Sprouts for Rats and other diet questions

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Mizzely

Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Messages
5
Location
Michigan, USA
So as I have mentioned elsewhere, I have two quaker parrots in my home. They eat a pelleted diet and then also get fresh veggies, grains, legumes, and a bit of fruit. Sound familiar? ;)

I usually make a big batch every month, freeze into 2-3 day portion sizes, and thaw as needed so nothing spoils.

Right now the mix I have been feeding to both rats and birds is:

Raw/fresh:
dandelion greens
butternut squash
corn
green beans
carrots
broccoli
a bit of canteloupe
a bit of berries

Cooked:
black beans
lentils
amaranth
quinoa
millet
brown rice
wild rice
buckwheat

I give the three boys about a 1/2 cup to share every day and it is always a clean bowl. If only my parrots would be such good eaters! ;)


Now my question is, can rats have sprouts too? I add sprouts daily for my birds to give them more variety. The current mix I am sprouting contains:

Sunflower (in shell), Wheat, Spelt (hulled), Triticale, Barley (hulless), Oats (hulless), Millet, Buckwheat (in hull), Brown Rice, Black Lentils, Crimson Lentils, French Blue Lentils and Red Lentils, Adzuki Beans, Mung Beans, Fenugreek, Flax, Alfalfa, Red Clover, Oriental Mustard, Radish, Quinoa, Sesame, Amaranth

Otherwise I can do a grain or pea mix for the rats if this mix has too many things they shouldn't eat.

I also give the birds some bread a few times a week made with the following ingredients:

KAMUT flour & flake, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, carrots, sweet potato powder, sesame seeds, ginger, dandelion leaf, 1 egg

Anything in there that they can't have?

And of course they are free fed Oxbow Adult Rat food too :)

Thanks :)
 
Last edited:
As Jorats said, sounds like a good variety of vegs grains, etc ...... just keep the protein very low
Make sure the corn is organic as gmo corn is designed to kill rats
Just for info: When I was looking into growing sprouts for rats I was warned that it is dangerous due to contamination and told that broccoli sprouts would be the best for rats

What are their favorite things?
 
Contamination of what? The seeds themselves or as they are sprouting? The ones I use are organic and specifically cultivated for sprouting purposes.

I too have similar concerns with corn for the birds so use organic corn, as well as things like berries that absorb a lot of pesticides.

I've only had the rats for a week but they really love the greens and butternut squash!
 
I was warned of possible contamination while sprouting and told that some plants are more susceptible then others ..... but I am going to try sprouting again ..... going to try with organic broccoli sprouting seeds .... let me know if you have any suggestions to share

Mine love greens, and cooked squash too :)

Congrats on the new ratties
 
Oh yes, if you aren't good about rinsing them every 8-12 hours they can get funky and aren't good to feed. I smell mine everytime before I sprout; if they smell off at all I toss them. Not worth the risk for a $1 or so of seed! I've heard of people using grapefruit seed extract as a natural cleaner for sprouts but I have read some things about some being adulterated so I skip it. I have used apple cider vinegar in my final rinse but find it is usually an unnecessary step. Instead, I only do about 1/2 cup of sprouting seeds at a time to ensure that I can easily rinse and drain them very well every time, and this also means that they get eaten faster to prevent bacteria growth.

Also don't sprout chia or flax seed in a mix. Made that mistake before - they gel up and its a mess LOL
 
I throw mine in the dishwasher. Before that, I just washed like I would wash anything - hot water and blue Dawn and rinse well :)
 
Oh yes, if you aren't good about rinsing them every 8-12 hours they can get funky and aren't good to feed. I smell mine everytime before I sprout; if they smell off at all I toss them. Not worth the risk for a $1 or so of seed! I've heard of people using grapefruit seed extract as a natural cleaner for sprouts but I have read some things about some being adulterated so I skip it. I have used apple cider vinegar in my final rinse but find it is usually an unnecessary step. Instead, I only do about 1/2 cup of sprouting seeds at a time to ensure that I can easily rinse and drain them very well every time, and this also means that they get eaten faster to prevent bacteria growth.

Also don't sprout chia or flax seed in a mix. Made that mistake before - they gel up and its a mess LOL
Hi I hope you are well. I am new to ratshack (I am also not very good with technology). I recently got three male rats called Ham,Cheese and Pickle (it’s not a deli order😂) they are currently being trained to be my emotional support/assistance rats due to me having had eight strokes since I turned 30 a few years ago and they have helped improve my life so much. Like Ham is able to give me a 3-5 minute warning before I am going to pass out/loose consciousness which means I can get myself somewhere safe before it happens. Pickle is able to bring me my mobile phone in when asked to. While Cheese is able to bring me my medications when asked (but don’t worry they are in a metal tin so he can’t get to them). They have all helped to make my life so much better, safer, easier and a lot less lonely than I was before and I just want to return the favour by making sure I give them as natural and healthy a diet as I possibly can so that they can live happy healthy lives for as long as possible. I’ve heard that a more natural diet is the best way of helping and I would like to try sprouting seeds but I can’t seem to find a list of safe seeds to sprout for them and I was wondering if any one on this site would possibly be able to tell me which sprouting seeds are safe for rats to eat and which aren’t safe for rats to eat by sending me a list(s) of each or even if you just know a couple that are definitely safe for rats to eat could you possibly let me know which seeds that are please? I hope you a wonderful week 🍀.
Best Wishes & Stay Safe
Ch
 
Hi I hope you are well. I am new to ratshack (I am also not very good with technology). I recently got three male rats called Ham,Cheese and Pickle (it’s not a deli order😂) they are currently being trained to be my emotional support/assistance rats due to me having had eight strokes since I turned 30 a few years ago and they have helped improve my life so much. Like Ham is able to give me a 3-5 minute warning before I am going to pass out/loose consciousness which means I can get myself somewhere safe before it happens. Pickle is able to bring me my mobile phone iwhen asked to. While Cheese is able to bring me my medications when asked (but don’t worry they are in a metal tin so he can’t get to them). They have all helped to make my life so much better, safer, easier and a lot less lonely than I was before and I just want to return the favour by making sure I give them as natural and healthy a diet as I possibly can so that they can live happy healthy lives for as long as possible. I’ve heard that a more natural diet is the best way of helping and I would like to try sprouting seeds but I can’t seem to find a list of safe seeds to sprout for them and I was wondering if any one on this site would possibly be able to tell me which sprouting seeds are safe for rats to eat and which aren’t safe for rats to eat by sending me a list(s) of each or even if you just know a couple that are definitely safe for rats to eat could you possibly let me know which seeds that are please? Lastly what parts of the sprouting seeds can rats eat like can they eat the entire thing? As in the new growth, the seed itself and the roots or can they only eat the new growth part of the seed? I hope that you all have a wonderful week 🍀. Best Wishes & Stay Safe Chrissy 😊
 
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