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Mazuri

9 (64.3%)

Kline

1 (7.1%)

APD

0 (0%)

Tradition

4 (28.6%)

Total Members Voted: 14

[Jo Ann]

 Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but...just click on it for a larger picture.

 
Jo Ann

[chinclub]

Do not use the PRO!  It is not good for chinchillas.  There was a breeder around here that tried it when we could no longer get the SHO a few years back and they had horrible results. 

[Trixie]

Brand new here with a question regarding chin food.  I feed mine Kaytee Timothy Complete for Chinchillas.  Does anyone know about this food?  I've never heard of all the foods you are talking about but doesn't it make more sense to feed it a food made specifically for chins.  I'm also new to owning a chin (fairly so, we've had out one for prob. a year now).  I just buy his food at Pet Supermarket.  He seems to be doing great on it.  He also gets alfalfa hay daily and 1 or 2 raisins periodically.

[Jo Ann]

I have found anything marked "Complete", Deluxe or Mix and contains things in it other than pellets,
it is not good for you chin and is not giving it a healthy balanced diet. 

Chinchillas are like little children ...
    If you set bowl of ice cream and a plate of spinach in front of a child, and give them the choice to choose freely which one they will eat... which one do you think a kid going to eat?
    Same with chinchillas ... give them a pellet diet with all kinds of extra goodies in it and guess what they are going to do ... fill up on the goodies and pitch the pellets out!  Not good for your chinchilla.

If a chinchilla diet does not have a mill date or an expiration date on the package, do not get it. 
If it is not dated, you have no idea how old it may be. 
If it is sold in one of those "shoots" or in containers without being sealed air-tight, it could very well be contaminated.

If there is a lot of sediment (dust) in the bottom of the bag or box, it is probably to old to be feeding your chin. 
If it is to old, then the nutritional value in it is about the same as dirt (or less).

Personally, I would not give Kaytee Chinchilla Diet to my chinchillas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mazuri Chinchilla Diet is specially made for chinchillas.
Oxbow makes food especially for chinchillas.
Traditions Chinchilla Diet is specially made for chinchillas and was developed by a very well-known breeder in Ohio.
Kline Chinchilla Diet was also developed just for chinchillas, by Alice Kline.  Very well known and highly respected breeder/researcher in the chinchilla world.
Manna Pro Sho Rabbit Pellets is used by a research center for chinchillas in California, of course,you do also have to feed a supplement with this.  www.cachins.org

The five I mention above that are underlined are the only ones I reccomend for chinchillas.

 
Jo Ann

[Joyce]

  Hi there,  make sure your chin gets lots of timothy hay every day too!

[Trixie]

I've never noticed any dust or sediment in the bottom of the bag.  He gets lots of the timothy hay daily.  We make sure of that.  I will go home and check for a date.  He seems to be doing great on it.  That's what I've been feeding him since I got him.  No hair loss or weight loss or anything.  But I will definitely check the date on the bag.  Thanks for the answers.  I'll also go and look at the nutritional analysis info and ingredients in it and compare to the ones I'm reading about on here.  I thought since I heard so many good things about the timothy hay that their food should be good too. 

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I always worry over anything edible by people or animals when it says complete.
If there were such a thing we wouldn't need to eat but could take a pill.
Boy what time that would save, and how many wishes  have I made for just such a meal.

If it were true for chin food you wouldn't need hay at all.
To say nothing of all the treats and little things I can't even tell what they are.
I have yet to see a pet shop chin pellet with a date, and it's so much more expensive than the better feeds mentioned.
You are always better going with the freshest available in a timothy based pellet, Even if it's a show rabbit pellet.
Here you need to do your homework.
I've been using Martin's Rabbit pellets here in Newfoundland Canada for about 5 years now, and have been very happy with the results.
Until you find a better feed to switch to at least pick out the junk food and let her eat just the pellets.
I don't feed anything in the line of treats I wouldn't eat myself, so ask yourself would you eat the treats in the Kaytee.

[Jenova]

When we got Cheech he was being fed a chinchilla pellet mixed with guinea pig food. Non of which had dates or ingredients. After coming here and finding out more I hurriedly switched him over to a pellet. I am lucky to have a great pet shop not too far that make their own brand. It isn't the best available in England but everything else would be too hard rto get and I need to make sure his food is always available. Anyway, I found that he much prefered the plain pellet to the food with all the treats in it.