Pellets, or leave him be.

I have a feed problem with one of my chins and I'd like see what you all think I should do.
My mosic Orin started losing weight,chewing his fur and having soft stool last year.To make a long story short they think that when APD changed their formula it put his gut bacteria out of wack,but that is just their thoughts.We did x-rays and blood tests to be sure and they all came back fine.
When it first happened they had me try new feed with him to see if it would help.He would eat it fine for two days and then get sick again.We went though months of Propulsid and soft stool.
Well it's a year later and he's been living on CC and he eats a few timmy pellets a day too.He looks great and is old self again.He's gained back his weight and his fur filled back in.
So here my problem,he's just not that interested in the timmy pellets.So do I offer him some alffy pellets and risk starting all over again or leave him alone and let him live off CC for the rest of his life?Any advise is welcomed.I just want him to be happy and healthy.

If he were mine, I'd treat him for Giardia, put him on PANR and Timothy hay and see what that brings.

I wish I could help you on this one. But I have not had this problem. Perhaps someone with more experience could help. You didn't mention in your post if your chin is interested in hay? A good hay is everything here. Through trial and error I have found Oxbow to be the choice of the 10 chins here. If he were my chin and really loved his hay then I might just slowy wean him away from CC to hay if he won't touch a pellet. Keep a daily journal. Write down anything you change and what his body tells you. Good luck and keep us updated. The information you provide will help others who surf in the future.

I did treat him for Giardia a while back .His brother tested positive and to be safe we treated him too .Thats been awhile though so I'll have them all tested again.Orin has been negative every time so far.

I'll try the PANR too.Is it the show formula ?

I buy APD hay and he eats it like crazy!He gets first and third cut mixed together.
Thanks you both for your advise.

Sandy and Orin

You should have him tested again for Giardia. If his gut is that out of wack, it could easily come back. Have you tried giving him acidophilus as part of his diet to help balance out his system? The timothy hay is great and I would try staying with one high quality pellet for a little while. Switching from one to another will be hard to judge what works for him and what doesn't. Timothy based pellets is what I would use.

feistychins said:

You should have him tested again for Giardia. If his gut is that out of wack, it could easily come back. Have you tried giving him acidophilus as part of his diet to help balance out his system? The timothy hay is great and I would try staying with one high quality pellet for a little while. Switching from one to another will be hard to judge what works for him and what doesn't. Timothy based pellets is what I would use.

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I think that if you are going to try a switch, just pick on and do it kinda slowly. I mean-his tummy is already all messed up, you wouldn't want to risk making it worse and starting from scratch. Maybe you could mix in some crushed (not to a powder) pellets with the hay...I just worry about him being hay only even if he is holding his weight...

I also can't help you like some other experts can, but does he eat his Timothy hay? Make sure you always have Timothy Hay in his cage. They can never have too much hay, and if you already know that, sorry, not trying to make you sound like you don't know what you are doing.

One thing I've read before is that some pellets have alpha in them, so I'm wondering if it would be okay (can't remember brand) for you to start off with a pellet that has some alpha in them. THat way they aren't getting too much Alpha where it can be bad, but could get him eating on his own again.

Wish you much luck.

Jean

Thanks Guys,
His tummy been back on track for awhile now.We haven't soft stool for long time.I've just scared of him having to start all over again.
He hasn't had an alffy pellet in ages.He picks at his timmy pellets and only eats about a teaspoon a night,along with his CC.
Don't worry he hasn't been bounced around on his pellets.It's been at least six months since we gave him the pellets he gets now.When we did try other pellets we spaced it out quite a bit.I have a great set of Vets!
My Vet said he could live on CC the rest of his life if needed.But I think he wants pellets.He gets excited when he sees them,then he smells them and loses intrest.
I think I'll try the PANR.I'll mix a tinny bit in to start and see where it goes.
Thanks Again'
Sandy and Orin.

P.S. He gets hay three times a day.He loves his APD hay and eats a ton of it.

Actually, most chin pellets are alfalfa based. PANR, Mazuri, Oxbow, Manna Pro Show, all are. APD is timothy based. But some posters were saying that they aren't sure if you should feed alfalfa based pellets, so I'm just pointing out that most are.

Perhaps he just prefers the CC to pellets? I've heard of chins not wanting to get off of CC. You can gradually make the CC thicker and work him back on to pellets that way if that's the problem. Sorry I'm not much help otherwise.