Changing food.

[nonniemorris]

I'm in the middle of trying to change my chins food from the food the breeder fed him, to his new yummy pellets.
I'm doing the 75% to 25%, 50% to 50% change until eventually he's eating all pellets.. but I feel like I'm losing the battle : /

At the moment he's just eating his old muesli and leaving his new food, which I'm really concerned about because I know how bad the muesli can be for chins, but I dont want to just stop giving it to him completely because his poor little digestive system : (

What should I do?

 

[SamiJami]

That happens sometimes. Is he eating more hay? They won't starve themselves. Just keep giving lots of hay and eventually he'll come around. Some people just pull the old pellets. I would keep doing like you're doing, though.

 

[nonniemorris]

Oh right :] I'm glad to know what I'm doing isn't wrong..
He has been eating more hay, probably stocking himself up now that I'm taking away his version of McDonalds!

Thanks :]

 

[tati121]

At the moment he's just eating his old muesli and leaving his new food, which I'm really concerned about because I know how bad the muesli can be for chins, but I dont want to just stop giving it to him completely because his poor little digestive system : (

Muesli as in the oat based cereal like this? I tried searching for a chinchilla feed named Muesli but all I got was the muesli I eat for breakfast..if that's the case then I would pull it completely and only offer the new feed. A lot of times if you're transitioning from a truly crap feed to a better feed, doing a cold switch is advised. Any insight on what his old feed that you're transitioning away from would be great as I doubt the muesli you're referring to is the kind I currently have in my cupboards!

 

[igotfatchins]

I am in the middle of this too and find my chins picking out the old food too.
I do have a trick to get them to eat the new food though. In the mornings, when they are really hungry, I put down new food only, let them eat for about 5min, then switch to a mix of new/old. I am slowly increasing the new/old ratio over a few weeks. My chins are taking it well and their poop look consistently good.

 

[Stackie]

Anytime I have switched chins that were on a bad feed, I did a cold switch. It doesn't allow them to pick out the nasty stuff. Not much point of wasting your good feed if they just dig through it to get out the unhealthy stuff. Just offer plenty of hay and supplement with acidophilus...I never had any problems.

 

[nonniemorris]

Muesli as in the oat based cereal like this? I tried searching for a chinchilla feed named Muesli but all I got was the muesli I eat for breakfast..if that's the case then I would pull it completely and only offer the new feed. A lot of times if you're transitioning from a truly crap feed to a better feed, doing a cold switch is advised. Any insight on what his old feed that you're transitioning away from would be great as I doubt the muesli you're referring to is the kind I currently have in my cupboards!

This is the museli the person I got my baby from was feeding him... http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=432&pf_id=56942

And thanks guys, I'm glad doing a cold switch won't hurt him too bad... because putting that rubbish food into his dish kills me!

 

[Cuddlebug]

Yikes! Charlie Chinchilla! That is not a good food at all. It is filled with junk and the pellets aren't good either. I would do a cold turkey switch asap.

 

[tati121]

This is the museli the person I got my baby from was feeding him... http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=432&pf_id=56942

And thanks guys, I'm glad doing a cold switch won't hurt him too bad... because putting that rubbish food into his dish kills me!

Charlie Chinchilla is a pretty crap-tastic feed so I would do a cold switch as well. When you offer a new food with an old food that's chock full of treats more often than not only the old feed is going to be eaten, would you rather have some cake or broccoli? Which feed did you end up choosing to switch your chin to?

 

[nonniemorris]

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/pellet-chinchilla-food-1kg-by-pets-at-home-15670

That's what I've switched his food too, that's okay right?

 

[ChinnyMom]

doesn't sound like a very good food to me, but i haven't been 'chinny' long enough, so hopefully others will chime in.

the ingredients 'Peas' and 'Unmolassed Sugar Beet Pulp' don't sound very good to me. and from what i've seen, the quality foods like oxbow, tradition, and mazuri start out with alfalfa as the first ingredient.

 

[Cuddlebug]

It bugs me that it recommends feeding raisins and apple to supplement the feed.

 

[nonniemorris]

It bugs me that it recommends feeding raisins and apple to supplement the feed.

I know what you mean, It's horrifying going into some pets shops... as they sell 'chew sticks' full of apples, raisins, bananas etc.
The stuff stores will do for money..

Do you think the pellets themselves look okay though?

 

[igotfatchins]

I am not sure about these pellets. I think many members here will agree that the ingredients in this differ too greatly from the established feeds (Tradition, Mazuri, Oxbow). Is there no way you can find a retailer for these feeds?

 

[Chin_Up_Sunshine]

You can also order some of the cannon feeds online through sellers here, and then you can do it by the pound so you don't have to worry about it going bad before you finish it. A hay based pellet will be the best for your little one.

 

[jbeebsfan]

I am a new owner of a little girl named pebbles. I was wondering how I should change her food,because the food that I have now is running low. I got the food she has now ffrom another place not close to me, & they don't have that type where I live. I NEED HELP ASAP!!!!

 

[Chin_Up_Sunshine]

You should be changing her food in increments:
75% old feed, 25% new feed the 1st week
50% old feed, 50% new feed the 2nd week
25% old feed, 75% new feed the 3rd week
100% new feed the fourth week.

You can order Oxbow, Purina Rabbit Show Chow, and most of the other food recommended for chins from sellers on here.