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Post by deguconvert on Feb 28, 2012 15:03:51 GMT
I love those pictures, Fred!! I've never tried to dry the celery for our degus, and will have to give it a try. They've never been very keen on the fresh form of it. At least . . . not the boys. The girls and all the pups are all keen to eat greens much more than the boys ever have been. They will even eat Kale!! It's really nice to put vegetable matter into the cage and see it get eaten up.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Feb 29, 2012 8:41:33 GMT
It seems that everytime I go out hunting for degu food I find more appreciation for the wide array of foods available here. This time I found some hidden jewels right under my nose On my street there is a market that sells large quantities of fresh edible plants for very good prices. I was very proud to come back home from a successful "hunt" with a large package of Oak tree leaves in one arm and an equaly large package of Roquette in the other. The Roquette looks very interesting, though I think it is a good idea to ask about its suitability before including in the mix. Fred, David, Marlén, Solly ? Do you know about Roquette/Arugula (Eruca Sativa) ? There are also a bunch of other herbs and tree leaves there...including Dandelion stems, roots and leaves. On Deguforum.de is there mention of owners using Bok Choy in their mixes ?
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Post by fred on Feb 29, 2012 10:00:11 GMT
Roquette is fine; some sources say feed in moderate amounts while others don't put a restriction on it.
Bok Choy, or Chinese cabbage is indeed fed by German degu owners. As with other cabbages, like kale and broccoli, the advice is to feed in moderate amounts and make sure they are introduced slowly.
But here is exactly the point. If you give 50% natural nutrition (not counting hay), and have say eight ingredients, each one will make up, on average, only 5% of the degus' daily intake. This is moderate by any standards.
Wherever people live, there is no problem resourcing eight ingredients from markets (preferably) or supermarkets. Such a mix does not cost more than your average premade food. To the contrary, since degus don't mind if the stuff is already a bit limp, one can buy a lot of it at reduced prices.
So, as I wrote yesterday in another thread, owners anywhere can easily feed a 50% natural nutrition, if only they wish to do so.
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ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Feb 29, 2012 20:29:32 GMT
I would like to try this 50% natural nutrition (well, actually, I'd like to go 100%), but one problem I have with it is that I don't understand anything to do with nutrition. I'm aware that Degus must need a certain amount of protein, vitamins, minerals and probably other stuff, but I've looked at nutritional values of foods and I just don't understand it at all. How do you know whether you're giving them the correct amounts of everything?
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Post by deguconvert on Feb 29, 2012 20:38:38 GMT
As there is a team of excellent members working together to put a comprehensive diet and nutrition sheet together, that will be featured on Degus International, I expect that questions just like you have posted will be addressed in their paper. I'm hoping that it will have comprehensive lists of different aspects of a complete diet . . . oil seeds, grass seeds, other seeds, leaves, veg both fresh and dried, herbs, barks, wild plants and "weeds", nuts, etc , and then what percentage of each item put into a mix will constitute a well balanced and nutritional diet for our degus. Having lists like that would then allow us to work with what items we can get our hands on, and mix them up on our own, without fear that we have missed something in the process. Anyhow, this is being worked on currently and I am sure we will have an announcement on the forum, along with celebratory fireworks ;D , once it is ready for the public to read and use as a resource.
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Post by fred on Feb 29, 2012 20:51:53 GMT
As there is a team of excellent members working together to put a comprehensive diet and nutrition sheet together, that will be featured on Degus International, I expect that questions just like you have posted will be addressed in their paper. I'm hoping that it will have comprehensive lists of different aspects of a complete diet . . . oil seeds, grass seeds, other seeds, leaves, veg both fresh and dried, herbs, barks, wild plants and "weeds", nuts, etc , and then what percentage of each item put into a mix will constitute a well balanced and nutritional diet for our degus. Having lists like that would then allow us to work with what items we can get our hands on, and mix them up on our own, without fear that we have missed something in the process. Yes, much of this will be covered in the feeding guide.
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Post by deguconvert on Feb 29, 2012 21:03:51 GMT
WOO HOO!!!! *bravo* *hooray* *clapping* *jumping* I really hope I got the right words for these smilies.
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Post by deguconvert on Feb 29, 2012 21:05:25 GMT
OOPS! LOL! NOPE!!
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Feb 29, 2012 21:14:04 GMT
Roquette is fine; some sources say feed in moderate amounts while others don't put a restriction on it. Bok Choy, or Chinese cabbage is indeed fed by German degu owners. As with other cabbages, like kale and broccoli, the advice is to feed in moderate amounts and make sure they are introduced slowly. But here is exactly the point. If you give 50% natural nutrition (not counting hay), and have say eight ingredients, each one will make up, on average, only 5% of the degus' daily intake. This is moderate by any standards. Wherever people live, there is no problem resourcing eight ingredients from markets (preferably) or supermarkets. Such a mix does not cost more than your average premade food. To the contrary, since degus don't mind if the stuff is already a bit limp, one can buy a lot of it at reduced prices. So, as I wrote yesterday in another thread, owners anywhere can easily feed a 50% natural nutrition, if only they wish to do so. Thanks for the quick reply Fred ! I am glad to hear about Roquette ! I have just been to the market and purchased a variety of herbs, salads and now Bok Choy. Also got some dried calendula and dandelion flowers. The new mix is well on its way, with peppers, parsnips, carrots, celery and cherry tomatoes in the drying process. Will be posting photos soon ! I have also been wondering about Anise (Pimpinella anisum)...would this also be suitable to include in the mix ?
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Post by fred on Feb 29, 2012 22:05:54 GMT
Anis is OK (http://degu.re4.ch/ratgeber/ernaehrung_pflanzenliste.html, and given by some DeguForum members).
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Post by davx on Feb 29, 2012 22:32:37 GMT
We use here the Italian name "Rucola". The plant is a good fodder plant. Pimpinella species are suitable as well. Here in Europe there are also wild species. Perhaps there are some in North America as well.
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 1, 2012 4:44:13 GMT
Man!! You all make my brain ache with envy, what you all know about plants and their names . . . especially their names!! Pimpinella??? Roquette??? Oh . . . Arugula . . . is that the deep red leaf with white veins?? ANYway . . . my head spins when I start reading these names and their latin versions. LOL!
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Post by davx on Mar 1, 2012 5:14:22 GMT
Faith, the latin or botanical names are a help for us non native speakers. I do not use and I'm not used to use all the common english names in my daily routine. We have our proper German names (and sometimes they are lend from other languages like Italian, French or even English). For me it is a big help for checking what plant you are talking about. But I agree it make the things more difficult.
Btw. Rucola is also used in the English regions, at least my dictionary lists it.
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Post by makeriotsnotdiets on Mar 1, 2012 21:20:48 GMT
I just attempted to dry my own eggplant, zucchini, tomato, carrot and green pepper to see how it would go. lost most of the zucchini and eggplant because the slices were too thin. will try cubing next time. I used this as a guide because i have never attempted drying before. over all, partial success in my eyes. will post a pic when my camera decides to work again. www.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/html_pubs/DRYING/dryfood.html#storing
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Post by Ady on Mar 1, 2012 21:34:42 GMT
Same here. First time I tried to dry eggplant and courgette, all of it got rotten. Now I put it in oven first for very low temp and then finish the drying on the air. Haven't tried drying tomatoes yet. My radiator isn't really suitable for it.
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Post by fred on Mar 1, 2012 21:39:25 GMT
Another example of what can easily be resourced from markets or supermarkets. A 150g pack “Italian style salad” on offer for 70 pence. It contained lollo rosso, red batavia, apollo, baby leaf spinach, endive, and lambs lettuce. This was quite visibly enjoyed by my girls [a href=" "] [/a]
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ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Mar 4, 2012 23:41:16 GMT
I have dried some mint and given a few pieces to Pikachu and Dmitri over the course of the day. They've sniffed at it and both have had a bit of a nibble but other than that they have shown little interest. Does this mean they don't like it, or is it just because it's new? And also, am I right in thinking now it's dried it should be fine to eat for a few months?
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Post by davx on Mar 5, 2012 17:56:34 GMT
Both might be correct. Mint has a strong taste and probably is not intended as staple Food for rodents. But sometimes such spicy herbs are popular for a while and then mainly ignored for longer times again. But in case of mint, in earlier days it was an ingredient of JR Farm degu mixtures and gave the mixes a menty smell.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2012 18:07:02 GMT
My current JR Farm degu special has mint in it. I got it last week from Denmark. They must have changed it recently because the previous bag didn't have mint. It smells rather strongly of mint now, I'm not sure the degus are very pleased with this
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Post by davx on Mar 6, 2012 1:48:07 GMT
They will . As I stated some years ago they had dried mint in their Degu Spezial. The Premium mixture I tried only few times and therefore cannot remember if there were also mint included.
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