Apple/Cranberry Juice to Water Ratio

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I read that you can mix unsweetened apple or cranberry juice with the chins water to encourage drinking.

Generally, what is the ratio for this?

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

0 juice to water - Should not use juice at all. NOTHING should ever be put in their water

 

[starleomach]

It used to be believed it was a good thing for nursing females in the end all it does is introduce bacteria to the water since the nooks and cranies of bottles are sometimes hard to get to

 

[ticklechin]

Problem why chin is not drinking should be addressed first-usually not drinking is in conjunction with not eating and CC is fed-there is enough water in CC that a chin does not need to drink on its own until the problem is solved or managed. Fruit has sugar unsweetened or not and the last thing a chin needs during a health crisis is the addition of sugar to the gut, you are just asking for bloat.

 

[AZChins]

The bacteria is already there....the juice just makes it multiply much more quickly!

I have recently heard about a few backyard breeders using this method of getting chins to drink more especially with new mother chins. Strangely, there is never really a concern with healthy chins not drinking enough water on their own provided that there are bottles with fresh, clean water in them. Milk production isn't going to go up because a mother chin drinks more fluids...it will just make her urinate more.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Oh. One of the admins might want to go in and edit this because that is where I read it...

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28

But otherwise good to know.

 

[Donna]

I thin that as with anything, there are differing opinions on these things. I know that as a human nursing an infant, my water intake did relate to my milk production. It also made me urinate more.

Now, I am very inexpierenced with chins, so this is purely speculation, but if you wanted to try a bit of unsweetened juice to encourace drinking I would think it would be as little as possible to give the slight hind of fruit. I may even think about squeezing a fresh apple a bit vs juice....or even just infusing the water by letting the apple sit in it.

A small capfull of bleach in a sink would serve as a disinfecting bath for the water bottle and its parts. It has to dry completely before you can refill it. I have extra bottles on hand to switch out.