How do i make it ?

[tommonewton]

i've been looking through the stickys and all over the internet and i still dont know how i make a natural feed.

can someone please help me on this as im pretty stuck as how i even start

[NightwishRaven999]

Hello Tommo
Hope you are well.

I can understand that with all the information floating about, the matter of Natural Feeding can appear confusing.
Luckily though, most of what you need to know to begin this fun quest is contained within a handful of topics...namely in the diet/feeding section of the forum and in the blog section.

This is the main Natural Feeding thread started by Fred:
deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=food&action=display&thread=8933

Kat's blog about her own attempt at starting off the natural diet:
deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=blogs&action=display&thread=9042

My own blog, where I share my experiences with starting off and improving the natural diet:
deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=blogs&action=display&thread=8908


Apology's thread on the natural degu diet. This is an advanced thread, but highly informational and filled with photos and ideas about what creating a mixture would involve.

deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=food&action=display&thread=8775


This is an extremely rewarding and on going project.
We are glad to hear you plan on joining us !

[tommonewton]

from what i can see you can buy the natural selections from lots of companys and then work out the correct nutritional percentages to mix it together ?

also , what percentages do you focus on for degus / for gerbils we focus on fat and protein so that would be helpful if i could find that out

[abirose]

If I were you I would start off slowly until you become more confident have a base degu food like xtravital or p@h nuggets and slowly start adding different foods in to make it more interesting. You could use some of the JR farm products available from zooplus or you could use some of the many dried herb mixes available (there is a good deal for excel herbs on amazon.com if you look in the feeding section) and maybe dried vegetables (good selection on chinchillas2shop)

This way you can ensure your degus are getting everything they need from the base food but have a more interesting and varied diet with the natural enhancements. This is how I do it just because I don't feel as confident just yet and I want my goos to have a balanced diet.

[tommonewton]

so you mean like this?

Main Part (2kg) - www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/degu/jr_farm/13201

One 200g pack of this - www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/degu/jr_farm/47836

1 (220g) Pack of each - www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/degu/jr_farm/47836

[abirose]

You could probably use the first JR product on its own just because the other two have a lot of the same ingredients in them. There are a lot of nice dried flowers and herb mixes etc on this site www.chinchillas2shop.co.uk/treats.htm that you could add to make it more interesting but I think that the JR farm covers a lot of what you need.
You could also check out rat rations which has some good dried vegetables and seeds.

[tommonewton]

so you think the first one is ok on its own ?

do you have any speifications as to how much to feed each day , and do they have to have daily vegetables like my guinea pigs ?

Thanks , tommo

[moletteuk]

I think it's easier to get you head around if you start adding in the jrfarms coarse feed products in addition to various hays, swap out unhealthy treats for dried veg and flowers, and then if you want to take it further swap traditional hard feed for jrfarm premium and/or reduce hard feed, and add in a range of grain and seed and more leaves, twigs & herbage.

Do it all slowly so that the goos get used to it and also so that you can get your head around the nutritional changes and keep it ballanced. Weigh you degus regularly while you are making changes.