What do you feed your rats?

[saber2th]

Just wonder what brand of food you feed your rats, and why you chose that brand. Also, do you give them any else to eat other than the lab blocks?

[Powerspythons]

I know that many people use dog food to feed their rats. That should be a choice up on that poll there. I personally do not breed rats yet, but I plan to start in a few months and I plan to feed exclusively dog food.

Now a better name for this thread would have been "what brand of lab block do you feed your rats?"

Not that it makes a difference but I had the same thought that if you wanted to breed rats you had to feed them some type of lab block..however, if you want to know what breeders feed their rats, there is a much wider range than the three brands you listed, you'd have to include hog feed, dog food, lab block, scraps, and I've heard of a few others but those are the ones that come to mind. Just a thought tho, I'm not bashing your thread, because I love threads like this! They are very helpful to the aspiring rat breeder!!!

[saber2th]

I know that many people use dog food to feed their rats. That should be a choice up on that poll there. I personally do not breed rats yet, but I plan to start in a few months and I plan to feed exclusively dog food.

Now a better name for this thread would have been "what brand of lab block do you feed your rats?"

Not that it makes a difference but I had the same thought that if you wanted to breed rats you had to feed them some type of lab block..however, if you want to know what breeders feed their rats, there is a much wider range than the three brands you listed, you'd have to include hog feed, dog food, lab block, scraps, and I've heard of a few others but those are the ones that come to mind. Just a thought tho, I'm not bashing your thread, because I love threads like this! They are very helpful to the aspiring rat breeder!!!

Yeah, I should of put more thought into it. But I did list "Other", I guess the hog feed, dog food and scraps would fall under that.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

Dave

[MazAnth]

Harlan

[starstrukk]

Mazuri! Fresh fruits, veggies, chicken, seeds, cereal, nuts, etc.etc.etc.

[Rhasputin]

Mix: Brown rice, lentils, barley, oats, millet, sunflower seeds, thistle seeds, safflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sweet feed

Treats: insect treats from Wild Birds Unlimited, meal worms, fruit, veggies, live crickets, cooked pasta, yogurt

[Shenzi Sixaxis]

I feed my rats a mix of Iam's dog food, Goodlife Recipe cat food (I originally fed the indoor version, but screwed up a few days ago and got the regular stuff; seems okay though), some sort of granola (right now, Just Bunches), some oatmeal (either the unprocessed stuff, or a packet of quick oats with dehydrated fruits/berries and flavoring), and a handful of peanuts now and then (usually a day or two before I clean the bins).

I also feed 'whatever else' is laying around, which will include some veggies (often cooked from restaurants), table scraps, canned dog food, the occasional bugs, and bones.



EDIT: I switched the dog food recently from some very expensive toy breed dog food, and since I switched to the Iams, I've noticed my rats don't eat as much and look a bit more active.

[kylerimb]

mazuri. i can get it locally, and it's $23 for a 50lb bag.

[bad-one]

I switched to a different dog food recently. Its plain type carried at my Winco, doesn't have dyes in it and is .33 cents a pound. Production hasn't changed and rats seem just as healthy

I occassionally give pregnant females hardboiled eggs, they love them!

[saber2th]

Man, some of you feed your rats like kings! I just started a colony 1.3 and I bought a 25lb. bag of Mazuri Rodent. Was wanting the Mazuri Breeder 6F. The guy I got the rats from fed them Kent. Kent's protein is 23%, I think lower protein is a little better as my rats are getting bigger now. But that why I post this, is to get an idea of what is better and what else they can eat.

Thanks, and keep posting!

Dave