Oxbow vs Mazuri

[ChinsForLife]

I've just always been curious...what is the key difference between Oxbow Essentials and Mazuri?

I have always used Mazuri since it's what my breeder recommended and my chins have always done great on it but why is oxbow twice the price? Are there added bonuses or something?

 

[Amethyst]

The ingredients are slightly different between the two, but I think the biggest difference might just be between the companies. Mazuri is a huge company (they are actually now owned by Purina now) they make foods for almost every exotic animal, not just domestic animals but zoo animals too, All Products where as Oxbow just focuses on small animals. So basically Oxbow is more specialized, as well as they grow at least some of their own ingredients like hay, which gives them better control over quality. Also it could be at least in part simply greed, they "specialize" in small animals so they are going to charge more because they can (I don't know that for sure just guessing).

Mazuri Chinchilla Diet

Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Ground Timothy Hay, Ground Soybean Hulls, Ground Oats, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Ground Flaxseed, Cane Molasses, Dicalcium Phosphate, Wheat Germ, Soybean Oil, Dried Whey, Salt, DL-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Choline Chloride, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Folic Acid d-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Acetate, Magnesium Oxide, Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Ferrous Carbonate, Copper Sulfate, Nicotinic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate.



Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla Food

Alfalfa Meal, Soybean Hulls, Soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Soybean Oil, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Cane Molasses, Calcium Carbonate, L-Ascorbyl- 2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Sodium Bentonite, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Yeast Culture, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

 

[ChinsForLife]

The ingredients are slightly different between the two, but I think the biggest difference might just be between the companies. Mazuri is a huge company (they are actually now owned by Purina now) they make foods for almost every exotic animal, not just domestic animals but zoo animals too, All Products where as Oxbow just focuses on small animals. So basically Oxbow is more specialized, as well as they grow at least some of their own ingredients like hay, which gives them better control over quality. Also it could be at least in part simply greed, they "specialize" in small animals so they are going to charge more because they can (I don't know that for sure just guessing).

Mazuri Chinchilla Diet

Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Ground Timothy Hay, Ground Soybean Hulls, Ground Oats, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Ground Flaxseed, Cane Molasses, Dicalcium Phosphate, Wheat Germ, Soybean Oil, Dried Whey, Salt, DL-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Choline Chloride, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Folic Acid d-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Acetate, Magnesium Oxide, Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Ferrous Carbonate, Copper Sulfate, Nicotinic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate.



Oxbow Essentials Chinchilla Food

Alfalfa Meal, Soybean Hulls, Soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Soybean Oil, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Cane Molasses, Calcium Carbonate, L-Ascorbyl- 2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Sodium Bentonite, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Yeast Culture, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Ok, thank you! Just curious. I actually like the fact that Mazuri contains timothy as well as alfalfa. Never noticed that i guess.  That being said, I do love oxbow products and if the ingredients ever change in it,(I know sometimes new brand owners change the contents) I''ll probably switch to essentials but for now my two do great with it!

 

[EARR Rescue]

Have you tried the Oxbow garden select?

 

[Amethyst]

Have you tried the Oxbow garden select?

For Oxbow only the Essentials formula is recommended, Garden Select (and the Simple Harvest) is really not recommended since it's not as good. The garden select isn't as bad as it use to be (use to have peas and tomatoes in it) but still not great. It's lower in protein, timothy based rather then alfalfa based, and contains several grains that can cause it to be gassy. The Garden Select also contains (dehulled) sunflower meal rather then soy meal (chins are an animal that can digest soy), although sunflower meal and oil is not uncommon in rabbit food but chins are not rabbits, and sunflower seeds (meal is the byproduct after they extract the oil from the seeds) are not something considered good for chins.

 

[ChinsForLife]

Have you tried the Oxbow garden select?

My chins do great on Mazuri so I plan on staying with that unless the ingredients ever change.

 

[ChinsForLife]

For Oxbow only the Essentials formula is recommended, Garden Select (and the Simple Harvest) is really not recommended since it's not as good. The garden select isn't as bad as it use to be (use to have peas and tomatoes in it) but still not great. It's lower in protein, timothy based rather then alfalfa based, and contains several grains that can cause it to be gassy. The Garden Select also contains (dehulled) sunflower meal rather then soy meal (chins are an animal that can digest soy), although sunflower meal and oil is not uncommon in rabbit food but chins are not rabbits, and sunflower seeds (meal is the byproduct after they extract the oil from the seeds) are not something considered good for chins.

Yes, I've heard that about the alternatives