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Author Topic: Feeding kits alfalfa hay  (Read 2662 times)

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Joyce

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Feeding kits alfalfa hay
« on: November 01, 2006, 04:06:59 PM »

Mia's kits are a little over 3 months old and have been living in their own cage now for several weeks.
They have been eating loose alfalfa hay from as early on as they could pick it up and eat it!  We had always put it in the cage for their momma to replenish her calcium levels.
Let me ask those of you who have had kits this question.  If you give your kits alfalfa hay, for how long do you give it to them?  And how much?  I also give them of course timothy hay & their Mazuri pellets but don't want to overdo the alfalfa because of the horror stories we all hear about chins developing bladder/kidney stones from the protein & calcium in it.
DO kits need the extra alfalfa as part of a healthy diet?  I once heard that young chins need extra alfalfa for their development but adults do not.
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ChinchillAZ

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Re: Feeding kits alfalfa hay
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2006, 08:51:58 PM »

I personally do not give extra alfalfa to kits and I've never had a problem.  If you want to give extra alfalfa to kits, I wouldn't continue doing so once they reach six months of age, but that's my two cents based on what I do.  I'm sure people who do give extra alfalfa can weigh in more.  :)

RMC

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Re: Feeding kits alfalfa hay
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2006, 09:35:52 PM »

All my chins get alfalfa with no problems. A lot of it depends on what you are feeding. The protein level of your pellets . As well as the protein level of the alfalfa. the protein level in alfala can vary greatly. Can go from a high of 20+ percent to as low as 10% in less then two weeks growth time. The less blooms you have the higher the protein level. the higher the leaf to stem ratio the higher the protein level.
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Debbie.nl.ca

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Re: Feeding kits alfalfa hay
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2006, 08:29:27 AM »

Mine get alfalfa on and off, but yes I tend to give it to new Moms more often.
I look at it like, " it won't hurt" and it's been said to help.Makes for a pleasent change for the chins. :::grins::
I've seen no difference in giving it or not. I would think it would take several years of mostly alfalfa and/or no timothy to be a real problem.
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