Cold turkey switch?

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Brittney

Brittney

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
826
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I'm in the process of switching my little guy over from Kaytee Forti-Diet to Mazuri. I've had it a week and I've only placed a very tiny handful of the Mazuri into his bowl of Kaytee. When I wake up in the morning, his food is dumped all over the place like he has been digging for the Mazuri, and all of the Mazuri is gone. (They are VERY different colors so it is easy to tell) I want to do this gradual because he's being switched from a very poor food to a really good food and I don't want to mess up his tummy.

He seems to be doing ok so far. Still active and allert, still drinking and eating, still pooping, but his poops are a little smaller and firm (I can squish them between my fingers) during the day and a little bigger at night when he is really active. I've been giving him burnt toast to help with that. I have been monitoring his pee with paper towels and he pees just fine. He doesn't seem like he has tummy problems which is good. I've been watching him very carefully for signs of bloat and tummy problems cause I'm a worry-wart. He doesn't lay on his side, doesn't stretch other than when he is really sleepy or when I wake him up (and it is accompanied with a large squeaky yawn), his tummy isn't hard, just the normal firm/squishy pot belly he has always had, and he is still wall surfing during playtime, so I think he is feeling pretty good.

He loves the Mazuri, obviously, if he is digging through the Kaytee to get to it. Do you think it would be a good idea to switch him cold turkey since he doesn't even touch the Kaytee anymore? I just don't want to mess up his tummy.
 
We switch all of the rescues cold turkey every time. Most of them come in on the bad food and I pitch it in the trash. Never have had a poop issue with them yet.

If he is eating the Mazuri I say go ahead and just switch.
 
Thank you. I'll just switch him since he's been eating it only anyways. And thank you, I love my little goof ball :)
 
I agree, a cold turkey switch will probably be fine. With the rescues I've taken in, I do the gradual switch for the first week or couple days. If they're only eating the new food, I just switch, because it seems like they hold out for the new food anyways. So I'd rather them eat more food than less. So far everyone has done well on this and I haven't had any loose poo issues.
 
Thanks guys. I just emptied out his bowl and put the Kaytee in a baggie in case he needs me to do the gradual. I filled his bowl up with just Mazuri and he looked at me like I was a god. :) I think he will be just fine now.
 
Glad to hear cold turkey is okay. I just got home to find that my boys are almost out of their Mazuri(As in one more day, depending on how much they spill when they dig for the perfect piece.) The stores near me usually have the kind full of treats or where I get my Oxbow hay, they do have Oxbow food. I should be able to get Mazuri again this weekend, so for the week, should I go with the Oxbow or is another brand any better? Seems I can get anything EXCEPT Mazuri here.
 
angela said:
Glad to hear cold turkey is okay. I just got home to find that my boys are almost out of their Mazuri(As in one more day, depending on how much they spill when they dig for the perfect piece.) The stores near me usually have the kind full of treats or where I get my Oxbow hay, they do have Oxbow food. I should be able to get Mazuri again this weekend, so for the week, should I go with the Oxbow or is another brand any better? Seems I can get anything EXCEPT Mazuri here.
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Cold turkey isn't really okay as in you should always do it this way. It's okay when the chin is on a crappy food. But if you constantly change the food abruptly, you can really mess with their system.

If you don't have any issues with Mazuri, are you just considering switching because you're out? Of pet store foods, both Mazuri and Oxbow are the best. But, if you want to stick with Mazuri, chins are find on hay only for a couple days while you wait for the feed to come in.

So if you're wanting to stick to the Mazuri, no, I would not switch cold turkey to Oxbow for a week and then do a cold turkey switch back to Mazuri when you get it in. That's way too much change in one week and you could end up with loose poos
 
alli713 said:
Cold turkey isn't really okay as in you should always do it this way. It's okay when the chin is on a crappy food. But if you constantly change the food abruptly, you can really mess with their system.

If you don't have any issues with Mazuri, are you just considering switching because you're out? Of pet store foods, both Mazuri and Oxbow are the best. But, if you want to stick with Mazuri, chins are find on hay only for a couple days while you wait for the feed to come in.

So if you're wanting to stick to the Mazuri, no, I would not switch cold turkey to Oxbow for a week and then do a cold turkey switch back to Mazuri when you get it in. That's way too much change in one week and you could end up with loose poos
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I do want to stick with Mazuri(unless Oxbow is better?), but it'll be more than just a few days before I can get more. My chin sitters didn't inform me that they're almost out. If I do have to get Oxbow, I'll gradually mix the Mazuri back in. I keep a very close eye on their poo. Even when I'm not home, I ask my roommate about it. You get some pretty funny looks when people overhear you asking about poos!
 
Some people might say Oxbow is better because of the lower protein content, but I've used Mazuri and like it. It's just too expensive for me with 5 chins. But Oxbow is also expensive too.

If you switch to the Oxbow, might as well keep them on it, it's a nice feed. And if you can get it locally easier it will probably prevent you from running out again.
 
alli713 said:
Some people might say Oxbow is better because of the lower protein content, but I've used Mazuri and like it. It's just too expensive for me with 5 chins. But Oxbow is also expensive too.

If you switch to the Oxbow, might as well keep them on it, it's a nice feed. And if you can get it locally easier it will probably prevent you from running out again.
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If they really like it, I'll stick with it. Running out shouldn't be a problem soon though, I'm moving to where there's a petsmart on every corner. Besides that, I usually order it from people on here(until chins n quills disappeared). Better to support the rescues than the big chains that sell unsafe chinnie products!
 
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