Loose hay or cubes?

[Lillybabe]

I have heard that loose hay is the best for chinchillas due to the fact it helps wear down the back molars and is more nutritious than hay cubes. However, recently I have heard people say that it is fine to feed just hay cubes. What opinions do you have on loose hay versus cubes?

In my girls' case they go through large amounts of loose hay. They gobble the stuff up. They are just now at near 4 months starting to show any signs of interest in hay cubes. They will munch at them a bit but do not eat them all. For this reason I'd never switch to just hay cubes.

What if the chinchillas eat them though? I've also seen people say that pellet only diets are fine and hay is completely unneeded. I was just curious on what everyone thinks as I am getting conflicting answers.

 

[AZChins]

If you have access to both of them, provide both of them! You want to get as much hay into those chins as you can. The health benefits just in digestion are worth it! For a chin to just live I guess you could say that pellets are just fine. But, chin's digestive systems are geared towards eating dried grasses. Pellets are concentrated nutrition and while they are good for the chins they aren't going to work the same as the fiber in loose hay.

The cubes and the loose hay will probably wear the teeth down the same, but it seems like the chins will eat more loose hay than cubed. It's all about the chewing and foraging when it comes to the hay. You want the chins to spend quite awhile every day chewing and sorting through hay. The loose hay, I believe, provides chins with a stimulating activity - they love chewing and sorting through and it makes them happy. Happy chins are healthier chins.

All the chins seem to love loose timothy hay in large amounts and most of them seem to enjoy picking at hay cubes. They seem to turn both into toys here. Use both if you can, it won't hurt and can only give more benefits to the chins than not having them.

 

[lilchinchilla]

I pretty much agree with all Susan has said.

Yes, there are "some" people who feed pellet only diets. Very few do. Usually those that I know who did so, was because they had problems associated with hay in their local area.
I personally use both loose hay and hay cubes.

I have had no problems with hay cubes and I used to use only hay cubes for some time with my chinchillas (I'd say about 3 or 4 years of only hay cubes and pellets.), with no problems. When I had used only hay cubes at the time, it was due to not haing good quality loose hay in the area to use. Nowadays, I can get good quality loose hay as well as hay cubes, so I use both for my chins.

My chins will eat both and don't seem to take preference to one over the other.

 

[Lillybabe]

Okay, so bumping this thread. I have still not quite got the answers I am looking for. My girls are still devouring loose hay and one of them at least is now eating the hay cubes. They look so much alike that it is hard for me to figure out if only one or both are eating them... but they're disappearing. So, I offer both... which wasn't really my question. I wanted to understand the reasoning behind loose hay and/or hay cubes. Is loose hay really the best for them? Do all chinchillas need loose hay and/or hay cubes to be healthy chinchillas? Are pellet only diets really okay? I have seen some on the forum advocating even just pellets and telling people they only need pellets. Is that true? I had always heard that chinchillas need the loose hay. My girls as I said get lots of loose hay as well as the hay cubes so I am not asking for me in particular but just as far as general advice. What are your opinions? Do chinchillas need hay? I understand many people are allergic to hay but is it really okay to not provide it?

 

[Tanya]

I think it is important to feed loose hay. It wears down teeth properly, ensures optimal digestive health, and provides enrichment. When loose hay is provided, chins can slice through grasses with the incisors and chew the hay with the back teeth – prolonged chewing promotes tooth wear.

A diet that consists of pellets and cubed hay is likely to lack some enzymes and elements chins need to maintain good health and proper body function. Every system should work at peak efficiency so that the body can work at its most optimal level (nothing in the body works alone). A long-term diet of pellets and cubed hay may also lead to overgrown teeth, sharp spurs. However, chins will not drop dead if fed only pellets and cubed hay.

 

[Dewdrop]

*I* prefer the cubes. But two of the chins won't touch them. So I give both kinds. Once I'm out of cubes or they are no longer useable, I'll stay with just loose.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

i give both. some people use only cubes if they have allergies from loose hay.

some chins perfer one over the other.

 

[Stormcrow]

I give them both aswell. Why? For reasons I found on the internet and experienced with my chins.

If you are looking for reasons not to use them: price and boring form of food. As mentioned above they really like to go through the loose hay a lot more so it keeps them more active while a cube is just sit and munch. Ofc a small bag costs the same as a big bag of hay here.

Reasons imo why you should?
They keep fresh much longer in the storage box and in the cage due to density and low moist will prevent mold. Also you get less mess in the cage with these as with loose hay.

But next to practical reasons, why I think they are good for my chins:
- They contain practically no dust. Some hay does, and lots of rodents suffer from that.
- From what I have read, since it is allready cut up hay, it gives a head start for the digestive system wich should make it easier to digeste for them
- The quality of the cubes is more consistent then the hay, since manufacturers have their own fields or buy from the same fields every time at the same moment, wich is said to make the cubes better for chins with digestive probs.

So imo, the use of one doesn't exclude the other since they both have benefits of their own.

 

[Kara315]

I give mine both as well. They don't seem interested in the loose hay though, I just tried a new brand so that may be why, but they seem to really like the cubes. But i always give them both.

 

[ticklechin]

Loose hay also is a form of entertainment for them, its like looking in a treasure chest (pile of hay) for just the right treasure (blade of hay).