Brands of Food and Prices? Looking to switch brands.

[nikkik0720]

As everyone has probably heard about, Manna Pro has been having many issues with whole corn in the feed and in pieces in the pellets as well.
Well I am constantly paranoid about my babies. When I give them fresh pellets, I am always double (even triple) checking the feed for corn. I spent an hour last night checking for corn pieces. I have 3 chins, in 2 separate cages, and only have 2 bowls to fill. So I may just be an overly-worried, paranoid mommy, but I know what corn can do to them, and I don't want anything to happen to them.

So my question is what other brands do you fellow chin-parents feed? Are they usually easily available? Also what are prices like? (If you don't mind me asking.)

I heard Oxbow is good, as well as the Blue Seal brands. I know which ones should be avoided.
I was feeding Manna Pro Pro, since that's what Ange (Vyxxin), had been feeding her chins for several years, and I got my chins from her.

Another question about feed is the process of switching feeds. I know you need to do it gradually, like you would a dog, to avoid upsetting the stomach. How long does that process usually take? Is there a 'quick' way to switch over? I know how bad it can be to just switch the feed on the chins.
My worry is the potential exposure to more corn-contaminated food.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks.
Willow, Mazlow, and Gizmo thank you all too!

 

[greychins]

I typically feed Mazuri for my breeders, it's roughly $18/19 for a 25 pound bag. My rescues get a mix of Mazuri/Manna Pro, and the Manna Pro is like $17/18 for a 50 pound bag.

So far, I've never had corn in my MannaPro.

Though, not to be devil's advocate here, but.... how bad is a few pieces of corn, really? I saw on facebook, I think, that someone found 13 pieces of corn in 50 pounds of MannaPro. Let's assume someone has 10 chins, and those chins eat 2 pounds of food per month. So, the bag will last 2.5 months, and during that time, each chin will eat roughly 5 pounds of food. In that 5 pounds of food will be 1.3 pieces of corn (assuming it's evenly distributed through the bag). So, over 2.5 months, the chin eats a piece and a half of corn, and over 12 months, the chin eats 6.24 pieces of corn. Overall... that just doesn't seem that much to me. I mean, sure, I would prefer way better quality control, but I just don't think 6-7 pieces of corn per chin over a 12 month period is going to do any significant damage. I get it's not nutritious, it's a filler, but so are the treats we give chins, and I guess I don't see how a few pieces of corn that a chin doesn't need is any different than giving cheerios or shredded wheat now and then. But if I'm wrong, and there's some serious heath problems caused by this, by all means, please correct me so I understand. Just my thoughts.

For me, with the amount of rescues I have that come in on less-than-desirable feeds, the way I do a food switch is give them half their-food, half my-food for about a 2 week period, and then switch them over to what I feed. Simpy because when multiple chins are switching over from multiple different foods all at the same time, but otherwise would be at different stages of the switch, it'd be a mess trying to keep track of that. Usually, that doesn't create problems, but in the event it does, I'll go back and go slower.

 

[jags]

Its not the corn itself but the microtoxins corn may contain that is the problem. Its just better to avoid it than take the chance it may be contaminated.

 

[greychins]

Oh ok, thank you for explaining. Was not aware of that.

 

[Snickers]

I feed Purina Chow Show 50 lbs $20.75. The price went down maybe a month ago from $21.50.

 

[nikkik0720]

Aside from the microtoxins in the corn, they cannot fully digest it, therefore it can lead to blockages. At least with cheerios, shredded wheat, rose hips, chins can digest it.

I've heard Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe is pretty good. My only issue is that it seems to only come in 50lb bags. The price is reasonable though, only like $20 for 50lbs. The problem with this is that I only have 3 chins. By the time they would get to the second half of the bag, it would be no good, and have no nutritional value left.
I also heard that it's a softer and lighter pellet, so the chins need extra things to chew. That's not a problem as twigs, sticks, and chew blocks/rocks aren't too expensive.

Another major issue is that I am finding more and more corn in the feed as I get closer to what would've been the bottom of the bag. (I store the feed in a plastic storage container to keep it 'safe' from dust/moisture/etc. and it's much easier to store than a large open bag.)
Filling 2 chinchilla bowls now takes me over an hour to pick out all the corn pieces/pellets with corn in them. That's a bit ridiculous. I am so worried and paranoid about my babies.
Their poops are all fine. In the mornings, when they first wake up, the poop does tend to be smaller, slightly harder, and a little darker. But once they are up and moving (about 15-20 minutes), the poop becomes more uniform in shape/color/size. I've seen several other people mention this occuring in perfectly healthy chins. So I am not too worried, as it is the same "routine" every morning. If it became increasingly smaller/hard/dark or lasted longer than usual, then I would be sure to have them checked out.

It's gotten so bad with the corn that I am tempted to just pull the feed and give extra hay, hay cubes, and grape twigs.
How horrible would it be to switch brands directly? I do not want them to be exposed to the corn more than they already have been/need to be. I realize how bad these things can be, and how 'touchy' a chin's digestive track is. That's why I'd rather ask here BEFORE trying/doing anything.

So please, anyone, any advice/answers will be greatly appreciated!

 

[3CsMommy]

I feed Mazuri from Tractor Supply. It's a 25 lb. bag and runs $17.49 + tax here in western NY. If I were back in Ohio (where I will never live again) I'd probably try to get Tradition.

 

[Dreamlite]

I use manna pro and have not found any corn in my feed. I also use purina show pellets. I get a 50 lb bag since I have so many chins. Purina is about 22 a bag and manna pro is 16 . It depends a lot where you are located. There is a purina plant 30 miles from me and I am going to start picking it up directly from them for 15 for a 50lb bag.

 

[Stackie]

I remember reading awhile ago that they clean the machines they use to make the feed by running corn through it, so that could be where the corn is coming from. If that's the case, any feed has the potential to have some stray pieces of corn...I guess it depends on the mill, not necessarily the feed. That being said, I've been feeding Manna Pro for over a year now with no issues. My chins are fat and happy.

 

[nikkik0720]

Well I have been having major problems with corn in the feed. How horrible would it be to switch over feed directly? I am fed up with manna pro. I can't give my chins feed and constantly be worrying that there's corn in it and that I'm gonna find one of them very sick, if not dead. I realize they would show some sort of sign before it became fatal, but I don't want to take the risks.

 

[nikkik0720]

So far, the ONLY brands I have heard really good things about and have had high recommendations are Oxbow, Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe, and Manna Pro (which is what I am on now and have issues with).
Anyone have any ideas/recommendations/advice?

Also, has anyone had any experience with the different Oxbow treats? Like the freeze-dried fruit (although I know any fruit is generally advised against) They also have different kinds, like barley biscuits and hay treats. What about Kaytee Baked Apple 'treats'? They kind of look like the Horse treats you can give chins.

 

[nikkik0720]

Has anyone heard of Hubbard Life Chinchilla pellets?
I searched Google for Tradition Chinchilla food and clicked one link that said about Tradition Chinchilla and Tradition Guinea Pig feed, and it said the page could not be found. It took me to a site called Hubbard Feed.
Anyone heard of it/use it?

Or Brytin Professional Chinchilla Feed?

 

[3CsMommy]

I've never seen a break down on the Blue Seal feed, though I'd be interested to compare it to what I already feed and see if it's more cost effective. I don't feed treats that I haven't made myself or know are from a credible source, so anything by Kaytee etc. are what I call a waste of money.

 

[EMSChins]

Hubbard Changed the name of Tradition to Hubbard Life, it is the same feed.

Brytin is the same as Tradition/Hubbard Life but packaged in smaller quantities for the pet owner.

 

[Vyxxin]

This may be the picture/complaint you seen online Ashley? Yeah, it wasn't just in the teens...it was in the teens JUST ON TOP! There was corn, all through it I too find a stray piece here and there...in a 50lb bag. This was in a 25lb bag that I was forced to buy when the local TSC was out of 50lb bags it was awful and after just a couple nights I opted to toss the bag. When you're feeding three dozen cages from one feed bin...and about 1/3 have kits in them...and literally EVERY scoop of feed had several pieces (even if just small ones) of whole yellow corn in it yeah, I tossed the bag and filed complaint. They DID refund my money and send coupons but still, if I'd have lost an animal (or several) that wouldn't do would it? I'll stick with MannaPro for now...but if it keeps up I'll be going back to something that didn't have corn in it. I understand they clean the machines with corn, but corn's dangerous and not just to chins. The rabbit people are angry about finding it too...the rep I spoke with says she'll discuss it and other cleaning options with the company. We shall see!

 

[akane]

We buy nutrena rabbit pellets at something like $14 a 40lb bag. We have 2 dwarf rabbits that also eat it so it goes down fast enough we don't waste any. I prefer manna pro which is like $2 more expensive but they don't keep it in stock very well and sometimes go months without getting any in which is not convenient. We only use it when we have the money to buy 10 or so bags at the same time so we know we can keep them on it for awhile. Our local mill must not clean with corn because we never find corn in a bag. We also used kent family rabbit pellets which were about $12 a 50lb bag but you have to get them from the tiny kent feedstore that is only open until 5pm and not at all on weekends. Plus we don't go to that town much anymore now that I'm selling all my rabbits and horses so we won't be passing it on the way to the stable.

 

[Sandi]

I've been feeding Tradition a/k/a Hubbard Life Specialty Feeds to my chins for 2 years now, also sell it as well to forum members (link is under my signature). I've had a couple of blips here and there when they had a formula change but otherwise it's been going great so far. I pay around $20 for a 50 lb. bag.

You can look for a dealer through this link...

http://www.hubbardlife.com/dealers/default.aspx

The bag I have looks like this (pic of chinchilla at bottom left)

 

[nikkik0720]

Well I finally decided to go ahead and try the Show Hutch Deluxe. The only problem I have is that it only comes in 50lb bags, and I only have 3 chins. Is there anyway to 'save' extra? Does freezing it do anything to help preserve the nutritional values?

Also, I am going to be pretty much forced into doing a straight switch. How horrible is that? The Manna Pro I have left is basically all 'contaminated' with corn.
I have a little bit that I'd feel okay feeding/mixing, but not nearly enough to do a transition from feeds.

Will it be okay? They aren't eating much of the manna pro as it is. They'd rather pig out on hay. What pellets they do eat are only half eaten before thrown on the floor. I would be more worried about it, if it weren't for the fact that it is the 'bottom' of the bag so it is a little more 'dusty' and doesn't smell nearly as sweet and 'alfalfa-y' (is that even a word? Anyway it doesn't smell as much like alfalfa like the 'middle of the bag' did). It's doesn't smell bad, like it's no good. It just doesn't smell as appetizing as before. So I can imagine that if it doesn't smell as good, it probably doesn't taste as good.

So now my main question is about doing a pretty much direct switch on the feeds.

 

[akane]

You complain about finding corn in manna pro but show hutch deluxe contains corn anyway as corn gluten meal. Corn gluten meal is an unbalanced cheap protein source left from other uses of corn. While I'd prefer to avoid corn it's not really possible sometimes to avoid all sources. The nutrena we are using has corn distillers grain. One reason I prefer the manna pro. I can't find the ingredients for the kent we were using but it probably contains some type of corn too. Companies find it hard to compete in price without using some form of corn for cheap protein. Unfortunately it's not good protein and it causes allergies in so many animals.

 

[nikkik0720]

Will someone please answer my final question? How horrible would it be to of a direct switch? I have been asking it for a few days and nobody has answered it.