This Formula Does Not Seem Chin-Friendly

[CritterMom]

I received an email from a girl concerned about her chin she was worried wasn't nursing her kits. She then said that her chin was feeding the larger two of the three kits and her vet told her to feed this formula:

half can carnation milk half can can of water 1
tablespoon of honey and an egg yolk

I gave her the recipe for the formula I use because to me this seemed way to high in sugar, and I didn't understand the egg yolk. I understand protein, but I wouldn't give this to my kits. I just thought some of the large scale breeders would know a little better than I would about this combination.

 

[Chinniechantel]

That is horrible. Too much sugar and egg yolk? No way. They need goats milk. What a dumb vet- proof a lot of vets know nothing about the actual husbantry and care of animals. Yikes. Poor kits.

 

[CritterMom]

That's exactly what I told her. She is supposed to call me in about 30 minutes so I can talk her through hand feeding and find out exactly how prepared she was for this pregnancy.

 

[Chinniechantel]

That is good news. Have her come to the forum afterwards, so she realizes how important what you say is. Have her read the breeding horror stories from Riven and myself too. I hope she does not have to experience a dead kit, but it sounds like it if she is feeding them that for very long.

 

[Spoof]

That's actually a common formula for foals. Horses and chins have similar digestive tracts, so I can see why the vet would say what they did.

 

[CritterMom]

Is that the best route for her to go, though?

 

[Bethany]

Egg yolk is used to help prevent diarrhea. Not sure why, but it is commonly used in a lot of different species.

 

[tunes]

Not to me it isn't. It may be fine for foals, but I would stick with what has been proven to work, rather than experiment with something else.

1 can goats milk
1 can water
1 teaspoon baby rice cereal

No honey, no eggs.

 

[oxchincerelyxo]

Not to me it isn't. It may be fine for foals, but I would stick with what has been proven to work, rather than experiment with something else.

1 can goats milk
1 can water
1 teaspoon baby rice cereal

No honey, no eggs.

I used this too when I was handfeeding Chance last year. The honey's sugar and the eggs worry me...:no:

 

[Anne-Lise]

I did hear about egg with milk. GUess it is for the proteine?

 

[Spoof]

lol, guess I should've said I wouldn't use it for chins. I use whole milk and rice cereal - just saying I can see where the vet is coming from. Usually they give the foals two whole raw eggs.

 

[CritterMom]

I gave her the recipe Tunes mentioned.

 

[ilovemytwochins]

Has anyone heard of using Harrison's Neonate Formula (it is advertised for baby birds)? This is what my vet told me to use, as I am currently feeding a kit with it....mixing it with filtered warm water. She told me that it has more nutrients than the goats milk combo....idk, just another opinion I guess!

 

[Sheri]

Feeding the bird formula would worry me. I guess my thinking (and I have been told I am off base before so.....) is that birds main sources of food are seeds nuts fruits and veggies. Chins main sources are grasses, hay ect.....

I use the same formula that I have seen on here with goats milk.

 

[Spoof]

Actually, none of the over the counter stuff comes close to the actual composition of chinchilla milk. It is the opposite, very high in fats and extremely low in sugars/lactose.

However, you do what you can. I've not lost one yet using whole milk and baby rice cereal.

I've uploaded the article about chinchilla milk here.