I'm thinking about switching to a home made diet. Hear me out!

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SQ I was feeling attacked in my choice. And you didn't state any of that info, it sounded more like personal opinion and that I was being berated & attacked for the choices I have been making for my babies. Its not the first time on this thread.
Its also that people keep stating against my choices without giving useful alternatives and people who don't even want to try making their own food. So to me it feels hippocritical in that people can judge when they themselves aren't trying to make at home diets.
We have been working hard to move away from anything processed and that includes the rat food. I'm tired of supporting bigwig companies that set minimal standards for their brand. I get Oxbow and HarTek are 'top of the line' but some ingredients are still highly processed.
This thread is about making your own food. So regardless if its eggs, chicken, veggies and fruit its relevant information.
We did try lots of different seeds and legumes but without spending an arm and a leg and getting enough fats into the food its been a challenge. And the egg increased the fat almost perfectly. And I'm also confused as to why so many are against eggs when I have read a few dozen times to give (especially pregnant/nursing females) scrambled eggs as a good source or protien and fat. I have also given hard boiled eggs before (shell on) as a treat to work for, which I also read on this forum as a suggestion.
None of my rats has ever been overweight (close sometimes but usually I'm the rehome for them and they get down to a healthier weight quickly).
I personally feel eggs are fine and there is a lot of other factors in cholesterol problems. And there are FARRRR worse foods that cause cholesterol problems. My family has a history and eggs were never on the list of foods to avoid. So some part is (I would guess 'new' research) and some is personal bias. I'm a believer in natural foods in moderation cannot be bad. There's just no sense in that. The most recent research usually in fine print will state *when comparing average store bought foods* not farm fresh free run. As well many of those articles use the statement "MAY increase" not "DO" or "WILL"
I'm sure we could go on for days arguing points. I'm going to choose to not use this thread anymore and keep to myself. I was using thjs thread for useful tips not just to be told I'm wrong all the time. Thats how I've been feeling.
 
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KatTheHippie said:
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?
Click to expand...


do you have the recipe/ amnt of each ingredient you use?

smoothies sound wonderful! I share mine with my rats, they love it.
 
This thread has several opinions. You can't get mad when someone gives a different opinion. Take it in stride. Do what you feel is best and I'll do what I feel is best and you can use this thread as a sounding board or not... I certainly will be and I've gotten some good ideas from this thread and some I don't agree with and therefore won't be using it.


SterlingRats0408 said:
SQ I was feeling attacked in my choice. And you didn't state any of that info, it sounded more like personal opinion and that I was being berated & attacked for the choices I have been making for my babies. Its not the first time on this thread.
Its also that people keep stating against my choices without giving useful alternatives and people who don't even want to try making their own food. So to me it feels hippocritical in that people can judge when they themselves aren't trying to make at home diets.
We have been working hard to move away from anything processed and that includes the rat food. I'm tired of supporting bigwig companies that set minimal standards for their brand. I get Oxbow and HarTek are 'top of the line' but some ingredients are still highly processed.
This thread is about making your own food. So regardless if its eggs, chicken, veggies and fruit its relevant information.
We did try lots of different seeds and legumes but without spending an arm and a leg and getting enough fats into the food its been a challenge. And the egg increased the fat almost perfectly. And I'm also confused as to why so many are against eggs when I have read a few dozen times to give (especially pregnant/nursing females) scrambled eggs as a good source or protien and fat. I have also given hard boiled eggs before (shell on) as a treat to work for, which I also read on this forum as a suggestion.
None of my rats has ever been overweight (close sometimes but usually I'm the rehome for them and they get down to a healthier weight quickly).
I personally feel eggs are fine and there is a lot of other factors in cholesterol problems. And there are FARRRR worse foods that cause cholesterol problems. My family has a history and eggs were never on the list of foods to avoid. So some part is (I would guess 'new' research) and some is personal bias. I'm a believer in natural foods in moderation cannot be bad. There's just no sense in that. The most recent research usually in fine print will state *when comparing average store bought foods* not farm fresh free run. As well many of those articles use the statement "MAY increase" not "DO" or "WILL"
I'm sure we could go on for days arguing points. I'm going to choose to not use this thread anymore and keep to myself. I was using thjs thread for useful tips not just to be told I'm wrong all the time. Thats how I've been feeling.
Click to expand...
 
I just spent half the day with my sister doing calculations and we come up short in either micro or macro nutrients without affecting the fat and protein levels.
For those of you doing it... I would be very curious to know exactly how well your rats are doing and how long they will live on your diet.
At each turn, we hit a road block. We would have to definitely add supplements which is not even that good at absorption in the first place. You also have to make sure they eat enough of the mix in order to get the required nutrients. After a few hours, my sister and I concluded we are not qualified enough to make up a home made diet and this could be very dangerous for our pet rats. Considering my rats are living between 30 and 40 months of age, I'm thinking blocks aren't a bad thing after all. I will continue to supplement with fresh veggies and maybe even grains. I did however find out that rats only need 15 grams of food per day/60 cal per day. This tells me I've been way way over feeding my rats. lol

Rats need per day:
vitamin A 0.7 mg
D 0.025 mg
E 18 mg
K 0.1 mg
B12 0.05 mg
B6 6 mg
Potassium 3.6 g
Iron 35 mg!!!!!!!!
Zinc 12 mg
Biotin 0.2 mg
Choline 750 mg
Folic 1 mg
Niacin 15 mg
Riboflavin 3 mg
Calcium 5 g!!!
magnesium 0.5 g
Copper 5 mg
According to the book of Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals.
 
Thank you for sharing this information Jorats.

I have to admit that I am disappointed as I was hoping it was possible to come up with a good homemade diet that was as good or better then blocks. I know if anyone could find such a diet, it would be you.

Thank you for all the work you and your sister put into this effort
 
It could be done but with a lot of vitamin supplements added to the home made food. I really don't know how anyone else does it without adding vitamins, minerals and micro minerals. Rats lives are so short, I would never put them at risk like that without the proper nutrients, all the while keeping the proteins low. High proteins will damage their kidneys, that is a fact. And in some cases, depending on the digestible proteins, a high quality protein, they should only get 5% of it. So then, I'd have to do a search on what is considered high digestible protein, high quality protein for rats. In some studies, I've seen casein used for high quality protein, I would never use that, I was looking into quinoa or oats for protein.
So as a base: kale, carrots, quinoa, broccoli, banana were used in my calculations...still falling way short for iron, potassium, b12, calcium... and that's when I pretty much stopped. You really need to add the proper supplements for this to work.
 
Hmmm .... wondering how many Harlan tek 2014 blocks or oxbow they would need a day for the essentials, and if the largest part of their diet could be things like kale, carrots, quinoa, broccoli, banana
instead of what has always been recommended which is 80% good block and 20% healthy food.
It would not be a homemade diet but might be an improvement?
Hope this doesn't sound too stupid, but thought I would ask since you have done so much research.
 
I was thinking about that too. Rats need to eat 15 grams of food a day to sustain themselves. That is about 3.5 HT blocks a day. What if we only did 2 blocks a day and the rest that mix of kale, carrots, broccoli, quinoa, banana oh and blueberries, I forgot about the blueberries. I wonder if that might be good.
 
jorats said:
I was thinking about that too. Rats need to eat 15 grams of food a day to sustain themselves. That is about 3.5 HT blocks a day. What if we only did 2 blocks a day and the rest that mix of kale, carrots, broccoli, quinoa, banana oh and blueberries, I forgot about the blueberries. I wonder if that might be good.
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wouldn't the amount of calories in that 15grams of food matter? 15grams of fat has more calories than 15 grams of carbs or protein. a gram of beans has more calories than a gram of spinach, etc.

quinoa is very high protein, isn't it? I like to use something with less protein like rice for the older rats. I let my young ones have wheat and rye but as they age they get more oats or rice. I stopped getting quinoa for myself because the little stringy things creep me out and make me think er, nevermind, something gross lol


I'm just tossing out ideas, just brainstorming ideas with you.

My guys don't care for carrots so they get sweet potatoes or canned pumpkin. I give them peas for pea fishing when they are young but switch to corn when the older (less protein in corn)

I like to give them a big bowl on greens and other salad veggies, there are so few calories in greens. they'll get some tomato, celery, cucumber, pepper, black olives, summer squash, green beans, kidney beans, chick peas, whatever it is I'm putting in my own salad.

for people at least, the more variety of whole foods you eat, the more phyto nutrients you get and of course more diff vitamins and minerals.
I force myself to eat beets even though I don't much care for them because I know the nutrient profile is unique to beets and would be hard to find any other way, you know what I mean?
I know what I"m trying to say just not sure it's coming out the way I have it in my head LOL
 
SQ said:
I just checked my bag of organic quinoa ... it says there are 5g of protein per 44g of quinoa.
That would be 11%, which is less then the % in blocks.
Click to expand...

thats good to know. I was under the impression it was a high protein food
Maybe I'm confusing it with some other superfood they talk about a lot....... :/
 
The beauty of quinoa is that it is a complete protein. But Petunia, all the different whole foods you are giving as well as their block is super good. I do want to caution you about rice though, it's got lots of arsenic and I would be worried about giving that to the rats. Buckwheat would be better or millet.
 
jorats said:
The beauty of quinoa is that it is a complete protein. But Petunia, all the different whole foods you are giving as well as their block is super good. I do want to caution you about rice though, it's got lots of arsenic and I would be worried about giving that to the rats. Buckwheat would be better or millet.
Click to expand...


yeh i thought i heard that about rice. does that apply to even rice cereal? I like to use it when they are on antibiotics - it helps firm up their stools

i got some millet sprays
not sure where to get buckwheat
 
Quinoa is high in protein for a seed/grain or whatever it is. lol
Yes, I believe the rice cereal is affected with the arsenic, I read a report where an association is trying to remove rice from all baby foods. But if given while on abs, I would think that's fine, it's giving it every day that would worry me.
 
So the UK has this awesome website called ratRations.com. It's so awesome, you can order a base mix, a complete mix, or ingredients for your own mix. It's got all kinds of things that can be hard to hunt down, and the varying ingredients make it easy to create several different diets (Like, one mix for oldies, one for younger babies, one for nursing moms, ect). I'm SO jealous. I wish I could find a similar website for the US.

I'm on a hunt to try and find a similar website that will carry most, if not all, of those ingredients. That way I can make sure that my guys are getting a straight, healthy mix and I won't have to sub in some processed foods like cereals to make sure they're getting everything.

This is the mix I'm aiming to create:
Whole barley, flaked barley, flaked maize, groats, flaked peas, buckwheat, white dari, flaked wheat, flaked buckwheat, mixed millets, fennel seed, milk thistle seed, pumpkin seed, hemp seed, linseed, white quinoa, flax seed, puffed millet, puffed rice, puffed buckwheat, flaked soya, dried mixed veg, brown lentils, dried dandelion leaves, flaked carrot, dried shrimp, pasta, red pepper flakes, beetroot flakes, garlic pieces, kelp powder/pieces, Elderberried, Hawthorne berries, juniper berries, mountain ash berries, rose hips, dried spinach, dried tomato, and a little bit of eggfood (dried parrot egg food)
 
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