Best rat chow for the buck?

[MarcB]

What rat pellets or blocks are you guys using?

I buy a 50 pd. bag for $25 and was wondering what other high quality feed is out there for rats.

And before anyone mentions it, I will not compromise with dog food...

[annieb_mice]

Good for you in regards to the dog food!
I feed my rats several different things, including horse chunks, fresh fruits and veggies <they LOVE frozen peas and carrots>, boiled eggs and cooked chicken and other cooked meats. There are times when they are fed other things such as "spagetti" noodles and such, but this isn't common and is basically just a treat.
I think if you are looking for one all-purpose food, most people would recommend sticking with the lab blocks. Personally, I don't like them... but other people do.
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[mykee]

Glad to hear you won't do the "dog food thing". I feed Mazuri 6F rat breeder food to my breeders, feeders, and pets. I pay $19.10 for a 50 lb bag. It's what rats need, and it's not expensive.

[Linds]

I'm currently feeding Masterfeeds 16% horse chunks to my rats. Depending on the stage of growth and breeding activity, I also supplement with a sprinkling of medium quality cat food and chicken remains and occassional table scraps. To improve the cat food could be supplemented with fresh protein sources. The horse chunks are fine for adult rat maintenance, but a little low in fat and protein to support growing or actively breeding rats. The horse chunks I pay about $15 CDN for a 50 lb bag. Right now my rats are consistently throwing litters of 14-18, with some females even getting as many as 22 babies. It's a healthy diet (unlike dog food) that can be adjusted to suit all levels of growth, unlike a lab diet which only has one level of nutrition to offer all stages, and remains very cost effective and convenient :cool:

[MarcB]

Thanks to all, realy appreciate all comments/suggestions..

[Stockwell]

Marc, I use the Mazuri 6F as well, but I breed only mice. The big supplier in Ontario is Ren's feed, just west of Toronto. A few co-ops also distribute it.
If you can't find it in PQ, they are open Sundays and you could probably fill a trunk with it next time you're out to the September show.
http://www.rensfeed.com/

[MarcB]

Thanks Roy! I might just have to come down with a U-Haul..

[Lisa]

Originally posted by Linds
I'm currently feeding Masterfeeds 16% horse chunks to my rats. Depending on the stage of growth and breeding activity, I also supplement with a sprinkling of medium quality cat food and chicken remains and occassional table scraps. To improve the cat food could be supplemented with fresh protein sources. The horse chunks are fine for adult rat maintenance, but a little low in fat and protein to support growing or actively breeding rats.

To mimic Mykee - "Rats aren't horses or cats" >( :joker:

[mykee]

Lisa: True dat. LOL. Mazuri is nutritionally complete for what most of our rats are: "....growing or actively breeding rats...". All of my rats (150+) fall into either "growing" or "actively breeding". I personally only have 2 rats that are neither; they just sort of hang around and act like pets. For the majority of us who breed our own rats for snake food, need a diet that is high in nutrients for "growing" (to get the babies to feeding size, or the be kept as breeders) or "actively breeding" (what we as breeders hope they'll do to make us more babies/food). For the pet rat, I feed my two rats (a dumbo & a naked) anything and everything. However for my breeders, 'anything and everything' would be time-consuming and expensive, hence the Mazuri.

[jjnnbns]

I live in an area of 150,000+ people and can't find Mazuri or Lab Block anywhere. Petco has it but only sells 4-6lb bags, they get larger to feed their animals, but won't sell it.

The local petstore uses 50lb bags but would charge me $42.99 and thats quite spendy. I'm going to a feed store tonight to see about horse chunks I guess.

[Linds]

"It is made specifically for them so it must be the best thing!"

False at best. Mazuri makes specific diets so they must know what they are doing, right? Wrong. Have you looked at their tortoise diets? Iguana diets? All grain-based (mainly corn and soybean meal - corn is just a filler ingredient for the most part and soy inhibits calcium uptake, as well as a variety of other nutrients) which are basically a concentrated sugar, which these high roughage animals cannot handle in their diets. Fed this diet they will surely develop liver failure and other problems. Ehtoxyquin is also a commonly used preservative that is quite toxic and can cause tumors. What's better yet is if you line up all the ingredients beside eachother, they are strikingly similar in makeup. Now I really hope nobody honestly believes that these so very different animals all have the same digestive systems and nutritional requirements? Formulated diets shmormulated diets. Just because it is made for them doesn't mean that it is what they need, and just because something doesn't have its name on the front doesn't mean it isn't a suitable diet for other animals. How many of you will feed your monitor cans of "monitor diet", or your iguana bowls of pelletted iguana feed? well, since it was made for them it must be right! Not likely. Now a lot of us know better than to buy in to what the pet industry tells us is best for our reptiles, why shouldn't that apply to our rodents as well?

Rodent diet (6F): Ground corn, dehulled soybean meal, cane molasses, animal fat preserved with BHA, wheat middlings, ground oats, dehydrated alfalfa meal, ground wheat, dicalcium phosphate, ground soybean hulls, fish meal, dried beet pulp, brewers dried yeast, wheat germ, salt, corn gluten meal, calcium carbonate, DL-methionine, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (source of vitamin K), pyridoxine hydrochloride, choline chloride, soybean oil, L-lysine, dried yucca shidigera extract, cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate (source of vitamin E), thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, biotin, calcium pantothenate, cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), riboflavin, nicotinic acid, vitamin A acetate, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate.


Iguana diet: Dehulled soybean meal, dehydrated alfalfa meal, ground soybean hulls, wheat middlings, ground corn, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, soybean oil, salt, DL-methionine, cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (vitamin K), folic acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), vitamin A acetate, calcium pantothenate, biotin, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (natural source vitamin E), thiamin mononitrate, ethoxyquin (a preservative), choline chloride, cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), riboflavin, nicotinic acid, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite.

Tortoise diet: Ground soybean hulls, ground corn, ground oats, dehulled soybean meal, wheat middlings, cane molasses, brewers dried yeast, soybean oil, wheat germ, dehydrated alfalfa meal, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, salt, DL-methionine, choline chloride, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (vitamin K), pyridoxine hydrochloride, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (natural source vitamin E), cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), biotin, calcium pantothenate, ethoxyquin (a preservative), vitamin A acetate, riboflavin, L-lysine, nicotinic acid, thiamin mononitrate, cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), folic acid, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite.

[annieb_mice]

Linds....
Wow! Thanks for the info! Looks like you've done your "research." :)
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[Piers]

As linds says, read the lable set a better table.
I've not found much diference in rat food, dog food or what ever, they all have the same stuff in them or close enough. Also rats are omniveris(?) They eat and like meat as well as anything else they can put in their mouths.
I do agree with giving a mixed diet, not so much that its better for them but that they like the change just as we do.
I use COB its just corn,oats and barley covered in honey and flattened. Fat, Protien,Fiber and whatever else is basicly the same as dog/rat food but its got honey and they tend to eat it first.
Piers

[reptilesalonica]

Agree with Linds. Btw, that's what i said in a topic i post in this forum about rat foods. Just because the label sais "Best Rat Food!" It is not very true how "Best" the best is. Like Linds sais, all you have to do is compare rthe ingridients. ;)
~Greg~

[mykee]

I'm sure dog food is better. (rolls eyes)

[Lisa]

And I'm sure cruel and needless tests were done (this is purina we are talking about here) to make sure that the food was absolutely the best for your rats.


Fact: Rats are garbage cans. They'll eat anything and thrive.


Anyways, this is an argument that NO ONE can win. I feed my rodents a number of things not limited to dog food, grain I got from a farmer friend, dandylions (greens and all) when in season, frozen veggies, cerials (for treats), stale bread, chicken bones, left overs. It's not rocket science.

[mykee]

Good point. Rats do get bigger and fatter living in the streets living out of dumpsters than they'll ever get in our racks eating rat block, or a 'concoction' of table craps, grains and seeds. maybe we should just use our rats as composters, letting them eat what they would eat in 'nature' and compare them to our lab block and table craps diet. That would be a study I'd like to see.

[jadegrasse]

I'm sure it's not better but is it worse? I doubt it. I think ‘rat chow’ is the ‘politically correct’ solution on this forum. I like our solution best. I have agreements with two restaurants, a cooking school and a food chain to pick up all their food ‘leftovers’. This includes all their grain produce, greens, legumes, meat (cooked only), whole grain bread or any other food. Everything I get is still fit for human consumption and nothing is ever spoiled. Everything is sorted and fed to the tortoises, lizards, rats (dog and cats) and mice in the ratios I feel is right. Anything not consumed is put in a large compost pile 200’ away in the woods and tilled in twice a year. I pickup about 10 gallons a day and use about 5-6 gallons a day. In the summer I grow a large garden just for the animals. All the rodents always have access to some sort of ‘pellet food’ but it lasts a while and not consumed in large quantities.

If you really want ‘the best’ for your rats than I don’t think any ‘bagged food’ that never spoils is the answer. Will it do? Sure. Would I eat that way if you had a choice? No. Everyone that lives in a metro center can get all sorts of foods that are not consumed and perfect for animals. I once got 10 cooked chickens from the restaurants that were overcooked and the chief just wanted to throw out. Another time I got 4 boxes of romaine lettuce that was frost damaged and appeared fine. I think it’s everyone’s responsibility to recycle as much as possible and feel that this is a perfect way.