Made a rat feed mix..

[Ginevive]

I started mixing rat feed of my own in the past few months, and decided to share my results. I wanted to feed it for awhile to see how the rats were doing on it..
I use SunSeed rat blocks. I add tricolor pasta (got that idea from Becky's mix!) and they Love chewing it; it is so cute how you can hear their little teeth working at it, and I really believe that it helps with their need to chew.. I also added some whole corn (not a lot..) and some pig feed (not medicated.) I topped it off by mixing in black-oil sunflower seeds (not too much of that) and it makes a great feed. My rats used to have what I called a "hangdog look" (got that from a Stephen King novel years ago.) They were pretty healthy but they would get to looking thin and rangy, especially when the females were finishing-up nursing a litter. This mix keeps them much rounder without making them overfat, and I am happy with it.
Does it sound good? This ? is aimed at Becky and others with that nutritional knowledge beyond layman's terms; how does it sound nutritionally, and what would you add/scrap?
I kind of mix it by hand and don't measure things; just do what seems right.

[SatanicIntention]

I'd get rid of the corn, it is not adding to anything and not giving them anything useful. Makes them full and gives them sugar, but it's not healthy in the longrun. Sometimes the corn can have mold associated with it that, over time, can build up in their system and kill them. Those toxins from the mold are called Aflatoxins/mycotoxins. They also make them more predisposed to cancer, from what I've experienced.

For healthier options, put more pasta in, brown rice, slow-cooking oatmeal, barley, dried fruit/nuts, cheerios(or generic), generic Total cereal, in-shell roasted unsalted peanuts(good protein and fatty acids source). You can also try a good brand of dog food(makes up about 10-15% of the diet), such as Nutro ULTRA(only this type is good, Natural and the other kind are both crap), Wellness Senior, Flint River Ranch,etc. Basically a good food with less than 18% protein, no fillers, artificial preservatives or by products.

And if you are using ANYTHING with the preservative Ethoxyquin, get rid of it. It WILL cause cancer and is proven to do so. Some lab blocks, such as the Kaytee crapola, have that preservative as the last ingredient. Just something to watch out for.

[recycling goddess]

what's in pig feed?

and the corn... needs to go. i agree with becky.