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[glafond]

Hey Everyone:

Currently my Chins are on Purina Rabbit show. My breeder told me I could switch to oxbow if I wanted (using proper switching techniques). I am wondering if you guys think, taking cost and quality into consideration, is it worth it to switch to oxbow? I always want to have the Chins best interest in mind though.

Thanks!

[GrayRodent]

Which oxbow product are you considering?

[glafond]

Crap, I forgot the kind, I remember what it looks like, i'll try to find a picture of it.

The "best" one though.

I think it is oxbow deluxe chinchilla food if i am not mistaken.

[GrayRodent]

I compared the ingredients in both. There are differences in vitamin and mineral contents. I'm not sure what the significance is for most of the differences. However there are some things I think are noteworthy that might make Oxbow a better choice.

Oxbow has lower phosphorus. .25 compared to .4 minimum, and has about 50% more vitamin A (20,000 IU/KG vs (4800 IU/lb)
A pound is .45kg so so 20,000 IU/kg = 9000 IU/lb.

Oxbow adds iron oxide.

Purina has one type of pro-biotic and oxbow has four. These are very good supplements to have.

For the major nutrients they seem to be very similar. With either one it is probably best to supplement with calcium.

[chinclub]

I am not familiar with Oxbow myself but I have been using Purina Show with herd of 400 for many years now with great results.  Which one can you get the freshest and most readily?

[glafond]

My breeder can sell me the purina show or i can order it from tjs chinchilla supplies, or I can go to petsmart and get oxbow. I will check to see if i can get the purina rabbit at petsmart in small bags. My breeder gets them in 50 lb bags, so if thats all petsmart sells then I cannot get purina show from them.

Thanks!

[chinclub]

I can already tell you that you can not get it small bags.  Ask your breeder where/how often they get their feed and ask petsmart the same thing.  The Show Rabbit should come from a mill in thick solid bags.  It has a mill date on each bag and is nutritionally sound in unopened bags for 6 months past the mill date.  Pet store food comes in thin bags, usually plastic, which allows light into the feed.  It begins to break down right away from the light.  If it sits in a warehouse for any length of time and then on your pet store self for even a few weeks it is already lost much of its nutritional value before you ever even open the bag.

[lilchinchilla]

Maybe you can ask the breeder if you can buy from them in smaller quantities, than to go buy a full 50 lb bag? I usually recommend oxbow, but I heard they changed their formula or something recently? And I've been hearing from a few different people in different areas (Canada and the US) about them being unhappy with their chins after using the new oxbow pellets.

You could always try mazuri pellets too. That has been a diet that has been around forever for chinchillas. It usually is easy to get at most stores, and comes in smaller bags. Not too expensive either. I used to use mazuri for my chins several years ago.

[jmdebb]

they changed it last year....

[GrayRodent]

lilchinchilla says

And I've been hearing from a few different people in different areas (Canada and the US) about them being unhappy with their chins after using the new oxbow pellets.

That doesn't sound good. What are they saying?

[lilchinchilla]

Well I haven't personally used it and I usually recommend it, but I heard it was changed (yes last year - still, knowing how long oxbow has been around, it is a recent change of formula. It was not changed before, from what I know of all the years it has been on store shelves.).

I just have heard/read some things said about it on other forums by some people who switched to it or were using it with the old formula and noticed changes after the formula was changed.

 I don't know how true it is, I don't use it. If you do a search on other chinchilla forums, perhaps you can find where those people who have been using it, spoke about it. I don't want to say it, since it is not my personal experience with the diet and I don't feel it would be appropriate for me to just repeat what was said.

[glafond]

I think I will keep them on the Purina Rabbit Show.

What does everyone think of my decision?

[lilchinchilla]

  I think it is a good decision for now. I know the Purina rabbit food has been used for many years by other breeders in the US and I have not heard any complaints of that particular brand ever. I have never personally used it, to give my personal experience with the diet.

I do think it is probably easier for your chinchilla too, as it is much less stress on a chinchilla to keep to the same diet they were raised on, than it is to switch the diet. I personally only switch diets if I am unhappy with the results of the original diet. If your chinchillas look healthy, seem happy and appear to enjoy eating the pellets, why not stick to them? As the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[chinclub]

I use the Purina Show for my herd of 400 chins and I am very happy with it.