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Cuddlebug

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 30, 2009
Messages
2,907
Location
Aurora, Colorado
I rescued a chin last night. The owner had contacted me asking me to take her since she couldn't take care of her any more. They gave us a box of the food she was eating. It's called 8 in 1 Universal Diet. It says that it is for Guinea pigs, rabbits and chinchillas.

These are the ingredients,

Dehydrated alfalfa meal, wheat middlings, soybean hulls, soybean meal, corn, corn gluten feed, dehydrated celery, sun dried chopped alfalfa, timothy hay, dicalcium phosphate, salt, ground limestone, molasses, ascorbic acid, Vitamin A, vitamin D3, choline chloride, vitamin E, niacin, riboflavin, piroxidine hydrochloride, thiamin, D-calcium pantotheninate, menadione sodium bisulfate complex, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, magnesium oxide, ferrous carbonate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, maganous oxide, cabcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite

Analysis:
Crude protien (min) 18%
crude fat (min) 3.5%
crude fiber (max) 15%
moisture (max) 10%
calcium (min) 0.05%
phosphorus 0.40%
Vitamin C 500 mg/kg

I am not too sure what to think of this, but my gut tells me it isn't a good feed. Let me know if I am wrong.
 
I'd also throw it on the basis that it contains corn - apart from other issues, the potential for aflatoxins is massive and they can kill a chin PDQ.
 
On top of tat I don't know about guinea pigs, but the fiber isn't enough for rabbits or chins.
 
Yes, I threw it out as soon as I finished posting. Poor thing has been eating that stuff for 2 years. I switched her cold turkey and she is doing fine. I posted this so other people can learn about what is and is not good feed.
 
Eww..that stuff is nasty..its extremely cheap and from Walmart at that! No way my chins would every eat anything like that. More likely to kill them than help them lol.
 
8 in One. Wow I haven't seen that brand since I was a kid. Sounds just as bad as Harts, kaytee, or sunseed. Oxbow chinchilla deluxe is what Marble eats and I don't think he'd have it any other way he's far too taken with it.
 
I dont know how they thought a universal diet would be good for all those animals. I know guinea pigs needs a different diet than rabbits for sure!
 
Yes, 8 in 1 makes terrible food and treats and they do sell that at walmart! Glad you rescued that chin!!
 
I wouldn't keep it. It's better for the chin to have a high quality diet such as mazuri, tradition, oxbow etc...
 
She was so used to that crappy feed and so many treats that she lost a lot of weight during her first couple of weeks with us. Now, she has stabilized and will hopefully start to gain the weight back.
 
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