Updated Rodent Mix

Continuing my rodent mix post, I'm putting my actual recipe here. I can and do continue to feed Harlan Teklad 2014/Native Earth 4018 lab blocks (whichever I have available) as all but 1 of my current residents love them. (My hamster Precious stacks them in the corner of her cage so I don't waste them by putting them in her cage anymore.)

This mix and the blocks are my dry maintenance diet for all residents (mice, gerbils, hamsters, and of course ratties). I will switch out grains with others, for example spelt flakes, but these are the ones that are reasonable. The rolled oats and pumpkin seeds are purchased from a feed store, the rest is all purchased at grocery stores or specialty markets. The dog food (www.cloudstar.com) and spinach (www.sfherb.com) are purchased online.

[Click on image to read it.]

All of my rodents eat everything in the mix so I'm pretty happy with it. The spinach and parsley breaks up but they still eat that too.

I did buy rolled barley from the feed store, but they did not care for it. I think part of it was because the hull was still on it (it was more like crimped barley although they sold it as rolled). I bought them the barley flakes from the bulk bins at the grocery store to try and they loved it so I buy it there. I don't mind buying it as long as they eat it.

This mix costs me about 90 cents a pound. That is way less than what you'd pay in a pet store for a crappy mix. But my cost is also held down because I buy full bags of bulk bin items, even at the grocery store. The only item I don't buy full bags of is the parsley. To order full bags at the grocery store, I make sure and order ahead. I am lucky that Bob's Red Mill is near where I live so I can travel there and pick up some items that are actually cheaper there than at the grocery store.

I did run my mix as it is above through the nutrition database and I got the information below: (Please note, the mix nutritional values do NOT include the lab blocks by Harlan/Native Earth.)

	15 gram serving
Total Calories	49.65	kj
Calories From Carbs	33.6	kj
Calories From Fat	8.895	kj
Calories From Protein	7.065	kj
Calories From Alcohol	0	kj
Proteins and Amino Acides	1.98	kj
Carbohydrates	8.055	g
Dietary Fiber	1.59	g
Starch	2.73	g
Sugars	0.15	g
Fats and Fatty Acids
Total Fats	1.11	g
Saturated Fat	0.135	g
Monounsaturated Fat	0.21	g
Polyunsaturated Fat	0.555	g
Total trans fatty acids	0	g
Total trans-monoenoic fatty acids	0
Total trans-polyenoic fatty acids	0
Total Omega-3 fatty acids	301.95	mg
Total Omega-6 fatty acids	249.3	mg
Vitamins
Vitamin A	306.9	IU
Vitamin C	0.855	mg
Vitamin D	2.37	IU
Vitamin E	0.3	mg
Vitamin K	11.535	mcg
Thiamin	0.105	mg
Riboflavin	0.06	mg
Niacin	0.69	mg
Vitamin B6	0.075	mg
Folate	199.2	mcg
Vitamin B12	22.05	mcg
Pantothenic Acid	0.21	mg
Choline	5.085	mg
Betaine	3.045	mg
Minerals
Calcium	30.15	mg
Iron	2.385	mg
Magnesium	21	mg
Phosphorus	48.45	mg
Sodium	10.8	mg
Zinc	2.175	mg
Copper	0.225	mg
Manganese	0.645	mg
Selenium	113.1	mcg
Fluoride	0
Sterols
Cholesterol	0	mg
Phytosterols	0	mg
Other
Alcohol	0	g
Water	3.045	g
Ash	0.405	g
Caffeine	0	mg
Theobromine	0	mg

Food to OHS

Donated 165 pounds of Harlan lab blocks to OHS. This is 1/2 our intended annual donation of lab blocks. They've already received 20 pounds of hamster/gerbil food.

I am waiting for the barrel dollies get here and in September, when I drop of their food, I will bring in the food barrel to store it in.

Show and Our Ratties

Due to throwing too much in on Saturday, we missed the spring show RATS! :( We got there in time for dinner. ::sigh:: But we did get our Harlan, thanks 3GR! and we were able to help Little Mischief Rescue out by donating 3 3-levels of my prototype cages and 1 of the divided cages I modified for ratties. We also hauled 12 bags of food to another club member's parents' house for storage for LMR as well.

This is the last time I rent a van to go to the show for some time. I'll just have to see about carpooling instead because storage is at a premium in our house and it is just too much to haul all that food about. That is too bad because the food itself is a good price, it is everything else that pushes it up. That in conjunction with the time and energy expended to get the food here makes it cheaper to just go ahead and order it online.

What Now?

Well 8 in St. Helens and 2 in Portland. They await in foster care for my village to get the bulk of the caging system. Next weekend I'll go pick them up and my new water bottle kits (so I can use recycled Snapple bottles instead of plastic bottles). I am going to add one more customization to my cages. I have 19 cage extensions after I get the rest of my order. This means I need to get 19 drop pans to sit inside the extensions. They'll have a hole for the ramp but be powder coated metal. I will get special metal balcony covers made too. This means the ONLY wire the ratties will walk on are the ramps. Yeah! I am going to have special inserts made for the pans so that when I want to block the hole off so I can separate a rattie if needed. This is so exciting! This also means my need to save milk jugs will be over...thank goodness! This also means wipe downs will be easier.

Payless Shoe Source called today. They are now saving shoe boxes for me. I use the shoe boxes for houses for the little guys. I have 44 and I have 10 waiting to come in. With this many rats, I wanted to limit the amount of stuff I have to wash. Therefore the cardboard houses. (One can ONLY use so much facial tissue. lol)

The Harlan food order dates are somewhat set. I go and pick up my 20 bags the first or second week of June. Yeah! Then my September order will keep me set for the winter. Then I only have to go up twice a year. This works out SOOOO well.

ABM litter. The wood pellet litter is working VERY well. The rats are really good about it and I give them plenty of newspaper for nesting material and they have their hammocks of course. Coastal Farm and Ranch carries the stuff locally for me. I'll be picking up my monthly supply today.

Wobust Wodent Wheels. I hopefully will get to place my order for 15 of these next week so I can pick it up with the food. I'll be getting rid of all of my other wheel types as when I do cage cleanings I do it on a rotation since all of my rats will have exactly the same set up except for number of levels.

That's all for now.

Ratties and Food

Well Hades and Diego are big boys, half brothers about 8 months of age. They are getting accustomed to their new digs. They were in a home without other rats and were not ill ever so they got to go right in the room. Both are big boys. I will post a picture as soon as the camera is charged!

Sam is doing ok. She greets me at the door of her cage for her food. Every time I think she is starting to move slower she shocks me and runs around!

I found out that Harlan has the 2018 diet available commercially as Native Earth through PetFoodDirect.com. That isn't the diet I really wanted, but it is good that there is one. I'll have to place an order for May/June to last until the September show when I'll run up to Seattle to get some more. (Sounds like a jaunt rather than a 180+ mile drive. :-)

Well, gotta go and get cracking on cleaning the last 2 cage parts and dismantle the shelves. After almost getting the room done I decided the shelving was going to have to be scrapped as it takes up too much room. Total bummer.

New Blog Place

Hauled the food home last Friday. OMG! It was very heavy. Didn't realize there was such a grade between my house and the max station. I will NEVER think my backpack is too much again. But the little guys are happy, they got their new bags of food so no chance of running out. (As if there ever was a chance.)

Well, gotta get back to working for the ratties! I want their room READY for the new cage parts that I will start to pick up Friday!