Pellets and Hay

[HaleyGoBoom]

Alright, so a few weeks ago Kingston became constipated with tiny poos. I was told to pull his pellets (PANR) and just feed him hay (I was feeding Kaytee Timothy Hay). His poo returned to normal so I put pellets back in and he got sticky poo. So, I once again pulled the pellets and his poo went right back to normal. I thought he could have possibly gotten diarrhea from me being gone most of the weekend, I only came by the house once a day but other than that I was gone at a convention.

Well, I went to petco and bought the petco brand of timothy hay, and its much fresher than the Kaytee (it does have little fuzzy things though like cat tails is that fine? only on some of the stems.) Now he's eating a TON of hay, but his poops are very normal. If I feed him a very small amount of pellets daily he's fine, but any more it seems to affect his poo, and he doesn't eat his hay.

Is it fine to just feed him a tiny amount of pellets?
And is the heavy hay consumption from the hay being more fresh or maybe he likes it more?

Any opinions are appreciated.

 

[Sandi]

I'm not sure about the pellets, were his poos normal with pellets and hay before he got constipated? My boys are the same way about a new fresh bag of hay. I notice that they barely touch their pellets when I get a fresh bag. They eat alot more hay at that time and their poos get gigantic, lol. As far as those fuzzy things at the end of a piece of hay, those are ok, one of my boys loves them! I think as long as he's pooing normally and eating lots of hay and just some pellets that that would be ok.

 

[Rickman]

How old are the pellets? Could also be the pellets are the first or last of the mix, and don't have the right percentage of the ingredients mixed in.
I'd try another bag with a different mill date, and if it cleared up the problem, pitch the old ones!

 

[Essentia]

Haley, if you want me to send you some new food just let me know. I just picked up a new bag today that was milled only 2 weeks ago. My chins have been eating it with no soft poo or anything so you may want to try a different batch to see if it changes things. I won't charge anything for the food if you will just pay for shipping. I can fit 3 lbs. into a flat rate envelope for $4.95, or we can go with an even smaller amount if you want just to try it and see if it changes anything. Just let me know.

 

[HaleyGoBoom]

PMd you Crysta