Feeding?

[rebeccabecca]

Well right now we feed our rats/asf rat chow but as my DH might be losing his job we might have to try a cheaper way of feeding them. Has anyone used dog food for a bit( no one will be pregnant or nursing)

[ThyTempest]

I would try a cheaper rodent chow or a non-medicated hog feed. I saw on Connie's website that she has been researching it pretty heavily, so maybe get in touch with her. We are switching off Mazuri to 23% Kent Rodent Diet ($25 to $15/ 50#). We may try a hog feed when we run out of Kent, too.

[cobweb2000]

Dog food is not going to be nutrionally complete but I do use it as part of a grain mix for my pet rats. You'll need to find a dog food with less than 18%--this usually means a senior formula. Hopefully your finances will allow you to provide them with some whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, and some whole grain cereal to help them out a little bit with what the dog food is lacking.

Good luck, hope everything works out with your dh's job.

[frankykeno]

Dog food is not going to be nutrionally complete but I do use it as part of a grain mix for my pet rats. You'll need to find a dog food with less than 18%--this usually means a senior formula. Hopefully your finances will allow you to provide them with some whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, and some whole grain cereal to help them out a little bit with what the dog food is lacking.

Good luck, hope everything works out with your dh's job.

This is the way I'd go and what I've done when times were tough. The rats do fine on it. Not the best solution but very workable. Remember too to use up your kitchen scraps for the rats (asf's don't tend to like that stuff though other than the occasional bit of fresh greens). It's a great way to cut back on your garbage and the rats make very good use of your leftovers.

Check into local vegetable markets. Many will sell or even give you the culls or stuff that is ground damaged. It's not appealing to people but just fine for rodents. Check out your local feed stores for deals on various animal chows. Just learn the protein levels and so forth that you want and start reading labels.

Walmart sells a really good number of bird seed mixes for very reasonable prices. These can be used for your ASF's to bulk up their diet.

[matt71915]

i get kent 19% rodent diet, $16 for 50 lbs
i feed it to asfs and regular rats and they do fine on it

[XGetSome]

I often have a hard time getting Rodent diets here. When I run out, ive had rats on dogfood for a few months, never saw a difference in production, But I always try to get a months or 2 supply of rodent diet to be safe. I cant remember the brand i get but its 50lbs for 18$, I get it at a country feed store.

[littleindiangirl]

I'd try kent rodent feed 19%, or a purina mills pig/swine feed, non medicated. Unfortunately, they are really low in fat, and some are high in copper, but it could do in the mean time with a senior dog food added to it I think.

If you can, look for Purina Show Chow Show Pig 16.

[ThyTempest]

How did you guys manage to find the 19% Kent? Everyone I talk to says I have to buy 80 bags or they wont order it, but they can order the 23% on a single bag basis. If the 19% is now available without a minimum order, that would be great. Also, I tried poking around for the hog feed and can't find any info on the Purina site about it...ton of other show pig feeds, but not that specific one.

[littleindiangirl]

Look at purina mills site. Different, and has a map to select the great lakes region.

http://swine.purinamills.com/
http://swine.purinamills.com/SwineLi...s/default.aspx

[ThyTempest]

Thanks Connie. How much does it cost in Bay City?