food that's nice and cheap, but the protein and fat is so low I'm afraid the mothers would have to eat more than what it's worth to buy it.

After I feed what extra food I have, I will be feeding some cheap dog food (with no food colorings) with a critter or wild bird mix. Okay-table scraps will also be thrown in, and I may start a mealworm colony for the hell of it, so my rats may also get those as well.

Well my rats get 6f and some dog food along with some mixed bag of grains i get at wal-mart. asfs i only feed mazuri 6f and whole corn because the protien contents of even the lowest % of dog food greeses up the asfs hair. as far as my rat colonies go i have about 25 trios of asf rats and about the same in norway rats but a few less males.

I get kent rodent diet lab blocks from local farm and fleet for 11.00 for 50lbs. That ends up at about $0.22 a lb. I feed asf's and my rats with that as it is about as cost efficient as hog feed or dog food.

I feed dog food and throw in fruit or veggies for a treat, and I'll admit, I do it because it is cheap. But, my rats have had no issues with health or with breeding. I agree with Tom, rats and mice thrive in the wild, and they're not eating Mazuri.

I feed Producers Pride Hog Feed from Tractor Supply to my Rats and Soft Furs. 15% Protein, 3% Fat, 4% Fiber. Its close to the same nutrition as Mazuri. Its $10-$12 for a 50lb bag. I just leave it on the substrate and they eat it up. Im in the middle of making a rack for the rats so i may switch to dog food if its cheaper.

I have been feeding Lab Diet 5001 Rodent as the base, but will be trying the hog feed on my feeders in a couple weeks. The nutrition is very comparable, and my farm supply store sells it for $8.63 per 50# bag.

mazuri all the way. here are some things to keep in mind when deciding. let me know what you think.

i have heard people on here ask how to get the smell down. well here is what i did. i used to complain untill i actually thought about it. when we humans eat like crap we pass gas a it is bad. we also look like crap and feel that way. if we eat good and dont eat junk then we are better off in that area. we even feel better and our bodies are in better shape.

therefore we should feed our rodents the diet they need. if you feed them junk that there bodies dont need then it gets passed through the body and they pea and poop it out and it smells worse than it should. the right good food helps a lot with the smell. remember that people say that rats do just fine in the wild. they do and they stink in the wild also. well maybe not, because they arent force feed junk food all day. imo

you will go through more food with crap food because the rats have to eat more of it to get the nutrition they need out of it.

another thing is the production of the babies. i have had an increase in output ever since i have used mazuri. even if it is only 1,2, or even 3 more babies per litter. add that up, 10 moms 10 litters plus a few more babies each litter that is about 20-30 babies more or even more. that in its self pays for the bag of mazuri.

lets talk about the survival rate of the babies. i can remember the last time i had a still born. if the mom is healthy she will have a healthy litter. and the babies will grow up better and healthier. if the moma rat is unhealthy do you think that her feeding the babies is any better.

so the bag of the cheap stuff(dog food) has all the same numbers on it as the mazuri. like protien, fat ect. what is the source of the protien and the source of the fat. i will tell you that it is not what they need. they dont need there fat and protein from meat, that is not what they eat.

people wonder why there rats arent getting pregnant or having small litters, well here is my two cents. why do you think that the big breeder use it, probably to make more money.

feed your dog the dog food your hog the hog food and your cat your cat food. Or better yet you can eat the hog or dog food, it will be cheaper wouldnt it.lol

If you agree or disagree then say so and say why. thank you

Pretty biased opinions your forcing on everybody there. If you check out the ingredients on Mazuri, Hog Food, or Dog Food, majority of it is similar grain/nut mix giving the nutrients. The % of nutrition is determined by the ingredients and the % is listed on the bag in product weight. No matter if its dog food, hog food, or mazuri, if its rated at 15% protein, it contains 15% protein for whatever serving you give whether its 1oz, 8oz, or 1lb as a serving.

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Originally Posted by blankchip

another thing is the production of the babies. i have had an increase in output ever since i have used mazuri. even if it is only 1,2, or even 3 more babies per litter. add that up, 10 moms 10 litters plus a few more babies each litter that is about 20-30 babies more or even more. that in its self pays for the bag of mazuri.

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Since you're basing this on your personal experience, I will throw out my own numbers. I get an average of 10 pups per mom using dog food, so adding 1, 2 or even 3 really doesn't justify spending more for a bag of Mazuri.

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Originally Posted by blankchip

lets talk about the survival rate of the babies. i can remember the last time i had a still born. if the mom is healthy she will have a healthy litter. and the babies will grow up better and healthier. if the moma rat is unhealthy do you think that her feeding the babies is any better.

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All of my momma rats are healthy, and my pups are doing great. You can't generalize that all rats that eat dog food will be unhealthy without providing solid facts. If I found a particular brand of dog food that met the protein, fat, dye requirements that my rats needed, why not feed it to them?

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Originally Posted by blankchip

so the bag of the cheap stuff(dog food) has all the same numbers on it as the mazuri. like protien, fat ect. what is the source of the protien and the source of the fat. i will tell you that it is not what they need. they dont need there fat and protein from meat, that is not what they eat.

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I believe that rats would fall under the category of scavengers/opportunists in the wild. I doubt they would pass up the opportunity to eat meat. Again, I disagree with your logic here.

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Originally Posted by blankchip

people wonder why there rats arent getting pregnant or having small litters, well here is my two cents. why do you think that the big breeder use it, probably to make more money..

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My rats are getting pregnant and as stated above, I get good numbers. Mazuri is formulated to give rats the nutrition they need, that I will agree with. But, being as though I am not a big breeder, and the dog food I feed my rats gives me good results, it makes no sense to switch over to Mazuri.

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Originally Posted by blankchip

feed your dog the dog food your hog the hog food and your cat your cat food. Or better yet you can eat the hog or dog food, it will be cheaper wouldnt it.lol

If you agree or disagree then say so and say why. thank you

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I disagree for the most part. Besides, If the economy gets any worse, you just may see some people doing just that :rolleyes: