Oxbows Pellets -$- what the *bleep*

[Sandi]

I buy small bags of Oxbow from Petsmart...I usually never pay attention to the price. I just grab and go. Looks like I should take a look at the price next time I go!

The Petsmart by me and online sell 5 pounds for $13.99, it used to be $12.99 last week.

ticklechin

Why are you deliberately misinterpreting what people say and trying to pick a fight? Nobody here said they couldn't afford to feed their chins. Nobody here said they would starve their chins to death if they refused to pay the ridiculously high price that Oxbow retailers charge now.

However many chins they have and what they choose to feed them is their business not yours. As long as it's a good quality feed, and it can be bought for less than $50.00 a bag, what do you care?

Do you look down your nose at people who shop at Wal-mart, K-Mart or Target because it's more affordable too? Does that mean they should rethink wearing clothes or having kids? A shirt is a shirt. It doesn't have to cost $100.00 to make it wearable. Good quality chinchilla feed doesn't have to cost $50.00 a bag in order for it to be nutritionally sound for your chin.

:thumbsup: Thank you!

 

[Essentia]

Feed is the least of my expenses with chins, If I could not afford to give them pellets how could I afford vet bills, JMO. Directed towards those with less than 15 chins.

I can afford to feed all my chins just fine (and vet care!). I'm just absolutely refusing to pay $33.00 (with tax) for a 9 lb. bag of hay, or $75.99 for 50 lbs. of feed. Oxbow is completely and utterly out of their mind. Their items are absolutely not worth that price, so no one should be expected to pay it.

I pay $14.99 for 50 lbs. of high quality feed (PANR). Most other feeds are also around the same price, if not cheaper. $75 is just absolutely ludicrous for basically a bag of crushed hay and some vitamins. Also, a 75 lb. bale of Timothy Hay is less that $20.00, yet Oxbow has the audacity to charge crazy amounts for the same thing, Timothy Hay. Unfortunately since I am in Florida, and there is no good hay here, I had been paying Oxbow's ridiculous prices, but now they went up again? No more Oxbow for me. I refuse to support a company that does their customer's like that. I may sound like a b**ch here, and for that I apologize, but I'm done throwing my money away and supporting a company that doesn't give two sh**s about their customers, or apparently the well being of their customer's pets and wallets. They are starting to remind me of Kaytee.

 

[Essentia]

To feed pet chins its not expensive to feed them oxbow, if you have too many chins to afford to feed them that if they like it then maybe some people need to re-think their priorities. And re-think rescuing.

I was all about being nice and not letting my rude side some out, but this comment hit me right where it hurts. This was absolutely uncalled for. Absolutely no one said that they didn't have enough money to feed their chins, just that we didn't want to pay the high prices for Oxbow anymore. Re-think rescuing because we don't want to pay $75.00 for a bag of food that others are charging $15.00 for? You're just as crazy as Oxbow.

You always have something smart to say in these types of threads. I have yet to see something constructive come out of your mouth in a debate type thread. You just try to start fights (like the feed thread). What's the point?

 

[Laurie]

Actually Oxbox is not utterly out of their mind. They are only in the business to make money and the more chin owners use Oxbow to feed their chins the more Oxbow will capitalize on it and drive their prices up because as great chin owners we will pay for quality feed for our animals.
This is no different than gas prices going up or the cost of milk rising. It's a capitalist society where companies are concerned with the all mighty dollar and how much they can make.
Something to remember, while Oxbow is a great feed, there are others feeds out there just as good. You don't have to pay Oxbow for their feed you can always look into something different, just as great a quality, to feed your chins. I switched from Mazuri to Nutrena Rabbit feed over a year ago and could not be happier!

 

[Essentia]

While that is true I think it's time they realize they are selling hay, plain and simple. It's like charging $40 for a pencil, just because the brand is well liked and they sell a lot of them. It's still just a pencil. Pencils are interchangeable, just like chinchilla feed. I am hoping that people see that and move on to more cost efficient, yet still just as high quality, food with companies that don't charge an arm and a leg for their products.

 

[Stackie]

To feed pet chins its not expensive to feed them oxbow, if you have too many chins to afford to feed them that if they like it then maybe some people need to re-think their priorities. And re-think rescuing.

Uh, I have six chins. I can afford to feed them, but I'm not going to pay an arm and a leg to feed them when I can get just as much quality food for half the price of what I'm paying now... and save that extra money FOR a vet visit should it be needed or something. Sorry, but that statement was completely idiotic and out of line. I put my chins above everything else, so if someone dares say I get rid of them? I'm going to jump down your throat and then some.

Anyway, what Peggy said.

I've been looking into PANR, and I'm considering a switch to it. I could get twice as much feed for the same price that I'm paying now.

 

[Ruby]

So far I have been getting my supplies from Oxbow (about 30 mi away) but it is still expensive getting it from them. Hay prices are about $25/25 lb, so that is pretty expensive to me. It is very nice hay though, so I guess it is your opinion. I haven't gotten pellets from them yet, but to my understanding, getting small amounts is about the same as buying the same amount from a pet store. So so far I have just stuck with getting my pellets from the pet store.

 

[Sandi]

It's $37.00 for a 50 pound bag of pellets from Oxbow direct but shipping and handling was $28.00! Yeesh! So I got a hold of our overnight delivery rep who quoted me with a pick-up/delivery fee of about $15.00, which is just a couple of dollars more than what I was paying at foster and smith. Since my boys have been with me for a little over 6 months, the breeder feeds Nutrena but I switched them to Mazuri because it was available to me close by but when their poop started to get kind of mushy and there was some food wasted by them, I did a slow switch to Oxbow (another feed thats close by just in case) and they've been devouring and healthy on that so I want to stick with Oxbow for now.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

My feed store orders the 50lb bags of Oxbow for me and a friend of mine and we split it, and I'm paying roughly $1 per pound, which I don't think is excessively high.
Oxbow is the best, and I want my babies to have the best. If their price goes up, I'll pay it.

 

[Becky]

Kara,

If you are happy with Oxbow, then by all means stay with it. But, it's not the best. It's one of 4 or 5 equally good choices for feed.

 

[alli713]

See my girls are on PANR, but I've also used Mazuri in the past. I've been happy with all of the feeds I've used. I've always just had to change for one reason or another. Mazuri I switched off of because I could get PANR cheaper. But I know other chins do well on Manna Pro too, or Nutrena. So I don't know that there really is a best

It's really up to what you want to pay and if your chins like it. So far all of my chins have liked PANR and I have no issues with them eating it. It was the same for Mazuri. I know some people have had issues with Mazuri, but I never did. I'd consider the other feeds like Nutrena or Manna Pro if I could get them locally too.

But, in my opinion, around $1 or higher per pound is kind of high. Obviously not as high as the $3.60/lb Mazuri I just bought for the rescues, but $1 is high compared to the $0.30 you can get per pound for things like PANR or Nutrena.

Either way I really think it's just about what your chins like.

 

[Megan]

I know I was quoted $60 for a 50lb box of hay from the local petstore a few months back. I was getting it for $35 at a cavy show a few years ago. While I love oxbow hay, and was thrilled with the Cavy pellets for my Cavies, I will not pay the money for the food when there is equally good feeds out there. It is not about "having the money" (Granted, I DONT have the money to feed 70 animal oxbow), but the fact that I can get the same quality/better for more then half the price.

I'll check next time I am down, and see what he's charging for pellets now.

 

[AZChins]

It isn't about the money, I agree. It's more about not being gouged on the prices! You can pay $200 for a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant and if you have the money, you can afford it. Most of us just don't do it because we can make dinner at home for $10 and have the same meal. It isn't about not being able to afford things, it's about being smart with money. When the price of something that I use constantly is raised even a little bit, it messes with my monthly budget.

With chinchilla food I always do my best to negotiate for the best price, some years I will have an actual contract for the price so that it won't go up. I did very well last year because I locked in the price in the Spring and the price skyrocketed in the summer and fall months.

We all just want the best price so that we can afford everything we must buy to keep our lives running. Lately EVERYTHING has gone up so much that every little increase has added up to really make things difficult. The dog food is up, groceries were crazy high and have come down a good amount and the cost of ALL animal feeds went up 20% since this time last year.

Although, my food went down $1 a bag and I was so happy because it meant I didn't have to worry so much!

 

[tunes]

Oxbow is the best, and I want my babies to have the best.

There are people that would argue that aside from Becky, and I would be one of them. I would never say Nutrena is "the best", nor would I say Tradition is "the best." They are both good feeds and you use the one that works for you. Oxbow is big in the pet market. Larger breeders and ranchers don't use it because it's not proven in a larger herd and it was ridiculously expensive even before this price hike.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

Well, let me clarify, according to my vet's opinion Oxbow is the best.

 

[Becky]

How many chins does your vet have? How long has he been feeding Oxbow? How does he/she know it's the best? Is he paid to sell their products?

Again- if you like it, feed it! I choose to feed something else equally as good and a ton cheaper.

 

[InkedupTara]

I dont agree that because you dont feed oxbow because it is expensive means you cant afford the pet. I think there are a few different good feeds out there. I chose to feed Oxbow, and it IS expensive!

I agree with the statement LAN made, supply+Demand=high price. So looks like I will dig deeper into my wallet. I wont however say because someone won't feed the pricey food makes them a bad person.

I think with so many types of feed out there, it is just a personal choice

 

[Essentia]

I also find it interesting that my chins wanted absolutely nothing to do with Oxbow. Before the price went up I tried it. My chins literally would pick through it, smell the pellets, toss the ones they didn't want (Oxbow) and eat the others. After that I decided to try just a cold switch with probiotics, and both of them literally dumped their food bowls over and ate nothing but hay for 2 days. At that point I decided to go back to my old feed, which never did me wrong, and which was much nicer to my pockets. Maybe PANR tastes better. Either way, my chins wanted nothing to do with the icky high priced Oxbow. Maybe they are cheap, like their mama.

I do have to agree with Becky and Tunes. My vet had pushed Oxbow on me saying it was the best, which is why I tried to switch in the first place. While I didn't want to offend him (he's a fantastic vet) by asking if they get paid to push Oxbow, I did ask the receptionist at the front. After blushing, she said yes. I don't think Oxbow is a bad food by any means, I just don't think it is the best thing that ever happened to chinchilla feed, like most vets "claim" it is. If you love it, feed it. If you are willing to pay that much for food, while others are charging literally 1/4 the price for equally as good food, feed it. I'm honestly not judging anyone, but I do think that the more people that put up with the price raises, the higher the price will continue to go.

 

[AZChins]

With most veterinarians it is the only food that they have any experience with in their practices. My vet sells it and recommends it, it's very expensive through the vet...there's no way that I could afford to buy it through his office! But then again, I have a few hundred little mouths to feed. I think it was about $60 for 50 lbs when I checked with them about how much it would cost.

 

[tunes]

You can't fault the vet for pushing it either. They get kick backs on feed just like doctors get kick backs from drug companies. The same happens with all the vets who push Hills Science Diet which I think is absolutely total crap food for dogs. Their specialty foods for ill cats/dogs is one thing, but as a general food, I wouldn't touch it. I have a very good vet for the chins. I'd trust her completely, but when I asked if there were any higher end dog food dealers in town, I was told to check out Wal-Mart. Ehhhh.....no.

As far as a vet recommending it, I had a vet recommend using steroids and ear drops in a chin with an ear infection. I ended up losing Lucy. As more than one of us has found, not everything that falls out of a vets mouth is golden.

I'm not knocking Oxbow's feed, BTW. I just know that there are equally good alternatives out there that don't have to cripple you financially. And, as Susan said, feeding it to 4 chins is a whole lot different than trying to feed it to 250 or so.