Sweet Feed?

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CritterLover86

CritterLover86

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
222
Location
New Lenox, IL
First off, a small disclaimer, this is only out of curiousity.

Is 'sweet feed', a product that is probably usually associated with horses, safe for chins? I would think anything with added sugar or molasses is something to steer clear of. I guess I'm just curious because I saw someone was selling it in the classifieds. This isn't to single anyone out, just thought posting this would give people a chance to see others' opinions on this, and then decide for themselves if they want to feed their chins this product.

I know some of us are always looking for new things we can give our chins, whether it be fun new toys, or chin safe treats. Mainly I'm just curious to hear what others think, perhaps in general about horse treats being chin safe (even like, say- apples and oats cookies, mrs. pasture cookies, etc.)
 
No. Chins shouldn't have corn and they shouldn't have sugar.
 
A example of a nutritional analysis of sweet feed

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (Min) 12 %
Crude Fat (Min) 3.5 %
Crude Fiber (Max) 10 %
Calcium (Min) 0.75 %
Calcium (Max) 1.25 %
Phosphorus (Min) 0.5 %
Selenium (Min) 0.4 PPM
Copper (Min) 35 PPM
Zinc (Min) 125 PPM
Vitamin A (Min) 5,000 IU/LB




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



INGREDIENTS: Wheat middlings, corn, oats, soy hulls, molasses products, calcium carbonate, distillers grains, salt, soybean meal, canola meal, magnesium oxide, saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and the media on which it was grown, consisting of processed grain by-products, roughage products, malt, corn syrup, potassium sulfate of magnesia, vitamin e, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, zinc proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, choline chloride, copper proteinate, iron sulfate, niacin, folic acid, selenium yeast, vitamin a, vitamin k, mineral oil, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamine, biotin, pyridoxine hcl, vitamin d, vitamin b12, calcium iodate, cobalt sulfate, preserved with (propionic acid, ammonium hydroxide, tertiary butyl hydroquinone and phosphoric acid), cobalt proteinate, sodium selenite, flavoring.
 
I'm curious to see what others have to say as well since it was my ad that used the term sweet feed vs wet cob. I started out giving wet cob aka sweet feed a years ago as a treat. This is the only treat I offer other than rose hips, and unsweetened shredded wheat, even then in moderation.
I personally don't use it, but know some mix it into their feed, and that's Equine senior, which also contains molasses.
When I first got into chins 6 years ago, it wasn't uncommon to see Equine used as part of the feed mix, even the breeders I bought from fed it. As always, some good criticism is beneficial.
 
It is not just the molasses that is a concern in wet cob. There is also a high concentration of corn and there are other items that give sugar such as corn syrup.

I've talked to many life long horse people about horse products being used for chinchillas. Every single one of them said they won't give wet cob to their horses because it's garbage so they sure as heck wouldn't give it to a small animal. They use Equine Senior because it's better and actually contains vitamins that are necessary and not random items that look good to the average consumer. Even then, Equine senior is, and only should be, used for animals that are lacking in vitamins or suffering from weight loss or have teeth issues. Equine senior is a soft pellet that is easy on animals with teeth problems.
 
I am familiar with the benefits of it's use, but used it as am example since it also has molasses in it, and should be brought up, since there are probably breeders who still use it, not just for chins with teeth issues, but all their animals...
The sweet feed on the other hand, I wasn't familiar with until a long time breeder mentioned it as a "treat" that they give to their animals. Since it has also been offered for quite some time for sale with out complaint, never considered it a hazard, but then again I've been preoccupied with my own health this past year and admit to not following the list to much this past year. Most of us do know the treats are not a necessity at all, and there is such a thing as to much of a good thing, much like McDonald's!
 
There are two kinds of sweet feed, the grain mix and pelleted. I've heard that some older ranchers do or used to use it as a supplement. Not saying either way on it, but on the corn issue, I've seen chunks of corn in the pellets of some chin feeds that are made for chins. I don't use these feeds, but I'm just saying a lot of people do.
 
It's not about wether it has corn, but how it is prepared. Certain preparation methods allow toxins to be introduced or grow in processed corn. The stuff you see in wet cob/sweet feed is often rolled and not an issue.

It's also about diet and exercise. Horse owners have the same issues, if you feed sweet feed to a horse that gets no exercise you often end up with an insulin resistant fatty that has feet trouble and random health issues. Some horses never have issues, they can handle it. Same goes for chinchillas.

As someone who does farrier work, I can tell who can metabolize sugar the second I walk in the door. After seeing the damage it can potentially do I stay away from carbs/starch as nobody really knows how they affect chins. I know that ranchers have been feeding sweet feed, sometimes mixed half and half with pellets, or sweet feed/grains and hay only since they arrived in the U.S. People have been feeding sweet feeds/manufactured feeds to horses for hundreds of years. It has never really killed anybody, but it does create a host of health problems for some of them.

No real proof for or against, it's a very hot and divided topic in the equine world.
 
Manna has a second ingrediant of corn and the third is hominy-peole have fed manna as a supplement for years without a problem also, its one of those debates that will never be decided and its up to the owner to decide what is best for their chins. I had fed manna to my dental chins as a transition pellet but recently switched to equine senior, I did not have a problem with the corn as much as I had a problem with the protein content.
 
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It's quite interesting to see this as a topic of debate, personally both the corn and molasses content flagged my interest and concern. Had this topic not been started I meant to start the thread myself so I will be following this thread carefully.
What exactly was the issue you had with the protein content tickle chin? It been quite some time since I've read up on good and bad analysis of chin feed, protein content too high?
 
Manna has 25% protein, its OK IMO to use short term as a weight enhancement or to entice a dental chin to eat pellets again, but since chins are made for a low protein diet there could be long term issues with the liver, kidney and digestive tract, although I do know of some long term breeders who have used it for decades with no public problems and still use it today.
 
Ok, just wanted to make sure. Reading this thread without that being specified could be pretty confusing to people who feed the rabbit feed.
 
Calf Manna and Animax are strange critters. I've tried using it a couple times with chins and I've known other breeders that used it. The bizarre stuff that happens can never be pinpointed to it, but meh, I just stay away. It works for some though.
 
I used calf manna once at the urging of a backyard breeder that I thought was a good breeder at the time. All of my chins suffered from red diarrhea (the pellets are red) after a couple weeks of being on it so I won't ever touch it again. I've also been told by ranchers not to feed it because of the protein content because high protein is not a healthy way to get a chinchilla to gain weight.
 
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