I guess opinions differ. To me, dehydrated veggies would be worse, as they become hydrated in the stomach and swell-up to original size, possibly causing blockage!
A large bite of a dried carrot might be fatal, in my opinion.
And why would you feel that necessary? It's not available in the wild, and all the vitamins and minerals necessary are aready in a good quality pellet!
Hay is the best roughage around!
When you eat a raisin, does it swell up into a grape? When you eat granola, does it turn into oatmeal? I dont think so. Do pellets swell in the stomach and cause impactions? Because if you've ever spilled water on a batch of pellets, you'd know they swell considerably.
On that note - Why do you feel its neccessary to give them rosebuds or rosehips? Is that found in the Andes Mountains? Are pellets? We dont feed our domestic chins roots & cacti from South America, so I dont see how your arguement is even relevant? You cant compare wild diet to domestic diet any more than you can compare apples & oranges.
As previously stated, I give such things in TINY amounts, and its my own choice, and my own opinion on the matter. I feel its a healthy MODERATE treat to be given. But done so in very small amounts, only once per day, 3 days per week. And each veggie is introduced gradually, so as to watch for any digestive upset.
FYI - if you buy your hay in bales from a farm, I can almost guarantee there's a dandelion in there some where. Kale, dandelion, grass... its all leafy greens that have been dried. As for the carrot pieces I give, they are dried slivers about the size of a sewing needle.
Some people give cardboard to chew, some dont & feel its full of unsafe chemicals. Some give wheat grass, some avoid it for fear of wheat sensitivity. Some give veggies, some say pellets/hay only diet. There are times when we simply have to agree to disagree. The OP asked a question, I gave my own personal opinion on the matter, others gave theirs. OP will have to decide for themselves which course to take.
~Barb~
