I think I will buy the cockatiel mix....white millet,black millet, safflower, oat groats, stripe and black oil sunflower seeds, canary seeds. I thought it would be a lot better that the gerbil food mixes. My gerbil doesn't like the little rabbit pellets. Since I give her a bit of fresh celery and a bit of apple a couple of times a week I thought that the cockatiel mix would be good. Any one else use this cockatiel mixture?
I have cockatiels, and sometimes their food gets mixed into gerbil food. I don't add a lot of bird seed to my feed because I notice when I clean out the tank, I find it all at the bottom- it was wasted. It's stupid, and cockatiel food isn't that cheap.
My food is never *exactly* the same because it depends on what I get... but here was one a few months back.
Here you see puppy food, kitten food, rabbit food, various hamster/gerbil foods, oats, barley, plain corn flakes. My mixes change, but they flow pretty well. New things are frequently being added, so as the food changes, there isn't much differance all at once (so I'm not totally switching them over to something)
Currently I've got puffed rice, puffed corn and puffed wheat mixed in, along with some rice, kitty food, "8-in-1" brand gerbil food and mouse/rat lab block food. I don't have a picture of it currently.
Just keep in mind that BIRD food is made for BIRDS, and hamster/gerbil food is made for hamsters and gerbils.
EDIT: Some links to homemade food threads already started. "Look and you shall find" ;D
I should add that a respected member on the AGS board recommended canary mix over parakeet and cockatiel mix. I am not entirely sure why.
Sun-Seed gerbil mix is OK but it has these dime-sized green things that are ostensibly dried veggies, but that the gerbs never seem to touch; even my mice (who eat anything) eat them last when I give it to them.
Kaytee gerbil mix is alright but has too many sunflower seeds.
LM gerbil mix is really hamster mix! About three years ago they eliminated the gerbil formula and just started putting hamster mix in a bag marked "gerbils"!
BTW, whole oats, not instant. If fed to gerbils I assume they have to be cooked first?? Or not?
So... I'm wondering if anybody even looked a the links I posted? Because all I hear is griping about hamster/gerbil food, and the only other "option" you guys are talking about is switching them BIRD food. That's no solution. Honestly. that's not a way to fix the problem. If you want a seed mix that's fine- but they do make them specifically geared for rodents. I've found one that's wonderful, and I've found it to be a really good base. It's called Natures Cafe. Then I add other things like barley, wheat, puffed rice, kitten food, other commercial feeds I find on sale, puffed corn, etc.
Switching over to a bird seed isn't going to help, it just creates different problems. Bird dietary needs are totally different that that of a rodent, and actually- if you do your research, seed diets aren't suitable for birds. They lack dietary needs, and pellets are highly recommended for complete diets.
>> Oats Barley Green and yellow split peas IAMS hairball formula cat food Macaroni "Egg noodles;" actually made with whole grain wheat instead of eggs. Raisins Dried cranberries <<
I really like 8 in 1 “ecotrition” (www.eightinonepet.com) It has alot of great stuff in it which i add to my mix. <<
>> I went to the petstore and purchased a 25 pound bag of finch food. The finch food contained the following seeds: Canary Grass Seed White Millet Small Yellow Millet Red Millet Steel Cut Oat Groats Flax Seed (the next ingredients where additives like alfalfa meal and calcium carbonate.. if you don't want these things, buy organic seeds in bulk)
Next, I added in about 4 cups of dog food, I used NutraMax 16% protein, no corn, senior dog diet.
Then I added in: another pound of flax seed half a pound of rolled oats a bag of split green peas 2 pounds of lab block 1 bag of veggie noodles 1/2 bag of egg noodles 2 cups of antibiotic and preservative free rabbit pellets
And then these following cereals: Bran/Flax Flakes Cheerios Kashi GoLean Total <<
The one above contains a FOURTH type of bird food! And finch mix is really small in size. Wonder how gerbs handle it.
Catfood?? How much?
This is getting complex. I will "digest" all this info, and be back later.
;D You guys are taking this too rough. It's really easy. just start out with a decent commercial mix, and add to it. Add as much cat food as you see fit. I don't go buy exact measurements, but in stead I go by looks. You saw my picture, so you can see how much kibble I add.
I've noticed that noodles aren't favored very well, except when they're boiled and fresh. And personally, I wouldn't use a hairball formula cat food.
>> 1. Crickets... I've done them live, the small-medium ones I feed to my Lawson Dragons. Don't put too many in at once; they will chew on pups in the night. I gutload them before feeding, so they're a bit more nutritious.. . my gerbils really love them, and it's cute to watch them hunting.
2. If using any seed that's made as wild bird feed, REFRIGERATE. I have had an ongoing problem with worms and such hatching out in my feed container... gross...
3. I've been using a mix from WalMart as my base (I can't recall the name... it has "harvest" in the name, it's a hamster/gerbil mix, yellow and orange package) because it has a good blend and 15% protein, and mixed in a box of rolled oats, Total flakes, and a multigrain pasta (won't do that again; they don't really like it and leave it until last, or bury it)... but I'm also thinking of experimenting with the recipe I used to feed my rats. Here it is... maybe if we all brainstorm, we can come up with a proper ratio?
This comes from Suebee's Rat Diet www.ratsrule .com/diet. html; she supplements with a blend of high-protein dog kibble (like Merrick or Innova), but when I tried blending in kitten chow, my gerbils wouldn't touch it.
<<GRAIN MIX This is a homemade mix that I have formulated using items from my local supermarket (pictured above). As often as I can, I buy from the bulk bins or the store brands. The only item I tend to splurge on is the Total cereal, because it is very nutritious, and recommended by both the Rat Fan Club and my vet. Overall, it costs me between $10 and $15 to put together the grain mix, which lasts me a couple of months, depending on how many rats I have. The weights listed are approximate.
1/2 to 1 lb. dry rolled oats Quaker is fine, but may be more expensive; I buy mine in the bulk bin at the supermarket. Keep in mind that oatmeal is binding, so too much can cause constipation problems.
(1) 5.3 oz. box puffed wheat cereal Malt-O-Meal, Quaker or Kashi, which is available in natural food stores. Cheerios are also a viable alternative, if the other two are not available, but keep in mind that there may be added sugar. I use the Quaker, as it has no sugar content. The exact oz. amount between brands is not a big deal. The 5.3 oz is the weight of the Quaker box.
(1) 6.4 oz. box puffed rice cereal Quaker is the best brand, because it contains no sugar. Rice Krispies really are not recommended, because of salt and sugar content.
1 12 oz. box Total Cereal Highly recommended by The Rat Fan Club and my veterinarian for its exceptional nutritional content, due to added vitamins and minerals. It's only available in the United States. If you can't get Total, you can add a children's vitamin/mineral tablet to their diet, or use small animal vitamins.
Note: some people think Total has too many vitamins. Keep in mind that on an average day, a rat will only eat a few flakes of the cereal if fed as a part of this mix. The US RDA listed on the box is based on a full bowl. A rat will eat nowhere near this much on any given day.
1/4 to 1/2 lb. roasted, unsalted soy nuts These are somewhat high in protein, but contain valuable cancer-preventing agents, so they are a good addition to the mix. Not all rats like them. May also be called roasted soy beans -- I think the "nuts" thing is a marketing ploy for humans! If you can't find them, you can work soy into their diet in other ways, such as soy milk, tofu, soy crumbles and soy yogurt. You can also purchase Just Soy Nuts online. Raw dried soybeans can also be toasted at home - Roasted Soy Nuts Recipe.
Note: I recently read that roasted soybeans are also a good source of vitamin K.
1/2 lb dried fruits Dried bananas and cranberries. The bananas offer potassium, and cranberries are good for the urinary tract. Until recently, I used the banana chips, which unfortunately are fried. I have since discovered Just Bananas, which are nothing more than dried bananas. They also have a lot of other fruits and veggies that make great treats, or additions to the mix.
If you don't want to include the fruit, you don't have to. I know some people prefer to give their rats fresh fruits, instead. I do this when I can, but we don't always have fruit in the house. Some people also avoid fruits in general due to high sugar content. Use your discrection and common sense.
1/2 lb dry pasta The tri-colored elbows, with spinach and tomato flavor. Nice and crunchy for the teeth, and a good source of carbohydrates, which helps balance the protein in the soy nuts. The box I buy is actually 12 oz., a little more than 1/2 lb. Whole wheat pasta ia also a good choice.
1/4 lb sunflower seeds The large sunflower seeds for birds (the black and white ones) are best. I used to give my boys the unshelled, unsalted seeds from the bulk department, but they weren't enjoyed as much. Keep in mind that too many sunflower seeds can add too much fat and protein to the diet. Use common sense.
1/4 lb muesli (optional) Sometimes (especially in winter), I have a hard time getting the rolled oats in bulk -- too many people eating oatmeal, I guess. I found a mix called "muesli" in the bulk department that had a lot of interesting items in it that the rats really like, including rolled oats, granola, pumpkin seeds and raisins. It offers a nice variety, but I would use it sparingly due to sugar content.
Mix everything together in a huge bowl (or divide ingredients in half and make two batches if you don't have a bowl big enough for everything -- I actually end up doing three batches!). Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. This makes quite a lot of mix, and will last you quite a while if you only have a few rats -- I usually don't have more than four rats, and it lasts me two months. >>
I used to feed Furry Flowers, which was awesome... and someone at the Springfield show had a fabulous high-test blend now, but the shipping on five pounds of food would probably flatten me. <<
How do you guys work out the protein/fat ratio after you've added your various ingredients to your normal food? I mean surely, ok you add say cat food or maybe oats to your feed which is say spot on 14% protein and say 6% fat, so how do you now calculate how this has skewed up the percentages I mean I don't want to end up giving my guys way too much protein or fat by adding this extra stuff, so how do you work it out after you add your stuff?
I start out with a good base, and add from there. I've got 1, 2 and 3 year olds, and they're all healthy. If they're ever unhealthy, it's not due to their food. Also, excess protine is passes through in the urine. If you notice high ammonia smells (in any animal) then chances are it's high protine. And that was info from one of my vets
Well yes my vet said much the same, but added that protein being passed in their urine is a good sign that they have damaged kidneys through protein being excessive in the diet, either that or diabetes. The kidneys can't filter it no more so it comes out in the urine, by that stage though damage has already happened! So you can understand why I would like to get it right and not just guess. My gerbies are precious and I wouldn't like to harm them in that manner, so do you guys know how to calculate the differences when you've added your various foods?