Chin prefers pellets over hay

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ktschopp

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Joined
Mar 12, 2019
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Hey guys, I'm a relatively new chinchilla owner so I just wanna make sure I'm doing things right. So basically my chinchilla seems to be just favoring eating her pellets way more than the hay. I read the hay makes up like 70% of their diet so I've always made sure she has plenty of hay in her cage and I change it daily so it stays fresh. I try not to give her more than 2 TBSP of pellets each day either. I just wanna check and make sure I'm doing what I should be doing and if anyone has any advice.
 
Yeah, some chins are like that, you may need to make the hay more appealing. Are you feeding her the same hay she was eating before? Chins can be very picky about their hay, if they don't like it they wont eat it. If there is nothing wrong with the hay (smells sweet and fresh, not, old, moldy, or dusty) you can try mixing different kinds of hay together, you can even add a bit of alfalfa to make it tastier. Although timothy is the most balanced hay any grass hay (meadow, orchard, brome, etc) is good if you chin will eat it. Chins also do have preferences when it comes to brand sometimes, maybe due to were it's grown or how long it's been in storage, but apparently timothy hay is not all the same to a chin. I normally give my chins at least two different kinds of hay (timothy and something else), in addition to a couple alfalfa cubes a week. Another benefit of different hay is that the chin chews each differently, which can help grind the teeth down more evenly.

One example of hay and herbal mix that seems to get rave reviews is Furry Kingdom's foraging hay, it seems to sell out very quickly, but should help you get an idea of making a hay mix. She also sells just the hay topper, so you could just mix that into your own hay.

You only say she doesn't eat much hay, but if she tosses a lot you can try giving her smaller amounts at a time. I only normally put one or two handfuls in the cage at a time, otherwise my guys tend to think it's a fun thing to play with and toss it all over the cage. :facepalm: If the hay is not soiled or on the floor you don't need to worry about changing it. Changing it all can devalue the hay, basically giving the chin the idea that they don't have to eat it, new hay will be proved later so I can play with this hay.

To give you a better idea of 70-75% of her diet being hay, she should be eating at least a handful a day, or a pile about the size of her. You are doing right by only giving 2 tb of pellets a day, so long as it's a pellet only food (if it's a treat filled food it's best to switch to a pellet only). The hay is really the primary food, with the pellets giving them nutrients the hay may be lacking. Pellets don't wear down the molars, they are too soft, and don't have enough fiber, specifically the long strand fiber since the hay in the pellets is finely chopped up.
 
Yeah I've been feeding her Timothy Hay and that's what her previous owner was feeding her. I might try mixing in some alfalfa if it doesn't improve. I usually just put a handful or two of hay on the floor of the cage by her hideout house. I've noticed that a lot of time she just lies on the hay instead of eating it lol. So I think I might make a felt hay sack this weekend to prevent her from doing that. It seemed like she definitely ate more of her hay last night although it was kinda hard to tell cause it was all smushed from her sitting on it :duh:
 
Ohh, as I mentioned in another post most chins wont eat the hay once it's on the floor, they will sit on it and pee on it, you need a hay holder so it's up off the ground. Fleece, not felt, is ok to use to make a sack, but hay does stick to it so keep that in mind. A proper hay holder is probably a better idea, even a big food dish can be better then just right on the floor. Some people even use clay pots as cheap holders.
 
Ah okay thanks so much! I’ll definitely either make a fleece holder this weekend or buy one of those pots and hopefully that’ll fix the issue :)
 
Thanks for the link and the advice. I am a new owner as well and always keep my pellet cup full (shame on me) and also find that Sunshine eats more pellets than hay. From now on, only 2 tbs daily correct?

Also, I haven't been changing the hay daily..should I be?
 
Thanks for the link and the advice. I am a new owner as well and always keep my pellet cup full (shame on me) and also find that Sunshine eats more pellets than hay. From now on, only 2 tbs daily correct?

Also, I haven't been changing the hay daily..should I be?

Well some chins eat a little more then 2 tbs a day some a bit less, but the average is 2tbs a day. If the bowl is empty put more in, but I like to actually measure how much my guys are eating so I can know right away if they aren't eating. Most chins don't actually over eat, but you can't see how much they ate if you just have a bowl full. Also chins tend to get poop in the food bowl, so less pellets at a time means you can keep the bowl clean.

You just need to change the hay that's been peed on or is on the floor of the cage everyday. Most chins wont eat hay once it's on the floor so it's not worth leaving it in there. They generally just end up peeing on it and pee soaked hay smells horrible.
 
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