Hay

[tristanichole]

I'm becoming more and more allergic to hay. I've tried putting hay in small brown lunch sacks and putting them in their cage (to prevent me from having to breathe it in too much), but now they mostly just pee on it or don't touch it at all. Can Chins do alright if it's given to them only a few times a week, or does this absolutely have to be given daily? I just want to know the risks of not giving it to them on a regular basis. I feed Mazuri food...so their diet it good quality. In some places I read that giving them a good quality food is fine by itself and in some places I read to give them hay a few times a week, other places I see daily.

Thanks!

 

[Silverrose]

Hay is an important part of their diet, and should always be available and free fed IMO. It is not only important for their nutrition, but the roughage is an important part of wearing their teeth down. Perhaps wearing a dust mask while you give them hay will help? Or maybe invest in an air purifier/filter for the room to cut down on the dust and pollen?

 

[Spoof]

Chins do not need loose hay. If you feed a good pellet, it IS hay, and they'll do fine without.

You can also get the cubed variety, that'll keep the dust down and keep them happy with something to chew on. It is difficult to find strait timothy cubes due to binding issues, the most common is a 70/30 tim/alfalfa mix.

 

[Idgie]

Chins do not need loose hay. If you feed a good pellet, it IS hay, and they'll do fine without.

I don't agree with this, at all. Most pellets are alfalfa based and the hay is grass/Timothy hay. They are different nutritionally. Also, it is important that chins have hay for their teeth in the same way that they need other things to chew. I believe that they need hay everyday.

As for your allergies, do you have medication to take? (I assume that you are allergic to grass.) You can wear a dust mask and gloves when touching the hay and wash your hands a lot. Is your chin in your room with you? Where do you store the hay? I don't know much about cubed hay, but maybe that would help. I believe, ideally, that you still would want to feed loose hay at least occcasionally for their teeth.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

According to our resident veterinarian (taken from the first and only thread in that section):

The proper diet for an adult, non-breeding chinchilla is grass hay (preferably Timothy, but Orchard grass, Oat hay, and Brome hay are all acceptable) as 90% - 95% of the diet. It should be free choice, so therefore available at all times. Pellets are recommended at 2 tablespoons twice a day. That is the best diet to maintain dental and GI tract health. I actually know a board certified exotics specialist who has a pet chin that she only feeds hay - no pellets, treats, or greens at all and she is doing great - for about 6 years now.

While the amount of pellets and hay consumed will vary from one chinchilla to another, it makes complete sense that hay is an important part of a chinchilla diet both for the fiber and the benefit of it wearing down teeth. I understand that when there are hundreds of chins to feed hay to, cubes might be the easy route but I see no reason a pet chin shouldn't be fed loose hay which the majority feels is a necessity.

If allergies prevent you from feeding your pet what it needs, then perhaps it isn't the right pet for you. I am allergic to dust and hay so I know what you are going through. Perhaps you could talk to your physician about your allergies and find a solution that will work for you and your chinnie .

 

[Spoof]

It has been proven that you can feed a chinchilla pellets only and they will be just fine.

Now you can feed your pet chinchillas anything you like. There is no right or wrong, only what you feel good with at the end of the day.

The local vet is entitled to their beliefs and research, as well as all the breeders I've visited who've been running chins as a business. I've heard of everything from 100% grain mixes to specialty pellets that they have made only for themselves. It's what works for them.

Until someone does some solid research this will always be a debate.

I'd like to see someone do a study of what the three different groups of wild chins eat over the course of a year.

 

[tristanichole]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. When I first got chins I fed them hay quite regularly, but then my allergies got worse and worse.

No, I'm not allergic to grass. Just hay. And bad. So bad that I have to actually go and take a shower when I'm in contact with it. It's the only thing that helps.

My chins are very well taken care of, so I wouldn't say that they aren't the right pet for me. I give them plenty of chew toys all the time and a good brand of food. It's just that they hay allergy just gets worse and worse. Doing it once a week or not at all would be ideal at this point. But I do think I'll look into doing hay cubes. I have done that before and they liked them just fine.

Thanks!

 

[Diva Chins]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. When I first got chins I fed them hay quite regularly, but then my allergies got worse and worse.

No, I'm not allergic to grass. Just hay. And bad. So bad that I have to actually go and take a shower when I'm in contact with it. It's the only thing that helps.

My chins are very well taken care of, so I wouldn't say that they aren't the right pet for me. I give them plenty of chew toys all the time and a good brand of food. It's just that they hay allergy just gets worse and worse. Doing it once a week or not at all would be ideal at this point. But I do think I'll look into doing hay cubes. I have done that before and they liked them just fine.

Thanks!

Is it a skin allergy or a breathing allergy? If it's skin, I'd recommend non-powdered latex gloves to put it in the cage, of it's breathing, I'd recommend a dusk mask as has already been done. My mom has to leave the room when I give dust baths, she starts sneezing insanely bad. You can also buy the gloves like cattle ranchers use to deliver calves that go up to your elbows I do believe.

 

[SunshineChins]

Can you have someone else in your household take care of giving your chins hay? Would switching to hay cubes help? When we give hay cubes to our chins they don't eat them all in one day. You might be able to get by with giving them fresh cubes every other day or so.

 

[ChinnieLove]

F.M. Brown's makes a 100 % timothy hay tid bits pellet. Might cut down on the dust.

 

[iayla]

I have a friend who is so highly allergic to timothy hay that it puts her in the hospital. Yet she's able to tolerate Orchard Grass - so is there a chance you could substitute another grass based hay? Otherwise, I'd suggest like the others and see if you can find a timothy cube, or timmy/alfalfa mix cube to offer the chinnies.
~Barb~

 

[tunes]

Oxbow has pure timothy cubes, and they are much smaller than the monstrous alfalfa cubes. That's what I buy my guys.

 

[Midwest Exotics]

Cubes should do the trick as you can buy them in a variety of kinds! BUT i personally offer hay to mine because of the benefits with roughage & most of all the benefit for their back teeth!

Plus, mine go NUTS for hay, with cubes maybe the first day they nibble at them, then toss them aside to get peed on!!

 

[Idgie]

. When I first got chins I fed them hay quite regularly, but then my allergies got worse and worse.

No, I'm not allergic to grass. Just hay. And bad. So bad that I have to actually go and take a shower when I'm in contact with it. It's the only thing that helps.

I'm sorry to hear that your allergies are getting worse and that you need to shower after being near the hay. Do you have an allergist to talk to about it? It sounds as if you really love and care for your chins, and I hate to hear that you are suffering so much. I also have allergies--though not as severe as yours--and maybe there is something that you could do to help your situation. Good luck.

 

[tristanichole]

Well, I picked up some hay cubes the other day, Timothy ones and they are nibbling on those, so that's helpful. I'll still give regular hay, but I'll do it about once a week or so. It's just better this way. But for now they'll have cubes to toss around too =)
So, that's my little update on that!

 

[starleomach]

Hay cubes are an acceptable substitute for hay. Loose hay is better but hay cubes will work. Chinchillas can survive without any hay but it is not ideal for them. Surviving isn't necessarily enough you want your chinchilla to thrive.