So we DON'T need to feed a mix?

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That is why I said that if there is an ingredient that your rats do not eat, you can change it for an other. You have to try to find what they like ^^

We have lab block, don't worry :D We have Mazuri RM1, which are the best lab block we are, and not very expansive. And others lab blocks but which are not well balanced.

(PS : I hope you understand what I'm saying, it's difficult to explain really what I want to explain in a language which is not mine ^^)
 
smilez_n_hugs said:
Unfortunately providing rats with a mix allows them to pick and choose what they want to eat which doesn't always ensure they are getting everything they need. If a lab block is available then it is a much better option but in areas where you can't get lab blocks it's good to know that you are calculating the nutrients in your mix rather than just throwing it together.
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Yes, that is very true. Although a bit different in my situation. I seperate mine (in a double FN) during each meal (when I feed the grain mix portion) since one of them is food aggressive.
In the beginning, there were a few things they would set aside but not much..and considering rats are neophobic (scared of new foods). After a week of adjusting to the ingredients however, they don't leave a crumb behind.
:)

Still, lab blocks are wonderful for nutrition - which is why I feed mine HT blocks in the morning. :) I just find grain mixes are very handy when you're needing to add something like herbs or medication.
 
Seed mixes let rats pick what they want so they are not getting all the nutrition.
Feeding fresh veggies everyday provides variety as you can feed different ones.

I'm all for feeding blocks + veggies daily!
 
I can assure you that if you choose the ingredients that your rats like, they will eat everything!!! Personally, when I fed my rats with a homemade mix, I didn't fill in the dish until they finished what there were in the dish. And they were in very good health !!!
 
I guess I will just never understand why people put together these mixes when they have good lab blocks available. Rats don't need anymore than lab blocks and fresh veggies and since that's pretty much all mine get they go absolutely nuts for their veggies so why chance a rat not getting exactly what nutrients they need by feeding a mix. And I read that both posters stated that their rats eat everything but other than MMak's rat who eats alone how can you be sure that one isn't eating all of the protein and another all the fatty ingredients? I hope I'm not coming across as rude and apologize if I am I'm just very confused as to why anyone feels the need to feed a mix. Also herbs and/or meds could be added to their veggies or something else they find yummy but I don't view that as a reason why they should get a mix every night.
 
In fact, in France, we don't have many well-balanced lab blocks... The one we can find in shops contains too much proteins (about 18/19%!). To have a well balanced food, you have to order lab blocks on the internet (with expansive shipping, about 18 euro, so about 23$ JUST for the shipping!!). I can buy it, and the shipping is not a problem for me, but some people don't want to pay 18 euros + the price of the blocks.
That's why here, many rats owners make their own food. It's more balanced than the food you can find in shops, less expansive.

Before to give my rats lab blocks, I gave them homemade mix (they ate it for about 1 year and a half) and they were in good health !
 
PsYcHoTyK said:
In fact, in France, we don't have many well-balanced lab blocks... The one we can find in shops contains too much proteins (about 18/19%!). To have a well balanced food, you have to order lab blocks on the internet (with expansive shipping, about 18 euro, so about 23$ JUST for the shipping!!). I can buy it, and the shipping is not a problem for me, but some people don't want to pay 18 euros + the price of the blocks.
That's why here, many rats owners do their own food. It's more balanced than the food you can find in shops, less expansive.

Before to give my rats lab blocks, I gave them homemade mix (they ate it for about 1 year and a half) and they were in good health !
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18 - 18% is not too high if you feed fresh veggies daily (which lowers the percentage)

Junk food for people is cheap, healthy food is expensive ..same goes for animal food ..if you buy cheap food, the ingredients are cheap which means its junk!
 
I don't add it to the veggies because it just ends up falling off. Especially if I'm needing to give them something liquidy, like an oil.. it just turns into a big mess.
I use to feed mine JUST this mix before I found someone who sold HT blocks in my area.
I did loads of research on each organic ingredient I put into it (as well as the combination of everything put together) as well as some time-consuming math. lol
The reason why I never completely stopped giving them the mix was because I still had a lot left over when I bought the HT blocks.. so I ended up deciding to still feed it in the evening.
They were really happy with the combination of food they were getting each day so I just decided to leave it that way. (plus, like I said, I just found it way easier to add herbs & medications to. less of a mess so I can make sure their getting it all)
You're not coming across as rude at all. You're more then welcome to have your own opinion and questions! :)
 
smilez_n_hugs said:
How do you judge that your rats are very happy with the combination of food they are getting?
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Bruxing and boggling before and after each meal, healthy weight, healthy coats, noses and eyes..and the fact that they eat everything all up.
Of course I can't directly ask them if they would prefer to get straight lab blocks & veggies over the combo they are being fed now..but
 
That's strange, I'm registering on many rat forums in France, and we give a food which is 14% proteins and 4% fat.
The problem of thinking that veggies would balanced the food is that it's difficult to know EXACTLY what you give and the final result of the food.

Here, we give a balanced food (14/4) but we also give extras as veggies, leftovers...
 
14% is the best for them ..I feed Extrusion which is 16% but I feed lot's of fresh veggies daily to lower the %.

Leftovers?
 
It is extremely difficult to provide a mix that will meet the nutritional requirements of rats.
That is why most of us feed a good quality block.
Mixes are usually a very bad idea.
The homemade diet found at www.ratfanclub.org is suposed to be well researched and is suposed to meet the nutritional requirements of rats.

Many of us feed HT2014 which we have to order and have shipped.
We regularily pay $20 - $25 to have a bag of HT shipped, plus the cost of the rat food.

Feeding a variety of things such as herbs, greens, etc I put into the daily veg category
.... and always have blocks available in their dishes.
 
Moon said:
Ratty Momma said:
Leftovers?
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My rats love to get some left over spaghetti, or mashed potatoes among other things....
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Oh.

I usually stick with just blocks and veggies. Sometime I will put on extra spaghetti and give them some with no sauce ..or some corn on the cobb with no butter.
 

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