Fresh and dried wild berries for treats

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AYA

Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Messages
12
Location
Slovenia
It'll soon be time when there'll be lots of wild berries in the woods and meadows.
I already harvesting those for myself and I was thinking to get some for my rats and dry them for healthy winter treats.

I'd appreciate if you check this list of what I can get and tell me if any of those is good for rats:
billberies
wild strawberries (those tiny ones)
mountain ash fruit
blackberries
juniper berries
cranberries
hawthorn fruit
dog rose fruit
blackthorn fruit
wild cherries (without pits)
and maybe some more I can't think of right now.

I could also throw in some wild walnuts and hazelnuts in shells.
I'm assuming sweet chestnuts are not safe, so I'd stay away from them.

I can also get wild carrot roots. Maybe an addition of baked dandelion root and wild chicory root for some extra inulin would be a good idea?

Maybe even some wild cumin and wild carrot seeds for digestion.

What do you think? Would that be a good replacement for processed bought treats? A lot of those berries have great amounts of antioxidants and other healthy stuff in them. The most important of all- they're all tasty.
 
The only thing I would be concerned about with wild-picked berries/fruits/veggies is that you don't know if they're parasite-free and what's been on them. I know the argument can be made for foods we buy in stores as well, but they're at least parasite free.

I've started looking into making my own small garden indoors so that I can grow my own stuff and feed it to my rats. I live in a townhome, so I don't have a backyard/garden or a dedicated space to grow my own food. I'd love to grow various veggies for my rats so that I know they're pesticide free and parasite free (and it ends up being cheaper).
 
What kind of parasites you have in mind?
I eat most of this wild stuff and more, like dandelion salad, bear leek and so on, just like a lot of people around here do, and never heard of any problems.

Can rats get some other parasites that humans can't?
 
I'm not entirely sure on what parasites rats can get, other than external ones such as lice and mites. Parasites can be host-specific meaning they'll affect one animal, but not the other.
 
Oh, yes that makes sense. I was feeding my degus all sorts of wild plants and they were very healthy, despite some of them were from various bad homes where they have been neglected.

I'd bake the roots and dry them anyway.

I could cook all those berries into a paste and freeze them. That should do the trick.

Does anyone know if are all of the ingredients mentioned above safe? I'm sure bilberries, cherries, and strawberries are fine, I'm not sure about less known berries and fruit.

I'm aware that I can sometimes be annoying with my "back to the nature" approach :) Sorry for that.
 
Oh, no, I'm totally with your natural approach. I've been trying to change my and my animals' lifestyles to consume less processed food. Unfortunately, processed foods are still a must, but I really try to keep it as low as possible for my boys to remain healthy and happy.

I'm sure the reference thread has links on what is and isn't safe for rats. I know some veggies or fruits can be unsafe for rats if fed raw or given cooked. I'm not too well-versed in berries, unfortunately.
 
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