Chins Buns & Cavies ?!

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Yet another person with ESP who asked a question I was going to answer! I just recently adopted 3 guineas and have been keeping them in the Master suite since I did not know if they could be in the same room as the chins. I think, however, just to be on the safe side I will keep them in the master suite and continue washing in between visits with the chins and piggies.
And I also now have a clear and direct answer for my son who wants to get a rabbit. Thanks for all the info!

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

awesome!! thanks guys!! do you know weather the cavies can eat mazuri or rosehips?

I am not sure about the rosehips, but I know they can eat the chinnie salad that Crysta (Essentia) sells and I think that has crushed rose hips in it. Correct me if I am wrong, Crysta!

As for Mazuri, obviously they would have to have the Mazuri for Guineas, but that is what I feed my 3 and they seem to be doing fine on it. Well, the 1 year old Goldie is on a mixture of Forti-Diet and Mazuri since I was given a brand new bag when I got her and had bought a bag of the Mazuri. My other two piggies are eating Mazuri too with no adverse effects since they were on Small World Cavy food and I can not find it anywhere.

 

[Allyson]

As for Mazuri, obviously they would have to have the Mazuri for Guineas, but that is what I feed my 3 and they seem to be doing fine on it. Well, the 1 year old Goldie is on a mixture of Forti-Diet and Mazuri since I was given a brand new bag when I got her and had bought a bag of the Mazuri. My other two piggies are eating Mazuri too with no adverse effects since they were on Small World Cavy food and I can not find it anywhere.

Both of you probably know this, but just incase, I just wanted to point out that since Mazuri is an alfalfa-based diet it should be fed more carefully than with a timothy-based pellet diet (ie: Oxbow formula for adults) with piggies over 6 months of age.

I also wanted to add that I've housed all my guinea pigs in the same room as my chinchillas for over a year, and no diseases or sicknesses has passed between them.. actually none of my pigs and chins have gotten sick. I haven't heard or read anywhere that pigs can pass diseases to chins and vice versa, but definitely keep any rabbits as far away in the house as possible.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Hmm..I did not know that about alfalfa based diets for piggies..so should I switch to a timothy based? I have two that are 1 year old and one that is 8 months old.

I know that alfalfa is high in protein, right? So can it have the same effects on chins too?

 

[Allyson]

Hmm..I did not know that about alfalfa based diets for piggies..so should I switch to a timothy based? I have two that are 1 year old and one that is 8 months old.

I know that alfalfa is high in protein, right? So can it have the same effects on chins too?

Not sure about it having high protein, I just know it is high in calcium and guinea pigs can develop bladder stones if they are fed too much alfalfa - I honestly don't know if this is the case with chins. If you want to switch to timothy pellets I would recommend buying Oxbow or Kleenmama's pellets. I feed Oxbow to my pigs, but I have heard KM's are very good also.

If you haven't already, check out http://guineapigcages.com and http://guinealynx.info - both very good sites/forums for guinea pigs

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

calcium, that was it! Sorry it was a long day yesterday! I think I will start switching over to the Oxbow for my two male piggies..I got to looking and the female is on Oxbow already, but I had bought a bag of Mazuri for the males. ( They are in different cages on different sides of the room, so no babies! )