New Chin Feeding Delimia

[Paws4Chins]

I rescued 2 Chins off of Craiglist in my local town of Saline. The owner was feeding really bad food that had corn, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, and pellets. To top that off the food looked like it had been sitting around for ages...it did not have a nice smell and the pellets looked old and dried out. I had planned on using the food they were using and switching gradually to Mazuri. The owner told me were she got the food. I did not want to continue to feed old food so I went to the specialty pet store were they said they got it from. The store clerk and I were not able to match the food up so I decided to just jump to the Mazuri I have and hope for the best. The first 2 days they seemed to eat it but left a lot of crumbs in bowl but last night they did not want to touch it. I will say that they have not had soft stools...actually they had soft stools coming from the old home and now the droppings look better. (The old owners were giving raisins and no hay). This feeding dilemma is just the tip of the iceberg for the kind of care they were getting.

My questions are this:

How long can Chins go without eating pellets if they have hay and water

Does anyone have a Chin that leaves crumbs behind when they eat their pellets

Should I use the old food and go to switching gradual like I planned.

 

[Sdo9396]

I went through the same thing you're going through. I got Ruby off CL from a guy who was also feeding her crap food with treats in it. I switched her over to Mazuri without slowly transitioning with the old food. There's no benefit for the chin to eat that junk. She did have a night where she had orange poops but I think it was because her old food had dried carrots or something in it. After that, all her poops were normal.

Ruby leaves crumbs behind also. Actually, she takes a pellet in her hand and eats whatever is sticking out and throws the other half of the pellet away! Every morning I wake up to find a huge pile of half-eaten pellets lol I asked the vet and she said it's nothing to be worried about, just a waste of food!

I'm not sure about the amount of time a chin can go without pellets though. I'm sure someone with greater knowledge will chime in.

 

[Paws4Chins]

I thought it was strange how they left crumbs behind. My other 2 don't do that. I thought maybe they had teeth issues but nothing looks outwardly abnormal when I checked the teeth and jaw structure. Glad to know there is another Chin out there that leaves behind crumbs too. I am wondering if mine are on a food strike because they are not getting the junk they are used to and if a day or 2 of doing this is OK as long as they are eating hay and drinking water.

 

[Christina Noraas]

I would say give them unlimited amouts of hay and pellets, do a cold turkey switch. The crumbs could just be from when they were eating, kind of like how there are crumbs when we eat toast, or it could just be crumbs that were from the bag/containers that were on the bottom and got shifted around while you were feeding. I don't think crumbs are anything to worry about. I would watch their intake of food, water, and hay and keep an eye on their droppings.

Others with more experience may say something different, but that is what I would do unless consulted otherwise.

 

[Siany]

My chins leave crumbs behind too and i have watched them throw a half eaten bit of food. Im switching my chinchillas food over aswell, i did start to gradually switch and seemed fine with it so the first night i completly switched their food over they didnt touch it at all, i refilled their food and left plenty of hay and water. I think once they realised that i wasnt going to give up with the food they started to eat what i was giving them and now i have no trouble.

 

[Spoof]

How long can Chins go without eating pellets if they have hay and water

Indefinitely, actually. Needs to be good quality hay, and there are other things that should have to support it, but they can survive off of it alone.

Does anyone have a Chin that leaves crumbs behind when they eat their pellets

About 1/3 of mine do. The ones that eat with their hands.

Should I use the old food and go to switching gradual like I planned

. I always cold turkey switch - when I switch it's because of a food issue. Never had it cause a problem worse than the old food.

Good luck!

 

[chichismama]

Going through the same thing right now! Probably the same food, the brand was called "all things small", i think. and the hay had stuff in it too! I did a cold switch and she was on a hunger strike until today!

 

[GorillaJTA]

I would stick with the cold switch and give plenty of hay.

My boys leave half-eaten pellets all the time. The only time I have seen an empty bowl was the night I forgot to feed them (yeah... I know...) and they ate the bits.

 

[ChinnyMom]

How long can Chins go without eating pellets if they have hay and water

I've read about chins not eating pellets at all and doing fine. i personally wouldn't do this myself.

a few days won't hurt with no pellets being eaten, as long as there's lots of hay available.

Does anyone have a Chin that leaves crumbs behind when they eat their pellets

When Rhino's bowl gets to nearly empty, there are always crumbs in it (although not much). I've not seen him waste any pellets by throwing, etc. i've been blessed with a neat eater, i guess. lol.

Should I use the old food and go to switching gradual like I planned.

keep up with the cold switch by feeding just the Mazuri, with lots of loose timothy hay, and i say toss the old food outside for the wild birds.

 

[Tagna]

I think most of the rescues that pass through get a cold turkey switch. Almost all come in with some sort of crappy food. Bonanza Chin Pellets must have been on sale as the last few have come in on that.

Just give a ton of hay when you do that though.

For my pet chins, I have 2 crumb makers and the rest don't.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I have some chins that eat half of the pellet and drop the other half. Nothing to worry about. Like mentioned, give plenty of hay and water and stick to the cold switch. Once they realize that they are not getting the junk they are looking for, they will begin eating the new pellets.

 

[Paws4Chins]

Just wanted to give an update. They went off their hunger strike last night. Only went a day without eating. Hope they keep eating and do not decide to play games again. It is good to know that the crumb thing is common. I did notice that my new chins eat the pellets with their hands so a bit that explains it. Thank you everyone for your input.