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Author Topic: Chinchilla food HELP PLEASE  (Read 2000 times)

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Chins4Life089

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Chinchilla food HELP PLEASE
« on: May 28, 2014, 04:52:55 PM »

Hello people out there I will be getting my chinchilla in about a month or so and the places I can get a little bit of food is not cheap on the web the Purina Rabbit chow show mix is for a 5lb bag is 4.50$ and with shipping around 14.50$, not cheap for a weeee bit of food but I can go the a store around were I live the Tractor Supply Co. sells the same mix in 50lb bags for 19.49$ but the store were I live doesn't supply that mix they only have the Purina Rabbit Chow Complete mix (I will have all the links for stuff in the bottom) and its around the same price i was just wondering if Purina Rabbit Chow Complete mix food was ok for chins or should I just pay more for the show mix.

Purina Rabbit Chow Show link: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/rabbit-chowtrade%3B-show-formula-natural-advantedgereg%3B-formula-rabbit-feed-50-lb#desc-tab

Purina Rabbit Chow Complete link: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/purinareg%3B-rabbit-chowtrade%3B-complete-natural-advantedgetrade%3B-rabbit-food-50-lb


and the place I can get the 5lb bag it from TJ's chinchilla supplies and he is not very reliable, sometimes he won't take orders for a month and the 5 lb bag might last me a little bit but I don't really know so getting the big bag of 50lb would be nice and the complete mix comes in a 25lb bag to but again the store is out of stock and probably won't ever get it so ehh.

Now in Tj's store u have to scroll down a bit to get to the show mix food

TJ's store link: http://www.tjschinchillasupplies.com/chinchillafood.html


if u could give me an answer if the complete food is safe or not that would be nice and a before thank you for answering.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2014, 07:53:46 PM by Chins4Life089 »
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kageri

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Re: Chinchilla food
« Reply #1 on: May 28, 2014, 05:10:17 PM »

Your feedstore can't get any other brand?  I don't really like the purina stuff.  Low fiber and lots of ingredients that are just there for bulk or are not named so they can change them from bag to bag any way they like.  Manna pro is very popular and we use it in a mix with a better pellet to cut cost.  Nutrena is a good version and comes in slightly smaller bags.  2 medium bags will stay fresh longer than 1 large bag unless you repackage in to air tight containers.  Kent brand of rabbit pellets are also used.  Oxbow is considered the best followed by mazuri but those usually have to be ordered online and even when found in pet stores are rather expensive.


The manna pro select series brands are on that site.  I prefer the regular instead of the select series but it's still good.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/select-seriestrade%3B-gro-formula-rabbit-feed-50-lb
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/select-seriestrade%3B-sho-formula-rabbit-food-50-lb
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/manna-proreg%3B-select-seriestrade%3B-pro-formula-rabbit-food-25-lb

I'd look up some other stuff but that is one of the slowest sites with the most errors I've seen and a search engine that takes 20 mins.
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Chins4Life089

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Re: Chinchilla food
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2014, 05:16:17 PM »

really most chinchilla food is over priced for what it is but thanks for the advice and the first 2 links my store doesn't even supply it says no, not out of stock, no but the 3rd 25lb they do supply and is in stock
« Last Edit: May 28, 2014, 08:21:50 PM by Chins4Life089 »
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kageri

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Re: Chinchilla food HELP PLEASE
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2014, 11:10:56 PM »

There's a very basic article on the quality of rabbit pellets here http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-health-feeding/pellet-formula-nutrition/ and a link to an article that breaks down possible ingredients.  I would prefer a fixed ingredient pellet like manna pro and then a fixed analysis pellet like purina.  I think it's more important to have a predictable list of ingredients than meeting certain nutrient profiles and I do think different proteins, carbs, or fibers do make a difference instead of just matching the numbers.  I also want molasses low in the list.

I wouldn't touch the fixed cost pellets but they are pretty easy to pick out.  Things like country lane that just reads as a list of vague byproducts with no named ingredient.  I believe the first 2 ingredients are roughage products and grain byproducts which means they can stick whatever the heck they want in there that keeps a batch low cost.

For chins specifically I've read 16-20% protein but I think this might be a little high for pet chins.  They do likely require a higher protein on average than a rabbit or guinea pig because of their coats but 20% might be too much for a chin that isn't producing offspring, trying to grow a good coat quickly for pelting, and has limited stress in it's life.  Too much protein does stress the organs some to filter out and causes more concentrated urine.  You want around 30% fiber overall but that includes hay so your pellet can be lower like around 20%.  Feeding more than one type of hay is suggested.
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