SterlingRats0408
Senior Member
I thought it was faster then 6 weeks. We used a magic bullet to grind everything. Don't have a coffee grinder.
I'm thinking about switching to a home made diet. Hear me out!
- Thread starter KatTheHippie
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Jorats is right about the flax seeds. if you purchased flax seed already ground or you bought the oil, there'd be a much shorter shelf life because they were already processed "who knows when" but if you grind your own you know it's fresh.
I use a coffee grinder for mine and do very small batches.
I remember when I found out that whole flax seeds just passed thru you undigested, I was quite upset. lol it's funny now but at the time I wasnt' too pleased.
ETA: when I had a constipated cat, I was advised to give him flax seeds soaked in water (If I recall this was because I had no way to grind them at the time but I could be wrong) The soaked seeds form this kind of mucous-y looking liquid and you can use that liquid as a fiber laxative.
so I'm thinking you need to be careful how much flax seed you use, or you'll have rats with the runs :/ lol
I use a coffee grinder for mine and do very small batches.
I remember when I found out that whole flax seeds just passed thru you undigested, I was quite upset. lol it's funny now but at the time I wasnt' too pleased.
ETA: when I had a constipated cat, I was advised to give him flax seeds soaked in water (If I recall this was because I had no way to grind them at the time but I could be wrong) The soaked seeds form this kind of mucous-y looking liquid and you can use that liquid as a fiber laxative.
so I'm thinking you need to be careful how much flax seed you use, or you'll have rats with the runs :/ lol
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SterlingRats0408
Senior Member
Its the lowest amount of ingredients. It's 1/4 of the measurement of most of the main ingredienta
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
Mmm, I wonder, for mine, perhaps I'll sprinkle the ground flax on top?
For spices, I do want to include cinnamon and turmeric.
For spices, I do want to include cinnamon and turmeric.
good idea, you are probably not going to need very much!
like nuts and other seeds, ground flax seeds are a very high calorie food, containing 150 to 200 calories per ounce.
In the diet I want to be on (the Nutritarian diet) I would be restricting myself to 1 TB ground flax seeds per day (along with 1 oz max. of other raw nuts/seeds and 2 oz max of avocado, this is to get the healthy fats and other nutrients in those foods without adding too many calories)
The nutritarian diet is all about eating nutrient dense foods.
does any one know what the max amnt of calories from fat is best for a rat? we know low protein is good, but what about the other macro nutrients? there's just carbs, fats and protein, and well, water lol
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
Petunia, for your own personal diet, are you taking DHA and EPA supplements? If not, you'll need two to three tablespoons of walnuts and or flaxseed.
Fat needs to be very low as well for rats, 4% or 5%.
Fat needs to be very low as well for rats, 4% or 5%.
OK when you say 4% or 5%, you mean the percentage of calories from fats, right?
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fat:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 1 gram = 9 calories[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Protein:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1 gram = 4 calories[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Carbohydrates:[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1 gram = 4 calories[/FONT]
I'm not actually following the nutritarian diet right now, for a couple of reasons. I do eat walnuts pretty often as well as adding flax seed to my veggie burgers and a bunch of other things. I exceed the recommended max for that diet, is what I mean.
after the news came out that a bunch of herbal supplements being sold here in the states don't even contain what is on the label, I'm nervous about supplements in general now. what is a good DHA supplement?
I take B12 and vit D3 and have been thinking about the DHA...
but now I am a lot more wary of spending my limited funds on those things.
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
If you can eat 3 tablespoons of walnuts and or flaxseed a day, you should be just fine for your DHA and EPA but I buy mine here: http://opti3omega.com
It is costly though.
Yes, the fat, should be 4% from total calories.
It is costly though.
Yes, the fat, should be 4% from total calories.
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jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
Deva is the one I was buying before. I switched to Opti when they had a big sale. lol But I like Deva as well.
There's a US store, I buy my D3 from iHerb. It's expensive for me because I pay in CAD but for you, it might be worth buying from them? iHerb sells all kinds of vegan "things".
There's a US store, I buy my D3 from iHerb. It's expensive for me because I pay in CAD but for you, it might be worth buying from them? iHerb sells all kinds of vegan "things".
SterlingRats0408
Senior Member
We just prepped batch #2 of the rat food. We swapped bananas for apple and carrot in place of spinach and it smells like pumpkin pie cooking! They are going to go nuts. We've decided that we liked the way it cooked before so thats staying the same. We just want to change up the veggie and fruit added each batch that way the base stays the same and consistent in quality fibre, keeps the fat low and protien in a safe range 
We did change to ground flax seed!!
We did change to ground flax seed!!
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
What kind of dehydrator do you have? I don't think mine can hold "mushy" foods to dehydrate, unless I use the one for making fruit roll ups.
Velo
Well-Known Member
I just wanted to mention that if anyone making a homemade diet or treat wanted a nice easy way to do the math behind it...
Try MyFitnessPal. It is free to use. You can make your own recipes on it and it will calculate every nutritional part of the food. (Well i should say almost every, not all. A good start though...) Their database is huge, so all of the fruits, veggies, grains, etc should already have their information entered in the database.
They also have a daily and weekly break down of the macro nutrients that have been consumed (in percentages too).
I've been using it for years so if anyone needs a guide on how to use these aspects I can help. It's pretty easy to use though.
Try MyFitnessPal. It is free to use. You can make your own recipes on it and it will calculate every nutritional part of the food. (Well i should say almost every, not all. A good start though...) Their database is huge, so all of the fruits, veggies, grains, etc should already have their information entered in the database.
They also have a daily and weekly break down of the macro nutrients that have been consumed (in percentages too).
I've been using it for years so if anyone needs a guide on how to use these aspects I can help. It's pretty easy to use though.
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SterlingRats0408
Senior Member
Thats a great help! May just use it so I can give numbers as I have no idea how to do it in the first place. We used all human grade oragnic ingredients so I imagine they're in the database
P.s. the dehy brand is 'Open Country'
And if you start on the fruit leather tray half way through you can usually get them onto the other wider tray to finish.
The one I have has 3 tray options and 4 levels with ability to add more levels up to 8.
P.s. the dehy brand is 'Open Country'
And if you start on the fruit leather tray half way through you can usually get them onto the other wider tray to finish.
The one I have has 3 tray options and 4 levels with ability to add more levels up to 8.
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Velo
Well-Known Member
Yes definitely. Raw ingredients have been inputted into the database with dedication, as far as I have seen.
Here is a preview of what I mean. This is based on one day of eating one homemade enchilada recipe and nothing else (just for examples sake...) you can change up your servings, so you can input the full amount of ingredients for the batch and say it makes 26 blocks, put 26 for the servings and it will calculate the nutrition for each block.
Here is a preview of what I mean. This is based on one day of eating one homemade enchilada recipe and nothing else (just for examples sake...) you can change up your servings, so you can input the full amount of ingredients for the batch and say it makes 26 blocks, put 26 for the servings and it will calculate the nutrition for each block.
how do you get the micro nutrient report? I'm only getting carbs, fat, protein, sugar, sodium and um, cholesterol and fiber
I've got very blurry vision today so maybe that's why i can't find where to get more info :/
I've got very blurry vision today so maybe that's why i can't find where to get more info :/
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
I normally use http://nutritiondata.self.com but I'll check yours out Velo. I'd like an easier one.
I am definitely crunching the numbers and I'll report back here. I am hoping to get to it soon enough. I need my sister with me. She's my pro at these things.
I am definitely crunching the numbers and I'll report back here. I am hoping to get to it soon enough. I need my sister with me. She's my pro at these things.
Velo
Well-Known Member
For the second chart I posted,
If you are on the app, you click the 3 bars in the corner, go to Nutrition, and click the icon next to calorie breakdown that looks like a list, instead of a pie chart.
Hm, there used to be a way to see the full list on the site too... But I think they removed it. ~_~
You can see the Nutrition for a recipe if you make/enter the recipe, then go Food > Recipes, click the recipe. It will show you a standard nutrition label on the right.
MFP is nice because it lets you get nutrition for a recipe... so it's easier to see the grand total of everything that goes into the food, rather than trying to add it up separately. It's not quite as useful for vitamins, as it gives a % instead, and of course that % isn't based on a rats needs.
The pie chart is pretty solid for checking macros.
I like that site too, Jorats! I've used it before, and I often use it to double-check nutrition. Always good to have 2 or 3 sources, especially in this case.
If anyone wants me to double check nutrition or math or enter a recipe in MFP, let me know. I'm a huge math nerd, my job is math, so I don't mind. I personally can't comprehend this kind of thing without data, so I love to see it.
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smilez_n_hugs
Senior Member
Using MFP for homemade recipes is a great idea! I will definitely be using it to help design my homemade dog diet.
KatTheHippie
Well-Known Member
Hey guys! I'm loving everything everyone's been posting about their home made diets! I'm super jealous of all of you with dehydrators, I want one so bad. (Adding that to my birthday list along with a sewing machine ) How are all of your ratties taking to the food? Do they like it? Have you noticed any changes in them at all?
In my current mix I have:
Puffed wheat, puffed rice, shredded wheat, corn flakes, apple, prunes, pears, apricots, cranberries, pearled barley, brown rice, peas, cooked potatoes, tomato, spinach, parsley, and kelp. They get a few unsalted pumpkin and sunflower seeds as treats.
I'm going to be adding pumpkin, flax seed, and soya.
They also get a "smoothie" every day before they're fed. It's always different flavors, to keep them interested. Today it was banana, blueberry, yogurt, basil, carrot, and mint. They loved it!
Anyone have any suggestions?
) How are all of your ratties taking to the food? Do they like it? Have you noticed any changes in them at all?In my current mix I have:
Puffed wheat, puffed rice, shredded wheat, corn flakes, apple, prunes, pears, apricots, cranberries, pearled barley, brown rice, peas, cooked potatoes, tomato, spinach, parsley, and kelp. They get a few unsalted pumpkin and sunflower seeds as treats.
I'm going to be adding pumpkin, flax seed, and soya.
They also get a "smoothie" every day before they're fed. It's always different flavors, to keep them interested. Today it was banana, blueberry, yogurt, basil, carrot, and mint. They loved it!
Anyone have any suggestions?
