Too much vitamin A can lead to anorexia and liver damage.Many animal dietitians believe that 12000 IU/KG is what chins need. Here vitamin A level in some feeds:
Mazuri 35,200 IU/KG WHOPPING!
Tradition 3000 IU/LB(about 6000 IU/KG)
APD 4000 IU/LB (about 8000 IU/KG)
PARN 4800 iu/lb (about 10 000 iu/kg)
OXBOW 20 000 IU/kg
You feed mazuri, so it can be a problem right here. Not all chins can deal with that high vitamin A level. It's important to feed fresh pellets, and once the bag is opened, pellets should not be used for more than 5-6 months. I open new bag every 7-8 weeks and throw away what is left from the old one. Some ranches get fresh feed every 3 weeks or so. I try to get bags that are no more than 4 months old.
"Vitamin A degrades quickly in storage (six months storage at room temperature resulted in a 53% loss – Source: NRC, 1983)
Vitamin A oxidises putting strain on the chins body as it tries to remove it from its system. Research has linked it to "yellow-fat disease", a metabolic disorder associated with feeding too high a level of Vitamin A"
You can read more about it here
http://www.freewebs.com/nzchinchilla-rescue/dietnutrution.htm
http://www.greenwoodchinchillas.co.uk/pellets.htm
I think it's important to feed some loose alfalfa hay (legume hay) at least once or twice a week.It's rich in B complex,C, D, E, K, P, U, abundance of calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, alfalfa contains every essential amino acid etc. Some info about it here
http://www.globalherbalsupplies.com/herb_information/alfalfa.htm My chins get some alfalfa hay daily. I mix it with grass hays for foraging fun! Alfalfa is recommended for sick animals.
Timothy is a lower nutrient dense forage. It just doesn't have the needed nutritional value that alfalfa has, it's great for teeth wear and fiber. But timothy is higher in minerals than other grass hays. It's good that you feed timothy, but I would definitely find a better hay. Kaytee products are not really good.
I tested timothy hay( different brands) and American pet diner second cut timothy is a winner! You can buy it here
www.americanpetdiner.com It's much higher in minerals than other brands. Oxbow timothy is quite good too but American pet diner timothy is higher in iron, magnesium and calcium(APD's second cut: Calcium 0.65%, Magnesium 0.34%, Iron 164 ppm.
Oxbow timothy : Ca 0.48%, Mg 0.23%, Iron 117 ppm).
I feed APD's second cut timothy hay to my chins, but I also feed other types. Timothy second cut is quite soft, so I feel that offering other coarser grass hays is important for teeth wear (oxbow organic meadow hay has lots of coarse stalks, APD mountain grass and Kleenmamas bluegrass have coarse leaves).
Qualitymutationchinchilla supplements are good. But what your chins really need right now is echinacea and Red clover blossoms . Some info
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/echinacea.htm Other herbs will not help much. These 2 herbs are #2 and #3 effectiveness, you need to rebuild white blood cell count. I do not mention #1 herb simply because I'm not sure how safe it is for chins.
Many vets and The Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy list echinacea on top of the list as immune-enhancing herb. You can get these herbs at
www.mountainroseherbs.com,
http://wildweeds.com/
http://www.morethanalive.com/Red-Clover-blossoms-organic-whole and other places.
I do not know if I would add grains in your chin diet right now. If you choose to do so, just offer really a little. A diet high in phytic acid(grains) interferes with calcium absorption. This acid binds to a variety of minerals including calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc and prevents their absorption. Insoluble salts are formed, called phytates, which are wasted from the body. Chins who get lots of grains may start loosing weight , body also burns extra calories just to digest and absorb whole-grains. The reason is inability to separate phosphorus from the phytate molecule.
Good luck
