Something's up.

[Mikayla]

It has come to my attention that there is something wrong with my care or husbandry. I would like to know what's up. Just some advice or any hints as to what is causing my issues.

I feed Barnett Chinchilla Pellets and the ingredients are: forage products, processed grain by-products, plant protein products, cane molasses, vegetable oil, animal fat, calcium carbonate, monocalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, salt, ferrous carbonate, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, manganese sulfate, zinc oxide, zinc sulfate, cobalt carbonate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, niacin supplement, choline chloride, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, biotin, vitamine B12 supplement. I purchase these from Sir's Chinchillas. I dust with Blue Sparkle. I use Pine bedding. I use filtered water. Is there anything I'm missing?

Thank you for your help!

 

[ChinnyMom]

i'd consider switching to a different pellet. the ingredients in your Barnett pellets include 'animal fat' right up in the top of the list, and there should be no animal by-products in our chins' food.

try Oxbow, Mazuri, or PRCS (Purina Rabbit Chow Show). i use Oxbow and Rhino is doing very well on it.

what type and format of hay are you feeding? (loose vs cubes, timothy? alfalfa?)

 

[jags]

Knowing whats wrong or what issues you are having could help to evaluate what may need changing, if anything needs to be.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

How are you filtering your water? The type of filter is important as some remove giardia and some don't

 

[Mikayla]

sorry if this is short, I'm on my phone. I'll look into the food, it might take a while, it's a little hard to find many foods around here. But I will change when find food. My water is filtered is by reverse osmosis.

Jags- I have had a kit death, a stillbirth, a mother with birthing problems who then died, and a chin with pyo in about 5 months.

 

[addictedtochins]

What kind of hay are you feeding? Is it weed free, organic? mold free?
Are your food pellets fresh and stored right? No bugs, moisture? I feed PRCS and I like it.
Do you scrub and disinfect your water bottles? Take a Q-tip and clean both ends of the nozzle.
Is there smoking or drug use in the house? No need to answer, just stating a possible cause of issues. Is there mold or other issues in your house?
Are they out of direct sunlight? What is the temperature range?
Do you clean and disinfect the cages often enough? They should be totally cleaned every week and touched up every day or two.
If you are doing playtime maybe you should hold off for a while. Look around, maybe they are getting into something.

 

[Ash]

How old is your house? Is lead a possibility? Ditto what's been said about hay... if you feed farm hay, you may want to look into a new supplier. There was another breeder last year who lost many chins and found it to be a hay issue.

 

[Mikayla]

addicted to chins- ill answer your questions, but it'll be a while before I can -.-

Ash- our house is very old 75 yrs at the least but the chins have no access to the walls, I very seldom let the chins out... It's quite rare. My hay is oxbow. It's recommended on here, I believe...

Thanks for all your constructed responses. And the bears are beyond gorgeous in person. And they are SO soft!

 

[addictedtochins]

You don't have to answer, I just gave you some things to think about

 

[Mikayla]

What kind of hay are you feeding? Is it weed free, organic? mold free?
I feed oxbow, which I'd assume is all of the above, many other's have had luck with it.

Are your food pellets fresh and stored right? No bugs, moisture? I feed PRCS and I like it.
My pellets are stored in a a container similar to this: http://www.mydoggonewild.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Dog-Food-Storage.gif No moisture, and no bugs.

Do you scrub and disinfect your water bottles? Take a Q-tip and clean both ends of the nozzle.
I clean them every week with Dawn dish soap.

Is there smoking or drug use in the house?
No smoking, and no drug use, not to my knowledge at least

Is there mold or other issues in your house?
No.

Are they out of direct sunlight? What is the temperature range?
They aren't in direxct sunlight at all, it's mainly artificial light on a timer lights on from 7:00- 9:00 the temperature range is between 60 F to 70 F I had some issues with heat last summer, but that won't be an issue this year.

Do you clean and disinfect the cages often enough? They should be totally cleaned every week and touched up every day or two.
I clean every Friday, and add a little bit of bedding every few days to that it doesn't look too nasty.

If you are doing playtime maybe you should hold off for a while. Look around, maybe they are getting into something.
I very rarely do playtime. It's hard to get them back in their cage, they seem to do fine without it.

 

[jags]

I know the feed you are using is used by some bigger breeders out that way, can you check with them to see if they are having any issues.

 

[Mikayla]

I know the feed you are using is used by some bigger breeders out that way, can you check with them to see if they are having any issues.

Yes, I know that John Suhr uses it, I believe Maynard Beitz uses it, and I also think Roger Clark uses it. I'll have to scrounge up their e-mails...

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Check the mill date for your current feed. Be sure the feed isn't too old. I don't like to give feed older than 4 months from the mill date to the chins and prefer feed to be less than 3 months from the mill date.

I second contacting one or all of the ranchers who use the feed. They should be able to give you advice on your issue. I would not change feed unless one of the ranchers suggest it or you can't get the feed fresh.

 

[Mikayla]

I've only had the bag for a month, and I emptied it into another container and threw it away...I'm pretty sure it wasn't old at all, very fresh from what I remember.

I will contact the other breeders and find out what they say

 

[caiti]

the ingredients in your Barnett pellets include 'animal fat' right up in the top of the list, and there should be no animal by-products in our chins' food.

Is there a reason for this? I didn't know animal by products were bad. I don't believe the feed I feed (PRCS) has any, but was curious.

Mikayla--I don't have any real advice. Maybe if you could try to figure out what types of problems you're having (weight loss, diseases etc) you could narrow down what is causing them. Though multiple issues can cause the same problem. Hope you figure it out and things get better!

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Is there a reason for this? I didn't know animal by products were bad. I don't believe the feed I feed (PRCS) has any, but was curious.

Animal by-products are not BAD. In general, by-products are thought to be less consistent from batch to batch. Being that it is a general category of products, multiple things can be substituted in the food while still following the ingredient list.

Now that being said, most people don't want to feed an herbivore other ingredients from another animal.

 

[caiti]

Animal by-products are not BAD. In general, by-products are thought to be less consistent from batch to batch. Being that it is a general category of products, multiple things can be substituted in the food while still following the ingredient list.

Now that being said, most people don't want to feed an herbivore other ingredients from another animal.

Sorry--I worded that wrong. I didn't mean to ask if animal by products/fat are bad, just inappropriate for chins, rather.

Are chins really herbivores? I mean, I know they are known to eat insects in the wild but I get the impression they're teetering the line of omnivore and herbivore if anything. So, chickens for example are omnivores but eat pretty much an herbivorous diet in domestic practice though tallow (animal fat) is in chicken rations.

I guess I didn't know what the consensus was about the whole idea. I understand the problems with the vagueness and inconsistency of the ingredient, though.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Sorry--I worded that wrong. I didn't mean to ask if animal by products/fat are bad, just inappropriate for chins, rather.

Are chins really herbivores? I mean, I know they are known to eat insects in the wild but I get the impression they're teetering the line of omnivore and herbivore if anything. So, chickens for example are omnivores but eat pretty much an herbivorous diet in domestic practice though tallow (animal fat) is in chicken rations.

I guess I didn't know what the consensus was about the whole idea. I understand the problems with the vagueness and inconsistency of the ingredient, though.

We could probably start a new thread on this, since it isn't really in line with the thread topic...
But...based on their digestive tract and dentition...chinchillas are herbivores.
You are right, chickens are omnivores in the wild, and have a more omnivore-ish digestive tract, but in confinement they are given whatever they are given. Their protein, fat, carbohydrate, etc. needs can all be met "artificially" through proper diet formulation. They get A LOT of soybean meal, which covers most of their protein needs. Another piece of the puzzle is the composition of amino acids in the protein they are given. Their amino acid profile is met by the diet we give them.
In the same respect you *could* raise a dog on a plant-based diet. It's fully possible and the dog wouldn't necessarily suffer because of it. It's just frowned upon. You can also raise a cat on a plant-based diet, but they needed to be supplemented with taurine - which is only found in animals.

 

[Mikayla]

I was wondering about the same thing, so in this case, are the animal by-products bad? Also, I found out Maynard Beitz uses the same, and Roger Clark uses Manna Pro, which if my town wasn't so darn small, I'd change to in a heartbeat. BUT I'm going to have to keep looking for a store that carries it.

 

[Riven]

With my experience if you're having consistent issues through out the herd it's a feed or nutrition issue.

Any other supplements? Anything could cause this, wood that has been sprayed for example, hay with pesticides, etc.

I doubt it's the pellet itself if no one else is having issues. Since I'm sure they didn't mill one bag for you, contact who you got it from ( John Suhr right? ) and make sure he's not having any issues, tell him what you're experiencing and ask him if he supplements with anything. If a rancher orders a ton of feed and they have issues... they'll know.