I am working with tweeking my rat diet a bit. I am now adding in ground flax seed (not into what I sell for the moment) because I have been told and done a little research (not enough to expose other rats to it at the moment) that leads me to believe that flax seed should help to boost the rat immune system and help to fight precancerous cells. I was FINALLY able to find flax seed at a Shop and Save, no less. So we picked up 3 bags of it, very reasonably priced, and are now working it into the diet to see if it is something worth looking into and adding to the diet I sell as well.
I do not want to take the chance of hurting other rats, should it not prove beneficial to my rats, but it is does help them, I will be adding it to the diet as well.
In recent news, I had joined the World Rat Day Secret Santa program, that one rat lover had started. I sent, what I thought, was a very nice treat, which was pig skin wrapped around sweet potato and rather than a thank you, because I wanted to send her something soy free, I got an email bitching at me because A) I did not send her enough stuff because she had 8 rats and the treat I send was only 6 treats (5" long and her rats are not all caged alone, so it could have been divided per cage) and that I did not spend enough on it. Anyone who knows me knows that I am willing to help those who need it, I take time out of my day and have spent full days on transports and rescues. I spend hours answering emails, some are not even adopters, but just someone looking for advice. I do not have a lot of money, the money that I do have extra tends to go to help care for the rats.
The upside is that the woman who runs the program emailed me to apologize for the member, that she should have handled things differently.
I think my biggest issue with it was she attacked, without reading the blog, my advice on soy. Her email starts out:
First off, my rats get soy yogurt for breakfast and soymilk with dinner. Every day. I read your first post about the dangers of soy. Here is my opinion on that subject: In research, animals are usually fed very large/concentrated amounts, not what is usually ingested. And I believe that soy has been touted as a "miracle food" for a while now, so people have been over-doing it. I think that, like everything else, in moderation, soy can be beneficial. But when it is taken to an extreme, it can become harmful.
It is one thing to be pro soy, but if you plan to attack my research on it, you might actually take the time to read my blog on it and check out some of the research done.
I know that rats are healthier without the soy. Being off of it has allowed many of my rats to start to recover and their immune systems are kicking in. I plan to post more links about the research that I have done about soy and the immune system, which I think is actually the most dangerous affect that soy has on them, when I have a moment to look up the links.
For now, Goddess Bless and if you would like to include your stories about soy and your rats (cats, dogs, birds) please feel free to.
Tami
Social Rats Adoption and Rescue
