Uncooked Corn on Cob?

BaggyMousers

As above guys, is this ok to give the wee ones? Should I cook it first? I saw a video of a mouse nibbling on a cob and I wanted to see if mine liked it but thought I'd see what people said first. 

racingmouse

Do you know, I`m not sure on the answer to this. I imagine raw corn is nibbled on by wild mice and it is a starchy vegetable with natural sugars. Cooking it makes it softer but I imagine reduces the vitamins too? I can`t remember ever feeding a corn cob piece to my mice but they would get the dried pieces found in a mix. Whether they cook the corn/maize before drying it to add to a mix though, I`m not sure? Corn in some US states has been reported to have a fungus or it can sometimes be GM corn (I know Burgess state this on their bags now). Tinned sweet corn can have added salt and some tins will say no sugar added. But it`s better to feed raw and not tinned.

The small frozen corns thawed out I imagine are raw that are sold in Iceland/FarmFoods and supermarkets, then there are the fresh raw corns (unfrozen). Hmmm... ponders this..!

BaggyMousers

Yes i think I will leave it until I know for sure it will be ok with them!

I've seen plenty of dried up corn on the cobs for sale in pet stores, but I had a fresh corn cob from the market and thought it would be a lovely treat (as well as full of vitamins) 

kyrilliondaemon

I wondered this yesterday! I imagine it'd be fine but ended up not getting the corn so completely forgot about it again

zany_toon

Humans can eat it uncooked, and plenty of animals in the wild would so I imagine it would be ok. I've given my mice some bits of defrosted corn (so "freshly frozen") without cooking it first and they loved it. It will also contain far more nutrients for them. Mine aren't too fussy about whether their corn is cooked or not :)

racingmouse

Oh...I take a frozen pea from the freezer bag and thaw it for Chubs, so I imagine corn is just the same...DOH!!! :-@

Why didn`t we realise that!

BaggyMousers

I have no idea. Im being pretty stupid now but....corn in the freezer bags...thats not cooked then? Lol. Im so sorry for being so dumb. >:D<

kyrilliondaemon

zany_toon said:

Humans can eat it uncooked, and plenty of animals in the wild would so I imagine it would be ok.

That was exactly my logic, I'm glad yours have had defrosted corn with no problems :)

zany_toon

BaggyMousers said:

I have no idea. Im being pretty stupid now but....corn in the freezer bags...that's not cooked then? Lol. Im so sorry for being so dumb. >:D<

It's not dumb Georgia :) If you don't eat it you wouldn't know - I use a lot of frozen veg as I can't get the type of veg I like fresh locally :( But no, the frozen stuff is not cooked. It's picked at the field, washed and frozen :) So if you defrost it you essentially have (slightly more watery) fresh veg.

Pettingthmousepaw

Yesterday for the first time I bought mice they are two females and I am using cotton for bedding and I brought them at my home at night so what I did for their first meal was I soaked the corns overnight and gave them as their first meal at my home with some broccoli and shredded apples on top and they liked it for sure so u can also do this or if I fed them something wrong then tell me please and also comment about the bedding I used thanks >:D<

Summergirl

I have been told that cotton is dangerous! It can get ingested or wrapped around a foot. It is better to use shredded newspaper or other paper. You can also buy shredded paper, but be sure it doesn't have baking soda added. That's not good for mice, and they don't need anything for the smell. Good luck with your mice! You will love them!

AnnB

Welcome to the forum. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your mice.

Summergirl is right, be careful to avoid any material with strands that could get wrapped around a mouse paw or tail. I'm glad the mice liked the broccoli and apples. They shouldn't have too much fresh food in their diet but it can be given as a treat. Their diet should contain grains like oats, wheat, and seeds such as millet etc.

Sarahnash

My mice love sweetcorn from the cob, not cooked, just washed. In the past I would have carved a piece off and let them pull the corn off which was an enjoyable treat. Now I limit their amount in a bowl due to the high calorie content. But still it's safe and fine. It does degrade quickly though even in the fridge so take out of the packet, wash, dry, wrap in paper towel and back in the fridge. Look out for white residue and throw away if present.