Feeding Rats Dog Food?

i see alot of videos on youtube where people are feeding rats dog food, is that good for them?

i made the mistake of feeding our breeders dog food for about a week. I had death, horrible looking breeders and the worst smell ever for there poop. I strongly suggest not feeding dog food.

It all depends on the dog food. Keeping in mind that rats don't eat meat for the most part....which is typically a prime ingredient in dog food. The more meat they get the stronger their smell usually is, high protein can cause skin issues...and certain dyes can kill them.

Usually the cheapest stuff you can find is the best stuff for rats (I would never feed it to my dogs though:P)

For years I used a product called Doggie Bag from Tractor Supply - has no meat all grain and bone meal based - good amount of vitamins and protein at 16% so was perfect for rats. I was buying 50lbs for $10

Basically you need to read the bag. Even better is to combine several products to make your own well balanced feed.

Hope this helps.

I give Innova senior as a treat, my rats love it. It's quite a bit more expensive per pound than lab block, so I won't be giving a lot to them any time soon. I wouldn't do dog food as a base food though.

thanks for all the info, I just seen it and thought i would ask i am courntly feeding Harlen to all my rats

hey im glad im not the only one whos used that doggy bag food for rats, mine did very well on it, ive been thinking about going back to it because I cant find anyone who can order me some good rat food cheap in bulk. buying it by the lb is so costly..

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

It all depends on the dog food. Keeping in mind that rats don't eat meat for the most part....which is typically a prime ingredient in dog food. The more meat they get the stronger their smell usually is, high protein can cause skin issues...and certain dyes can kill them.

Usually the cheapest stuff you can find is the best stuff for rats (I would never feed it to my dogs though:P)

For years I used a product called Doggie Bag from Tractor Supply - has no meat all grain and bone meal based - good amount of vitamins and protein at 16% so was perfect for rats. I was buying 50lbs for $10

Basically you need to read the bag. Even better is to combine several products to make your own well balanced feed.

Hope this helps.

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I use dog food as emergency food. If I run out of block and can't make it to the store to get a small bag or I'm waiting on my next order of Mazuri, I'll use dog food till I can get lab block. I did notice weight loss, oily fur, and bad smelling poop. I now make sure I have an emergency bag in the closet for when the big bag runs out.

I too use it in case of an emergency (around a week max) while I wait for my feed store to get my Mazuri block in. I fed proplan but just switched to Eagle Pack for my dogs. I haven't noticed a problem with either of those foods. And the rats like it much better than the mazuri block.....

I also treat with a nice sead mix (no alfalfa) from PetsMart....

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2754661

i wouldn't give rats dog food.i breed mice.we call him super balls lol and his lover bondy and we have an other 1 in a diffent tank his name bait

I give my rats a combination...

Rat Chow, dog food (low protien), pasta, and some dried breads... half Rat chow, the rest is a combo of the other products.

Bruce

just google the dyes and rats or rodents and typically you com up with stuff like this:
heres red dye number 40 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6636206
some others on other legal ppl food addititives http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/0...e-aware-of.htm
this also
http://www.feingold.org/Research/dye.html

You need to read the labels as everyone says~ avoid red food dyes~ good luck finding one without red food dyes! And understand dog food will make the rats stink more, poop more, and be generally more nastier (even makes the rats greasy!) and not as healthy as lab blocks. I breed a LOT of rats and go through a LOT mazuri. I have to have it special ordered and pay through the nose for it. I have discovered for me it's saves time and money (money in less litter and cleanings, and better rats to offer for sale) to just use the lab blocks.

BUT~
In an emergency when you've just run out of lab blocks........dog food without red food dye is a much better choice than cattle feed blocks.......WOW do the rats stink on that stuff!

http://www.sportmix.com/dog/originalBiteSize.tpl
this is probally one of the better dog foods ive found. and i used to feed just lab blocks and my rats dont smell any better on either food your probally jsut smelling the food in the hopper

40lbs for 14.99 from my local feed store

I was using dog food before but after the switch to mazuri 6f they are healthier, smell better and not as oily as before. I wold just get mazuri 6f but not many people is as lucky as I am $16 per 50lbs!

clear where you get it at that price you lucky sob lol

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Originally Posted by punyhuman07

clear where you get it at that price you lucky sob lol

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I get Mazuri 6F from a farmers co-op for about that price, $18 per 50lb pound bag.

But after using Harlan Teklad and then trying the Mazuri, I think after I run out of the 6F I'll be switching back to the Harlan even though Harlan is 3x the price.

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Originally Posted by panthercz

I get Mazuri 6F from a farmers co-op for about that price, $18 per 50lb pound bag.

But after using Harlan Teklad and then trying the Mazuri, I think after I run out of the 6F I'll be switching back to the Harlan even though Harlan is 3x the price.

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im getting the harlen for about $12 for 33.3 pound bags

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Originally Posted by klonedskillz

im getting the harlen for about $12 for 33.3 pound bags

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I'm going to try to get it from a different source, so I'm hoping to get the price down. I was paying $30 for 33lbs from two different places, I would love to get it for around $12. :cool:

where abouts you located that seems really high

A local mill here in NC

mazuri here is like 22.00 for 25 lbs. thats seem really high and the rats seem to eat it way faster.

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Originally Posted by klonedskillz

im getting the harlen for about $12 for 33.3 pound bags

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Not everyone has a source nearby that can order Harlan in bulk. (Or order it at all)

I was feeding my rats Regal Rat by Oxbow, but they didn't like it. So, I switched to Natural Balance vegetarian formula. It has no meat, and no corn. Their poops don't smell bad, and the food helps with their odor- it's got alfalfa and parsley in it. And on top of that, they love it! I would NEVER feed a vegetarian formula to a dog, but it's great for the rats!

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Not everyone has a source nearby that can order Harlan in bulk. (Or order it at all)

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i see your also in michigan and my source is not near by your probably alot closer then i am

Im still looking for a good food source and good price in California, anyone know a good place to start?

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Originally Posted by XGetSome

Im still looking for a good food source and good price in California, anyone know a good place to start?

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Do you have a tractor supply store nearby?

If so, you can ask them to order Kent rodent feed. Comes out to about the same per pound as cheap dog food (at least when I was quoted a year ago), and is made for rats.

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Originally Posted by Clear

I was using dog food before but after the switch to mazuri 6f they are healthier, smell better and not as oily as before. I wold just get mazuri 6f but not many people is as lucky as I am $16 per 50lbs!

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were do you get it for that cheap?

I have always feed Mazuri to my feeders and had good luck. A friend of mine only feeds dog food and has luck with it. So I guess it depends on the feeders.

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Originally Posted by filly77

hey im glad im not the only one whos used that doggy bag food for rats, mine did very well on it, ive been thinking about going back to it because I cant find anyone who can order me some good rat food cheap in bulk. buying it by the lb is so costly..

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Me too...what I experieced when I switched to doggie bag was a big increase in breeding...go figure but my production almost doubled when I went from Mazuri to doggie bag.

When I use doggie bag as a quick pinch deal, my rats get greasy and super stinky. They fly through that crap too. I sure don't like it, and I don't think they liked it either.

I feed dog food right now and I have had 4 great litters (11, 12, 13, & 13 babies).

However, I do notice their fur is greasier and their poop stinks WAY more. I'm going to switch over to a better diet asap!

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Originally Posted by nixer

just google the dyes and rats or rodents and typically you com up with stuff like this:
heres red dye number 40 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6636206
some others on other legal ppl food addititives http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/0...e-aware-of.htm
this also
http://www.feingold.org/Research/dye.html

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We have been breeding rats now for about 6 months we dont have access to a bunch of Mazuri in AK and shipping is expinsive. So to save money we bought Old Roy Dog rounds, all the rats seemed to do great on that but it runs almost .75/ lb so we were like well lets try something else and we tried this other Old Roy (bigger bag and roughly the same price) we use a half Mazuri and half dog food mix. We got this new bag about 3 weeks ago. At that time our rats were healthy, fat, and doing great! Last week when we cleaned our tubs all together we had 98 baby rats and good looking mamas. Today we cleaned again and only 58 of those babies are alive and about 6 of our growing breeders died and 3 of our breeding stock are so skinny it is sick! All of them have the sneezes! I was worried about what was going on not only because it is costing us money but because I am not fond of picking hundreds of dead rats out of the bins! When I read this I went to look at the ingredients of this dog food and guess what??? Red-40 and a few other dyes!
So thank you very much I hope that this is what is causing the problem and it will soon be fixed!

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Originally Posted by PythonKaa

We have been breeding rats now for about 6 months we dont have access to a bunch of Mazuri in AK and shipping is expinsive. So to save money we bought Old Roy Dog rounds, all the rats seemed to do great on that but it runs almost .75/ lb so we were like well lets try something else and we tried this other Old Roy (bigger bag and roughly the same price) we use a half Mazuri and half dog food mix. We got this new bag about 3 weeks ago. At that time our rats were healthy, fat, and doing great! Last week when we cleaned our tubs all together we had 98 baby rats and good looking mamas. Today we cleaned again and only 58 of those babies are alive and about 6 of our growing breeders died and 3 of our breeding stock are so skinny it is sick! All of them have the sneezes! I was worried about what was going on not only because it is costing us money but because I am not fond of picking hundreds of dead rats out of the bins! When I read this I went to look at the ingredients of this dog food and guess what??? Red-40 and a few other dyes!
So thank you very much I hope that this is what is causing the problem and it will soon be fixed!

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im sorry to hear that, but im really glad that you came across this thread. its hard to find dog food without dyes in it, but currently i have been using sportmix. wheres a link they also have a dealer search on their site
http://www.sportmix.com/dog/originalBiteSize.tpl

I found that my rats poop dries up like they are constipated on dog food.
I give dog food for an additive now and then, and when I run out of Mazuri,
but otherwise I believe my rats are much healthier on mazuri than dog food.

Hm, Sportmix is the same price as lab block...why bother?

I may give Doggy Bag a try, though, since some folks are reporting increased production with it. Maybe half and half with the lab block. It'll save me some money too, if it works. I can live with oilier rats if they are having more babies and their survivability is good.

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Hm, Sportmix is the same price as lab block...why bother?

I may give Doggy Bag a try, though, since some folks are reporting increased production with it. Maybe half and half with the lab block. It'll save me some money too, if it works. I can live with oilier rats if they are having more babies and their survivability is good.

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i pay less than what i would with lab block
i do switch it up to keep some verity in the diet

I get lab block for $20 for a 50 pound bag, though, so any alternative is gonna have to do better than that.
I can't find swine feed locally. This should not be surprising, I guess, apparently people in Omaha do not raise pigs. <lol>

Well I've been feeding doggy bag for a while due to the fact that no matter what store I call, no one can order me any lab blocks, well one can but the cost is extremely high..

Lately what I've noticed is my litters are MUCH smaller. I'm getting on average 6 babies each litter and this isn't good! I have mouths to feed lol I'm not sure what's causing it. Which is why Im posting this in this thread, is it the doggy bag food or another factor?

Do rats slow down w/ breeding during certain times of the year?

Are smaller litters due to genetics? (mom has smaller litter=her daughters have smaller litters?) I think I read this somewhere but Im not 100% certain? My breeding females aren't that old, I have younger females who also give me smaller litters, so I dont think my issue is age related. but I do plan on retiring some of them soon and replacing them with new females.


I added a new girl recently. she's such a lil CUTIE & friendly and a dumbo. I wanted to buy the mom, she had a HUGE litter in the tank but the pet store said no way, she's their breeder. The lil girl is still too young for breeding but Im hoping new blood will help. It's hard to find fresh blood around here as 2 out of the 3 pet stores within decent driving distance breed their own rats (same blood as what I have) and the 3rd orders them, so who knows if their distributor is the same as the other pet stores who are now breeding their own? But I got the new lil female from one of the ones who breeds, i figure even if there is some of the same blood in the new girl, it would have to be a very small amount. I plan on checking out other pet stores further away from my area in hopes of getting more breeding stock with better baby giving skills lol.


Also.. about the Doggy Bag food, It's VERY crumbly. I go through about 40 lbs a month give/take. Maybe thats a normal amount for the amount of rats I have? Not sure? lol but someone else mentioned it goes fast too.. I wonder if its because of how crumbly it is, maybe a lot of it gets wasted? I literally have to shake out every scoop before I put it in the hoppers, to knock off all the crumbs, I dont want them getting in to my rats eyes! Is it possible that 40 lbs of lab block lasts longer than 40 lbs of the dog food?

I just called some of the stores again today and asked yet again if they can order me some rat food, I figure its worth trying again.. One store said he'd give my info to the owner and she would have to call me back, another (Tractor Supply) said I need to call back and speak with the woman who places the orders. TS usually tells me they dont do special orders, soooo Im hoping one of these 2 pan out!

All in all, I wouldnt recommend doggy bag, its ok if you cant find anything else but I personally dont like it and wish I could find something better for my rats.

PS
whats this swine food about? is it any good and is it better than the doggy bag? Im sure I could find some of that somewhere around here.

*edit*
I've even been cruising CL in search of more females but I havent found any close enough

ughhhh one place I just called can get 25lbs of Kaytee mouse & rat, she didnt know for certain if it was lab blocks or not and woulda found out for me but once I heard the price, I said ty anyway.. It woulda been 30 bucks :O

I have not been able to find any good hog feed anywhere around here, in western SD. I have also been looking for something that I can fit into the 1/2" food hoppers also. I did find this stuff though. Let me know what you think about the ingredients list, and % stats. I can get 50 Lbs for $8.50.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3419/...03333d9f_o.jpg

Anybody?

I know it says beef, but is that an issue? I am just looking for input on the nutritional value.

Well since reading this thread I started mixing my food half doggie bag and half mazuri...the rats will eat around the mazuri to get to the doggie bag. They love it. I will stick to doggie bag, and for $12/40lbs bag I'm not disappointed.

Looked through every bag of dog food at wal-mart, not one of them didn't have red food dye in it...:taz:

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Originally Posted by Fallguy

Anybody?

I know it says beef, but is that an issue? I am just looking for input on the nutritional value.

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I believe the fat content is way to low at 2% and it's main ingredient is vegetable protein by-products.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Do you have a tractor supply store nearby?

If so, you can ask them to order Kent rodent feed. Comes out to about the same per pound as cheap dog food (at least when I was quoted a year ago), and is made for rats.

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littleindiangirl Thank you very much I actually found a tractor supply 2 hours away. Also found rodent food in about a dozen other places I frequently visit.

What about doggie treats like milk bones and dog cookies and stuff, is that a no no? My hairless just seem to love the strawberry cream on them.

doggie bag is what i use its 11.99 for a 50 lb bag and my rats have had no problems for the last 8 months i love it i get it from tractor supply

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Originally Posted by XGetSome

littleindiangirl Thank you very much I actually found a tractor supply 2 hours away. Also found rodent food in about a dozen other places I frequently visit.

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The tractor and other farm/feed stores by me only have bait blocks to kill rodents. They look at me like I'm crazy when I ask if they have rodent food.
:weirdface

I have been feeding the cheapy dog food from tractor supply.

protein % is the same as Mazuri, but the fat is only 6% as opposed to 9% in the really high octane Mazuri feed. So, I also supplement with sunflower seeds which are dirt cheap here.

All of my rats are growing fast and doing well.

I also supplement their water with vitamins too, so Im sure that helps.

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Originally Posted by tomfromtheshade

I have been feeding the cheapy dog food from tractor supply.

protein % is the same as Mazuri, but the fat is only 6% as opposed to 9% in the really high octane Mazuri feed. So, I also supplement with sunflower seeds which are dirt cheap here.

All of my rats are growing fast and doing well.

I also supplement their water with vitamins too, so Im sure that helps.

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be careful with sunflowers seeds and amounts....

they are super high in fat, if your rats plump up big, back off.

I feed block/hog feed/seed

Seed is the thing that the amount you offer is based on how the rats look.

Rats can live very happily on block alone....hog food stretches the lab block

The seed is more of a treat that anything but it does add minerals