JR Farm Feast any good?

[racinghamster]

Regarding the JR Farm dwarf food, I`ve also found that some of the ingredients are.....well, rotten? Some pieces of corn are brown/black or look `off` and there are a lot of linseeds which Chubs never eats, along with the yellow biscuits and mung beans, so these additions seem like a waste, although some hamsters may enjoy them while others won`t. I actually think this mix is more suited to mice with it`s ingredients.

I have a local pet shop that doesn`t sell animals and he sells pre-weighed bags of various budgie, canary and other wild bird seed mixes and it`s worth asking the owner of any pet shop if they can give you a list (from the larger sack) what the seeds are? My shop sells a bag of kibbled peanuts/de-hulled sunflower seeds and corn with some millet. I bought a bag of this for the wild birds, but I also spoon out a small amount for Chubs and he scoffs it! It`s all about looking at these mixes, determine what seeds are in them and if there is nothing exotic in there, they should be fine to mix with a hamster food. Just steer clear of dried fruits (these can be high in sugar and sticky) and aromatic additions like citrus or anything else a hamster wouldn`t generally have. x

[cypher]

I'm not surprised Chubs scoffed that mix RH I'm sure mine would too!
The only problem I have with buying bags of seed mix is it takes a fair bit of work to figure out just what the nutritional value is so hard to know if you're giving a balanced diet or not, ok for a bit of a treat but not so good for a main mix.
I never give peanuts, sunflower, pumpkin seeds or anything like that out of the shell, if they want it they have to work for it! I do think it's important for them to get extras like that in the shell, breaking them open is natural & can be seen as a form of enrichment also it's important for their teeth to get a work out on shells too.
I can't say I've had a problem with any bad bits in the JR farm dwarf mix, not yet anyway & I've had a few bags, I do tend to break up some of the biscuit bits as they're a bit big for dwarf hams & they eat more that way but they should be fine for a syrian.
I think every ham is going to have favourite bits & bits they leave whatever mix you use so nothing is going to be perfect.

[RubyDG]

Thanks for all the feedback guys! I'm definitely going to have a look at the Brazil Nuts and the Iams Kitten Kibble, plus I may try that Mucki mix from Zooplus. Even if he doesn't eat the mealworms in it I can always pick them out. Also, should I limit the about of kitten kibble or is it a case of just adding two pieces into his bowl when I fill it type of thing?

I do think I'm going to get some separate seeds though. I have some flaxseed I get from the local Health Food Shop and I always add a small pinch in and he loves it. I don't think I'd ever move away from a shop bought staple mix as I'm not confident about providing the correct nutrients in the correct amounts but I think different seeds to add in on a 'per bowl' basis would be good.

[cypher]

For a syrian I think a couple of pieces of kibble in his mix a day would be fine, probably enough to give him a little bit of a boost, I guess it depends on what else you can get him to eat that you could add too, give the hemp seeds a try, mine all love them & they are really nutritious too.