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Feeding Your Stud Food and a clean environment are the two most important things that exhibition and/or breeding mice need. I would recommend that mice are fed by scattering dry food on the floor rather than using a bowl. You can use a bowl if you'd like to, but you'll probably find that the mice scatter all of the food on the floor anyway and then use the bowl as a toilet. This makes unnecessary cleaning for you and between cleaning times the bowl becomes a haven for germs and will attract flies. Mice are not greedy eaters, so you should feed enough that they still have food left when feeding time rolls round again. It is better to discard food than let the mice go hungry as mice can lose condition very quickly. Due to their small body size and comparatively large surface area mice need to eat regularly to produce enough body heat and energy to do their daily activities, and will quickly become lethargic and ill if they go hungry. In addition, females with litters will cannibalise their young rather than go hungry. So never, ever let your stock run out of food. You can use a multitude of feeds as your base. The base of the diet would need to consist of at least 70% grains (such as oats, barley, wheat, etc) or herbivore feed (such as rabbit or goat food). You can mix these to make the base; for example 40% rabbit feed, 20% oats and 10% barley, which adds a lot of variety for the mice to pick through. There is information on each of these options further down the page. The remaining 30% can be made of bird seeds, dog kibble, cat kibble; basically any suitable dry food that is higher in protein than the grains. The ration of grains to protein foods can be varied to suit your mice. If your mice are looking greasy and itchy change the mix so it contains more grain. If you mice are lacking condition and their coats are looking drab, up the protein. Making Your Own Mix from Straights If you have a lot of mice, you'll find it cheaper to mix your own food than buy rat or mouse food. Large bags of straights (pure grain) for horses can be bought cheaply and easily at under £10 per 20kg bag, and you should mix these grains with bird seeds and/or dog food to complete the nutritional spectrum. Here are some ingredients commonly used for mouse food:
Mixing a Diet from Other Complete Livestock Foods There are many other animals who share similar nutritional needs to mice, and their feeds contain many similar ingredients to rat/mouse food. These include pigs, horses, hens, rabbits and goats. Big bags of food can be bought fairly cheaply and are easily modified into a good mouse diet. Goat Feeds: FANCY FEED DRY GOAT MIX SPILLERS GOAT MIX For mice, all that goat feed mixes are lacking is a meat based protein, so dog or cat food should be added. Rabbit Feeds: TITMUSS RABBIT MIX SUPREME (1) BURGESS SUPA FRUITI PETS AT HOME MUESLI RABBIT FOOD Again, a meat based protein is lacking, so dog or cat food should be added. Bear in mind that mice won't eat the grass/alfalfa pellets so there will be waste. Horse Feeds: BAILEY'S NO.10 RACEHORSE MIX JOLLYE'S HORSE AND PONY CUBES MASHAM MICRONISED MIXED FLAKES Again, a meat based protein is lacking, so dog or cat food should be added. Feed Suitable for Adding to Any of the Above: Straight grains or any of the above feeds should make up 70 to 80% of the overall diet. The remaining 20 to 30% should consist of seeds and/or meat based proteins. Seeds which can be added to any of the goat, rabbit and horse feed listed above include sunflower, linseed, white millet, red dari, peanuts, pumpkin and black rape seeds. These can be changed for variety without upsetting the bulk of the diet. You can buy a variety of these seeds premixed in the form of parakeet mix, parrot mix and wild bird seed. Other feeds which can be added in addition to or instead of seeds include dry dog food and dry cat food. These don't have to be high quality. The expensive dog and cat feeds contain meat as their main ingredient whereas cheap ones have a lot more grain in them - which is not so good for cats and dogs, but better for mice. Chicken feed (layers pellets and growers pellets) and pig feed (sow and weaner nuts) are also suitable for the base of a mouse diet. There'll be information coming soon about chicken and pig feed. Dog Feeds: There are a few dog feeds which are suitable for feeding as a complete mouse diet. Bear in mind that the cheaper the dog food the more grain it contains; so what would be a very cheap, poor diet for dogs makes an excellent mouse diet for breeding and growing mice. The two examples I've given below (Vitalin Original and Chudley's Original) contain 18% protein and the major ingredients are grains, which makes these suitable to feed on their own (for active breeding mice or growing weaners) or in a 50/50 mix with grains: VITALIN ORIGINAL WORKING DOG MUESLI CHUDLEY'S ORIGINAL WORKING DOG MUESLI
Additional Foods In addition to their staple diet, mice will enjoy a variety of treats. Hay is good for them, not only will they eat it, they will make nests from it and it'll keep their coat shiny as their bodies rub along the stalks. Millet sprays can be hung in the cage and provide an opportunity for climbing as well as eating. Dog biscuits are good for keeping their teeth ground down, and the charcoal dog biscuits will help keep their stomachs in good order. EMP (egg based canary rearing food), stale bread and milk mash, and Lactol (soluble puppy milk powder) are readily received and are excellent for helping growing animals grow to their maximum potential and providing pregnant/nursing does with plenty of extra nutrition. As a rarer treat, mice will enjoy things like cooked chicken (on the bone or off), fish, and dried or live mealworms. If feeding live mealworms, keep an eye out for any the mice haven't eaten, as they will borrow under the bedding and morph into big beetles. Linseed is good to feed for about a week before a show as it makes the mice' coats very shiny, but extended feeding will usually result in a greasy appearance. Mice will enjoy a variety of fresh or dry herbs, such as dandelion leaves and flowers. The diet of nursing and growing mice can be supplemented with Lactol, eggfood, oat porridge, insects (mostly dried but occasionally live), dry cat food and bread and lactol or goats' milk mash. Foods to Avoid Mice don't need fresh green food and more than a very small amount will upset their stomachs, although cucumber can be provided for moisture when they do not have access to a water bottle - ie when travelling or at a show. Avoid any foods high in fat, salt or sugar like crisps, chocolate, cake and fruit, or any foods that are sticky or tacky. Other Nutrition and Feeding Information: All animals need five food groups. These are energy, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals. A good mix will have all of these in the correct percentages. Bad mixes have too much of one or two ingredients. An example of this is a mix made mostly of seeds and nuts. These mixes can cause skin complaints and kidney problems. · Carbohydrates - these give energy for everyday life. They are found
in grains, nuts, seeds and vegetables. Carbohydrates should make up about 75% of the
daily intake. Lack of activity and loss of weight are symptoms of a deficiency. Meat is important in a mouse's diet because it is valuable source of all the proteins.Fat is important in a mouse's diet, but too much puts extra weight on the organs and skeleton, thus shortening your pet’s life dramatically, just like with people. Vitamins and minerals are found in all grains, nuts and vegetables. Giving your mouse a balanced diet will ensure she receives all of them. A mineral block can help this, which is available in all good pet stores. It is an especially good idea to give a mineral block to pregnant and nursing mothers, for obvious reasons. Commercial rat and mouse mixes will contain a protein level of 10 to 15%, which is perfectly fine for pets, but a mouse stud contains mice that need a lot more protein for breeding, nursing, growing, and keeping condition on the show bench. You want to be feeding 15% protein at the minimum but preferably it should make up 18 to 20% of the nutritional intake. Below is a list of common ingredients in rat food and what they provide: Wheat - provides several of the B vitamins, potassium, iron, magnesium and zinc |
