Hay There

Hello, everyone. I'm new here. I just adopted my new chinchilla, Flicka, yesterday. I have questions concerning hay and her diet.

Her old owner fed her what I figure is junk food. It has little kibbles in it, pellets, sun flower seeds, and some other things. I noticed that Flicka tends to eat the choice things out and leave the pellets, and I guess I can't blame her. Who wants brussel sprouts when they can have creme brulee? Anyway, I started mixing Oxbow pellets in and she's had no qualms with eating those.

Her owner also gave her hay (Kaytee brand) and little hay cubes (also Kaytee brand). I already had Oxbow orchard grass hay for my guinea pigs, so I gave her some of that along with her old Kaytee. The thing is, she doesn't appear to touch her hay. I see her at her food bowl quite often, but the hay remains untouched. She chewed on a hay cube a little last night, but that was it. Heck, my dog got into the bag of hay cubes and chewed up the rest...right after I vacuumed. (Thanks, dog!)

So... my questions are:

1) Is there any way to get her to eat hay?
2) Should I give her more pellets than what the bag recommends since she won't eat the hay?
3) Are hay cubes necessary or is that just something to give them to spice things up a little?
4) Where does a person buy rosehips? (That one was kinda random, huh?)

1- Chins can be very picky about their hay...and then there's some chins that will eat whatever you give them. You can try various brands and kinds of grass hay- orchard, oat, mountain, timothy...in my experience, my chins like the 2nd and 3rd cut grass hays better than the 1st. They are more leafy and softer and less stems. I buy hay from Kleenmama's (kmshayloft.com) and my chins love the 2nd/3rd cut and bluegrass.

2- I free feed pellets, as do many others. I would go ahead and stop giving the food with stuff mixed in all together and put her straight on the Oxbow. Many places say to do a slow switch, but since the treats and such really isn't good for them, she'd be better off to cold turkey switch. You can go to a drug store and get some Acidophilus capsules and sprinkle it on a treat (I like to moisten an unfrosted shredded wheat and sprinkle it on there). Acidophilus is a beneficial bacteria they have in their gut and it will help with any upset the switch may cause.

3- No, hay cubes aren't necessary. My chins won't touch them. I prefer loose hay as they have to work to chew it more and it helps with keeping the teeth ground down, but hay cubes are a good thing to give too.

4- Check the classified section on here- I think there are a few people who sell them. You can also find them in some health food stores, I think they can be used for teas.

I'd just switch out the feed completely and start giving the Oxbow immediately as well. Hay cubes are just another way to give chins hay. I use both for mine. I also don't measure out the food. If you're giving them purely Oxbow pellets, there's nothing for them to pick through. As for rose hips, you can get them at organic health food stores, such as Whole Foods, depending on where you live. You can also get them online at herb stores or from vendors here.

OK, thank you for your help. There is a health food store in town, so I will check there first.

I ordered from KM's Hayloft years ago for my guinea pigs. I'm sure they've expanded since then, so I'll see what they have to offer.