Eating alot more hay than pellets

[PebblesAndAbby]

I have a question. My two chinchillas have been eating oxbow timothy hay for 5 years since i've had them. they never ate more than 2 handfulls or less of hay a day each. i recently switched a few weeks ago to oxbow orchard grass and they eat it all day long now, eating at least 75% more a day than the stemmy timothy hay they would throw to the bedding. they are now only eating very little of their oxbow chinchilla deluxe. is this ok to not eat much of the oxbow chinchilla deluxe vitamin pellets or should i not give this much hay? thanks

 

[Dragonflye]

I free feed hay and pellets. I have some chins who prefer the hay, some prefer pellets. As long as they seem fine and are maintaining their weight, I wouldn't worry about it.

Must be some good orchard hay or maybe they just needed a change. I would probably mix some timothy hay in there occasionally, so they get both kinds.

 

[tunes]

It's okay if they eat more hay than pellets. A lot of people believe that's the way it should be. I would still mix in the timmy hay though, just to balance it out.

 

[PebblesAndAbby]

ok thanks for your help, i always have timmy cubes from oxbow in the cage also since i switched to oxbow orchard grass, they eat them sometimes.

 

[Claire D]

The orchard grass is much more leafy & soft than the timothy hay. My lot will eat 2-3 times the amount of orchard grass compared to timothy hay - laziness wins out, I think.

I would agree with the recommendation to give timothy hay as well since it provides more hard fibrous material for the teeth to grind. It gives the jaw muscles a workout & provides extra roughage for the gut as well - so beneficial all round.
Here we can buy alfalfa stalks which are very tough & I give them to my chins for a treat every so often & also some thin apple twigs so they chew them too (& don't just strip the bark off).

 

[PebblesAndAbby]

i captured a picture of abby (meatball) slurping her orchard grass.
Isnt she so cute

 

[SCchin]

Cute! Where did you get that hay holder? I need to get the hay off of the floor of the cage.

 

[PebblesAndAbby]

i bought it off someone on this message board about a year ago, you can probably find her in the chin supplier section.