[Cait]

We use
Bailey's Best British Oats (rolled oats) - 20kg sack for £6.95
Mixed flake (barley, pea, maize etc) - 20kg sack for £7.85
Mixed wild bird seed - 20kg sack for £9.30
Wafcol greyhound maintenance (dry dog food) - 15kg sack for £10.80ish
Lactol soaked bread a couple of times a week

It costs £100 a month to feed 100ish adult mice plus litters, so £1 per mouse per month.

 

[Cait]

I have to buy quite a few sacks per month as you can probably imagine But it would be worth it for 30, you'd just not have to buy sacks as often as me (every couple of weeks we buy a few sacks of each of the bulk ingredients, less for things like bird seed and dog food). If you bought one sack of each it would probably last ages But not so long that the food would spoil before you used it.

 

[Cait]

Yes Daisy we did used to use rabbit food in the mix, but only a specific one for that very reason. I have now switched from the rabbit food to the mixed flakes for that part of the mix. I'm not sure if the mice like it as much, it's hard to tell! They definitely eat well anyway. However they all LOVE the Lactol soaked bread. I only just drop it in and they're all in there nibbling :lol:

 

[Cait]

I buy them from the 'local' farm shop (not really that local, takes about 30 minutes to get there lol). Anywhere that sells horse feed and things like that near you will probably stock this sort of thing. The oats we buy are actually intended for racehorses :lol: Only the best for the mice! I'm sure a quick Google of 'farm shop' or 'animal feed' or 'equine supplies' will get you some results, especially as you're down south.

 

[Cait]

Yeah that's the same thing. Now I have images of little oats with faces and black eyes lol :lol: You can use any brand of oats though, they are just the ones we have as they are less dusty so don't make us sneeze and itch - they are more expensive as you can buy rolled oats in a sack for about £5 for 20kg.

 

[Cait]

Bailey's website

The red, white and blue sack are the ones we have...

There is a UK stockists page on there too, might give you a lead in to some places near you as it's done by county.

 

[Cait]

I'm not sure what the brand is on the mixed flakes, I'd have to check the label. That sounds like you've found the right thing there though - micronized just means cooked I think, and therefore easier to digest

 

[Cait]

Just out of interest, do you know how much it costs you to feed the mice (per mouse per month) when you buy small amounts like you are doing? Just curious how much of a difference it makes (you can PM me if you don't want to post it here).

 

[Cait]

How do you feed 40+ mice on 8kg?! Like I said I have around 100 adults plus litters and I must use about 140kg of food per month after a quick mental tot up, plus bread and Lactol.

 

[Cait]

Why crushed oats and not groats the last time I bought crushed I seemed to have a sack of husks currently using superioats 25kg £12
lasts ages.

I agree a lot of the cheaper ones seem to have lots of husk, the one I use I think is fine. They also don't sell groats in large quantities near me.

 

[Cait]

Doesn't sound too bad, I'd be more worried about whether it was pellets (which mine don't eat). If it is actually flakes then it should be ok - mice are fine with molasses as my rabbit food used to contain that and they liked it

 

[Cait]

You'll just have to switch them to drinking de-caf to compensate :lol:

I say try them on it and see if they'll eat the pellets. I guess it depends whether the pellets are soft and easy to eat or rock hard lol. As for oats being 'hot' that's something that mouse fanciers say too, about them 'heating the blood'. It's because they are higher protein and give them a lot of energy etc more than other grains do, that's why we feed them it in the first place!

 

[Cait]

What are the ingredients Daisy? All it says on the Allen & Page website is that it contains linseed and soya, both of which are fine for mice, but we need to know what else is in there!

 

[Cait]

As those mixes are for rats, I can supply a mouse version of a complete mix for £1.50/kg, collectable from shows or Wigston LE18. Obviously it is the same mix that I use to feed my show mice and contains bruised oats, flaked barley, mixed seed, complete dog food and broken dog biscuits. Suitable for growing babies and pregnant/nursing does as well - of course you can add your own extras as desired.

 

[Cait]

Don't know about your lot but my mice and hamsters are not big fans of maize and pea flakes. They will eat a few, but many get left. Oats and barley would be a better staple, and add a few of the pea flakes if you want to.