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Post by winic1 on Oct 13, 2011 3:36:25 GMT
Oh yeah, do US companies generally ship to Canada, or not necessarily....and does the shipping price go way up? Plant parts crossing the border might get complicated, huh.
Was thinking that there are quite a few people in my area who travel to Europe, I could ask someone to bring me back natural goo food mix, but imagine getting stopped in Customs with a bag of mysterious dried leaves...I imagine it would not go over well at all, and you'd meet all kinds of new and interesting law enforcement officials....
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Oct 13, 2011 4:03:50 GMT
According to the information published on the website, they only ship to the USA. There is no information about international shipping.
I have resigned to collecting and purchasing individual ingredients. The markets here are very strong on natural products and locally grown produce, so it is fun to shop around for these things.
As for laws about shipping across the USA boarder, I am not sure. I have seen some ebay sellers in the USA that will ship herbs and flowers to other countries, but the prices are very expensive. I would be ready to pay well for a mix, but to pay such an amount for a single ingredient is not realistic...especially considering the rate at which the degus would consume the food.
I will be keeping both eyes open though. Let us know if you find other interesting sources !
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Post by winic1 on Oct 13, 2011 16:35:57 GMT
Went looking in my yard for things with potential, found lots of these:
Common names include wild carrot, (UK) bird's nest, bishop's lace, and (US) Queen Anne's lace -- Daucus carota
Violets (Viola sp.), mostly wild types, not store-bought or what we also call pansies
Garlic Mustard, Alliaria petiolata
I also have a Black Cherry tree out front, Prunus serotina
and was surprised to find these odd shrub-trees up on my back hill are Witch Hazel, Hamamelis sp.
Have a large Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia) over the hill by the beaver pond, were a few small ones but the beavers have taken them down. Don't think I've ever seen beech nuts, probably too many squirrels, deer, raccoons, etc.
Oaks (Quercus) are putting out a bumper crop of acorns, but the squirrels and chipmunks seem to be doing an impressive job of taking care of those as well. Keep finding large piles of chewed up remains sitting on rocks and stumps up there.
So what do I send my kids out to gather, is any of this okay?
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Post by jessiebelle on Oct 13, 2011 16:55:19 GMT
Phew, 8 pages later... what an interesting read! I would love to do this for my two girls, how does this sound for a first order from Chinchillas2shop?
Natures salad (Oat flakes, wheat flakes, marigold, parsley, redbeet, alfalfa, dandelion, pea flakes, carrots, nettle, plantain, wheat, burst wheat, burst maize, edible leaves, melissa cornflowers, rose petals, peppermint, maize flakes, red clove)
Herbal garden (green oats, green wheat, parsley, balm, peppermint, nettle, chamomile and dandelion)
Flower power (Rose buds, red rose petals, marigold flowers, marigold petals, sunflower petals, hibiscus, marshmallow whole flowers)
Millet spray
Will also have a look for some seed mixes at the weekend in town to feed too. Does this sound ok?
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Post by fred on Oct 14, 2011 8:49:18 GMT
jessiebelle This will be a very nice mix and I am sure your two girls will enjoy it It's great to see a brand new degu owner go natural straight away!!
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Post by fred on Oct 14, 2011 9:36:42 GMT
Daucus carota and Viola spp. are fine. The degupedia wiki says garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in small amounts (i.e. fine as part of a mix).
Branches and leaves from Quercus spp. and Prunus spp. are safe. The usual advice is to introduce leaves as food slowly.
We don't have Fagus grandifolia and the available information relates only to Fagus sylvatica. However, I haven't found any indication why Fagus grandifolia might be any less suitable and personally would not hesitate to give it to my degus.
No information about witch hazel Hamamelis sp. on any of the German sites.
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Post by winic1 on Oct 14, 2011 15:02:56 GMT
I've been putting a little bit of fresh stuff in the cage every day--one mint leaf each, next day one hibiscus leaf each, a sprig of parsley each, etc, and am finding that they don't seem to touch in while it is fresh, but a day or two later, when it has dried out, it is disappearing. Not sure if they are eating it, stashing it in their hut, or burying it down in the chips in the bottom level, tho. Hoping they are eating it. Am drying what I have been collecting in the yard as soon there won't be much of anything. Did get a bag of "dehydrated" carrot bits, which are not as dry as dried carrots, but not as wet as fresh, and they are gladly eating those, even tho they would never touch a fresh carrot.
Would there be any reason not to use rose petals dried from flowers you got at a florist (or even the grocery store)? Does anyone know if they do something wrong or evil to them--like a spray or a preservative or something?
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Post by Kat on Oct 14, 2011 15:09:00 GMT
CONGRATULATIONS FRED - You have now had over 10,000 views on this thread.Another ask... Does anyone know if oat groats are OK for degus? I'm guessing that they are alright and will go into the oil seeds section, but whats the "dosage"? I found a bag of them in a little wholefoods shop 500G for £1.25. I bought them with some hope. winic1 Most of the time florist roses have had chemicals sprayed on them. I have recently bought rose petals from eBay I know that you are across the pond but these are the ones that I bought and they ship to the U.S.A. Kat X
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 14, 2011 19:29:52 GMT
oat groats are fine, they are just oats before they whack them flat, possibly have slightly more fibre than flat oats because some of the fibrey hull is probably lost in the process. They fit in the cereal seed section, so you can feed 'some'. they are a good find I reckon, they must take a bit more chewing than flat oats.
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Post by Ady on Oct 14, 2011 21:01:24 GMT
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Oct 16, 2011 0:55:33 GMT
Completed another mix...this one I am proud of. Fred's recent vegetable mix has inspired me to try different things and add more variety in my upcoming food mixes. After having collected and dried various plants and flowers over the week, I have assembled a much more complete mix than the one assembled in september. This mix consists of: Dandelion leaves and stems, Dandelion roots, Dandelion flowers, Plantain leaves, stems and seedlings, Field Grasses, Luzerne, Red Clover, Strawberry leaves, Blackberry leaves, Mint herbs, Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Marjoram, dehydrated Tomatoes, dehydrated Aubergine, dehydrated Carrots, Broadleaf Parsley, Celery leaves, Yellow Daisies, Sage, Millet clusters, Birch tree leaves and Savory. This is their Versele-Laga Degu Nature feed (containing Jerusalem Artichoke, Parsips, Marigolds, Herbs, Carrots, Linseeds...etc) mixed with various grains and seeds (Oats, White Millet, Red Millet, Fennel Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Pearl Barley, Yellow Peas, Wheat Germs, Flax Seeds and Quinoa.) I also want to mention how proud I am to see more members participate in this dietary improvement. Very encouraging and inspiring to hear about how others are progressing in this field. Keep it up everyone !
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Post by fred on Oct 16, 2011 11:52:39 GMT
CONGRATULATIONS FRED - You have now had over 10,000 views on this thread. Thanks Kat, in my wildest dreams I wouldn't have expected this thread to be so successful. But credit where credit is due: - apology and maravilla for introducing us to natural nutrition mixes - our whole community here for being so open-minded and enthusiastic about it
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Post by fred on Oct 16, 2011 12:49:51 GMT
This is yet another mix Jordan!! It shows what degu owners in North America can achieve without all the bags of dried stuff we have available here. While it is of course wonderful to have this much variety, 50-60% of the ingredients would still make a good natural mix!!
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Oct 16, 2011 22:29:19 GMT
Thanks Fred and congrats for the 10k views ! The natural nutrition project really has become a forum hit !
The tomato drying proved somewhat challenging. After loosing a few slices, I decided to quicken things up with the oven. The tomatoes were left under a heat lamp for many hours and left to dry out for about two days afterwards. Some of the pieces were turning dark, so I threw them out and put the remaining ones in the oven for a few minutes. They were hard and crispy in the end and the degus are loving them.
The aubergine is also a big hit ! The fun thing about vegetable drying is that once dry, the produce can be stored and used for future mixes.
Will be experimenting with more vegetables this winter. I must say, I am really looking forward to spring.
We will have plenty of time to learn more about various plants and flowers.
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Post by winic1 on Oct 17, 2011 16:07:03 GMT
I have figured out why I am finding so few dandelions and plantains and clover and other good weeds in my yard, despite our lawn being more leafy than grassy.
I saw our little brown wild bunny out there this morning. Hadn't seen him/her in a long while, but obviously it has been there all along. And eating well. Have to get a good look now that I've looked up the species info, but am pretty sure that instead of just being an Eastern Cottontail rabbit, it is a New England Cottontail rabbit, which is an endangered species. So I guess it is more than entitled to my edible weeds.
Also guessing the weeds it isn't touching probably aren't the best for degus. Between rabbit, deer, and groundhogs (a kind of gopher, Marmota sp), and of course squirrels and chipmunks, it's not looking too good out there for little Chester and Chitter.
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Post by davx on Oct 18, 2011 1:19:17 GMT
*g* Jordan, yeah the tomatos are rich in water and therefore it is in fact a good idea to dry it using higher temperatures as you can achieve with an oven. And your new mixture looks fine too . Right, and that's indeed a problem. The remaining plants probably aren't good fodder plants. Degus, rabbits, cottontails etc. they select all for similar kind of plants. The introduced European weeds often are good fodder for the wild mammals. Perhaps it would be useful to protect some of your fodder plants making a fence or something like that around it. Also possible growing plants in large pots not reachable for the wild animals.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Oct 18, 2011 3:01:52 GMT
@ David To come back on something you mentioned a few days ago, you are right The yellow flowers I used in the mix, are called Margerite Jaune (Yellow Daisy) which is one of the common names for Rudbeckia hirta.
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Post by aya0aya on Oct 18, 2011 18:33:22 GMT
I'm a little bit late with my pictures. And the mix is not that natural as others are, but hey, better than nothing for now. Well, the main thing that bothered me was so many different bags. Every time I was feeding them I had to mix one pinch of everything. So I get a puppy food travel box and here is the result; -a mix of bought Xtravital and degu care+, Versele laga degu nature and Scienece selective degu - a bought mix of greens, grasses and vegetable mix for rodents - a bag of nettle roots -a bag of turmeric seeds -a bag of non shelled millet -a bag of quinoa with some vegetables in it -a bag of degu snacks -three bags (glasses) of different tea and tea mixes bought in the store that selling natural herb mixes - chamomile, mint, rosehips, calendula, clover, dead nettle, blueberry leaves, ... And a treats section with mostly bought things. The cosmos seeds are not bought and they love to snack them. Anyone else tried that? I believe it should be safe and a lot of fibre, since they eat "woody package" too. Yea, it's not perfect, I know, but at least looks nice:
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Post by davx on Oct 18, 2011 20:24:54 GMT
@jordan In german Rudbeckia and Echinacea have the same name: "Sonnenhut" (sun hat), the one are the red ones and the others the yellow ones. But daisy is also a good name .
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Post by winic1 on Oct 18, 2011 20:28:27 GMT
It is a perpetual and pretty much lost battle to prevent the wildlife from eating anything they decide they want around here. They eat window boxes. They come up on my front porch and eat my potted plants. Under fences. Over fences. Middle of the day up the walk, up the steps, I swear they'd come right in the house if the door was open and a plant was inside.
Inventoried the lawn & yard today for remaining weeds while walking the dog:
Potentilla indica (formerly Duchesnea indica), also called mock strawberry, Gurbir, Indian strawberry or false strawberry
Lambs quarters, Chenopodium album Pinkweed, Polygonum pensylvanicum Common yarrow, Achillea millefolium Aster, Aster sp. Common mullein, Verbascum thapsus Gill-over-the-ground, Glechoma hederacea Carpet bugleweed, Ajuga reptans Grape vine & leaves, Vitis labrusca (most likely species)
Most of these are just leaves & stems left at this point. Flowered long ago. is there anything in this list that is okay, or anything not okay?
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