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[melgo66]

Hi guys,

Sharing this because I know it is asked here a lot and pretty important since we feed our chins it everyday.

Below is a breakdown on what to look for when determining if you have good quality Timothy Hay or not...

Good quality:                         Bad quality:
Green in color                         Brown or yellow in color
Smells sweet & fragrant           Little or no smell
No sign of dust or mold            Dusty and/or mold spots (black or white specks)
Pliable fibrous stalks                Stalks break or crumble to the touch
Contains only hay                   Contains foreign matter such as stones, dirt, earth and other plants

(source: smallpetselect.com/rabbit-hay)

[GrayRodent]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing. Sometimes other plants included in hay can be quite detrimental. Mold can cause acute toxicosis. Brown hay is not nutritious.

[prince_medion]

I bought some hay from burgess,it's a good quality brand here in uk, it's mainly timothy with 2% dried dandelion leaves (says for all fibrevores). I also bought a 100% timothy from store's own brand cheaper and will use it to line their hideout. both are mainly green with odd strands of yellow/brown.


I have seen the alfafa KING ones but it looks too green and neat that it seems weird. It is also very dusty looking so I passed.

[GrayRodent]

That's interesting. I thought the greener the hay the better.

[prince_medion]

Yeah I know the greener the better but from what I read in a vet book, too fresh is also not so good, its gotta have this balance between dry but still fresh and green according to it. That alfafa king timothy hay look like stupidly bright green if you get what I mean, also all the strands are aligned one way and its like packed in layers almost like layers of wafer, in fact the feel of it feels like wafer, it feels very dry and very crisp, yet its as green as your lawn in the back garden. also it looks like it's been cut precise to fit the bag, almost as if they cut the sides of the whole bunch under a guillotine type thing. I don't know it just appears odd to me compared to other timothy hays I've seen and according to online reviews it's very dusty too.

[GrayRodent]

That's interesting. I've never heard that hay needs to be a not as green as possible color. I know there are multiple crops of alfalfa from the same field cultivated in a year and the later cuttings are lighter than the ones taken earlier. Is there a recommended crop (like first, second, or third?)

[prince_medion]

I think you misunderstood, it's timothy hay, but the brand is called alfafa king (alfafa is also called lucerne here in uk but can also be called alfafa because it's a more well known term). From what a read in this book by a vet, the hay needs to be fresh yes but also have a certain level of dryness. what it means is that the hay should be harvested, then stored in a manner so it dries out a little (they usually refer it as barn dried here)becoming crisp and not so moist and soft and a slightly less bright green unlike if you cut the grass in your back garden and fed it straight off to the chins. So what it says is that it should be slightly dry but not too much, still fresh enough and green. I think it's just to get the excess moisture out of it. Then Again, methods here in Europe might differ from America. I know for a fact that when it comes to feeding rodents and lagomorphs, a lot of people here in Europe prefer to give natural foods as close as possible to what would be the wild diet. In fact there is a trend in germany where they have stopped pellets alltogether and only feed a variety of fresh plants and grass. There is also some pelleted food with no added sugars or binders, everything is made from natural ingredients (mixture of timothy and alfafa with other edible grasses especialy fescues, rye and barley grass)and fillers and binders are replaced with dandelion, nettle or parsnip roots. We also like to give some edible flowers and herbs in small doses from time to time like: dandelion, echinacea, melissa, thyme, rosemary, basil, chamomile to name but a few. I think we like to provide our pets with food that is varied, interesting and enriching giving the pet the opportunity to use some of it's natural instincts, also some of these herbs are proven to help prevent certain illnesses. For example, from time to time, I replace my dwarf hamster food by a whole millet spray, sorghum or wheat ear. It's actually quite interesting to see them climbing the stems and using their dexterity to get the seeds off. Another thing some people and I do that most others would shun at or think it's gross, is that we give hamsters a live mealworm. One of my chinese looks like a cat on a hunt when he spots it lol. quite fun to watch and he certainly enjoy them. But anyway I guess that's just a matter of culture and opinion.

[GrayRodent]

Wow, that's interesting. I know that chinchillas can live over 20 years on plain timothy hay plus a high quality alfalfa-based pelleted diet. I wouldn't recommend mealworms for chinchillas. Hamsters I can see because they need a much more varied diet (the concept doesn't bother me). I'm looking forward to seeing the results for on the health and longevity of pet chinchillas from the trendy diet. I know some breeders have been successful feeding loose hay only, primarily a mixture of alfalfa and timothy hay. The problem is their weight tends to be lower than than chins on normal pelleted diets which can make them more vulnerable to sickness.
It's sad that most pelleted diets are unsuitable and some have proven to be quite harmful. There are still a few that I can highly recommend. The grass hay idea is certainly intriguing. I'd like to see my chins play in it.

[mb30]

Out of curiosity do you know of any pellets that are all natural as you say?

I currently use beaphar chinchilla care plus which many say is the best pellet you can get for Chins

[Flint]

All my chinchillas are fed Beaphar Care Plus pellets and a good quality Timothy hay as staple. As mb30 states, they are about the best to be obtained here in England. Each evening I feed a small amount of chin safe herbs or forage which all my boys love. All my chins are excellent weights and full of vitality. I'm extremely interested in natural, or near natural feeding and have read quite widely on what herbs etc are chin safe. My boys particulaly love echinacea, plantain, mulberry leaves, various safe wood bark, coneflower and many others. I give alfalfa twice weekly in small quantity, always mindful of the higher calcium levels it contains.

Would any other members interested in natural feeding please post their methods or research as I feel in would be beneficial to share  .

[BLS Chins]

'Natural' feeding is frowned upon. Those chins have had a much higher risk of gut issues and shorter lives (along with poorer condition of coat personally). I wouldnt share any information regarding that.

Information about herbs (given in moderation) is welcome in this group

[GrayRodent]

I kind of suspected that. I know that certainly is true of both wild and domestic animals. When you can feed a chinchilla on a regular simple loose hay and pellets diet and it lives over 20 years I just have to wonder why it's needed to change the system. I can guarantee that no wild chinchilla in a normal environment will ever live that long.