chin pellets okay for Rabbits?

[BabyChin]

I feed Mazuri pellets to my chin and I was wondering if anyone knew if it's safe to feed these same pellets to my Rabbit? It would cut down on food costs but I have no idea if the pellets in rabbit food is the same? Any help would be appreciated.

[tappajabba]

hi babychin'
the chinchilla pellets will be okay for the rabbit as a SUPLEMENTERY meal and shouldnt begiven as a regular feed.

I have living together within the freedom of their own garden shed and aviary, two rabbits, a guinea pig and a chinchilla and their feed mix is more a guinea pig mix than a chin mixor rabbit mix.

your chin needs the vitamins and minerals that a guinea pig mix supplies,whereas the rabbit eats both but needs the anti cicconiosious( I think thats how you spell it...it'll get corrected http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif)_anyway it needs the spray which is included in most commercial readymixes to combat diseases.

another way of feeding is to give them fresh food,fruit and veg, plenty of dark greens and hay supplemented by vitamin drops ( the kind that are bought for babies are fine...)

ali.



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Tappajabba....
helping to promote healthy pet keeping worldwide...

[ChinsNBuns]

I believe that all animals have their own food for a reason. Rabbits need much more fat content than chinchillas do. We would not feed a dog cat food, or vice versa.

Never feed leafy vegtables, such as lettuce and cabbage. Lettuce holds water, and cabbage causes alot of gas. These are not good for any small animal, and the end result can be death.

[This message has been edited by ChinsNBuns (edited 07-19-2001).]

[AudieV]

I agree that chinchilla feed should not be given to your rabbit. I am not sure why it would cut down on your feed costs. Rabbit pellets are cheaper than chinchilla so your costs would lower instead of increase. But on the other hand don't try to spare your pocket book by skimping on chinchilla feed either. Every animal has specialized feed and should be followed as closely as possible. It is true that rabbits need high fat diets and chins do not, that is the main reason their feeds should not be mixed.

I also do not recomend keeping your rabbit with your chinchilla. A rabbit (mostly males) see EVERYthing as a possible mate and will harras a chinchilla to the point of stressing them out. If they are single owned and play great together, just keep a close eye on them to make sure the rabbit doesn't come of age and want more than friendship from your chinny.

[tappajabba]

hi audie,
just a note to let you know that either I have an exceptional set of animals or they havent got a grip of your reality... http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif

I own 2 rabbits (m/f) who've been together for 4 years, never seperated,
2 guinea pigs (m/f), been together 3 years and a pair of chinchillas, been together for 1 year....

All 6 of these wee animals live together in a garden shed with an outdoor aviary type run and all the time they've been together there has been no blood and tears from any of them!!!
Are they exceptional pets or am i again doing something wrong that is right for me???

They are fed on commercial mixtures of rabbit and guinea ,mixed, and with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables thrown in to them.
The chin's don't eat what they dont want to and the rabbits and guineas do the same.They have their own favourites and as their owner and keeper I feel its up to me to find their likes and dislikes rather than read books on the subjects, afterall books can only describe the authors own particular animals as like us they are all individuals....

thanx for reading this


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Tappajabba....
helping to promote healthy pet keeping worldwide...

[ChinsNBuns]

I myself think you must have exceptional animals, because I have heard so many stories about the boy bunnies. I have a bunny now too, but caged seprately from my chinnies. The only thing I would be concerned about would be the chinnies eating the rabbit food. I have a dear friend that had 2 chinnies she rescued and had for well over a year, but before she got them they ate rabbit food, and the extra fat formed deposits on their internal organs, and they died. Now I know their is another rabbit food out there that is said to have the same content as the chinny food, it is called Pro Manna Rabbit food. I am not sure who the maker is, but it is top food for bunnies and only like $4.89 for an 8lb bag. It can be found at your local feed stores. I use Mazuri Chinchilla feed for my chinnies, and I will be using the pro Manna for my bun.

[AudieV]

Tappajabba,

You do have very exceptional animals and you are very lucky. The fact that they are all paired may have much to do with your success. They each have a mate for now so there is no need for say the male rabbit to chase the female chin. I am not quite sure about your comment of "what I read in books". Sure, some of my information may have started there, but we all have to start somewhere. Over the years I have become an experienced chinchilla breeder, and can understand, everyone should do what is best for them and their animals. However, the point of posting a question on an open forum is to get more than one opion and several options. I am not sure where you are located, but it gets very hot here, and a chin will die in temperatures above 90 degrees (which I did not only read, but experienced years ago). Now if the shed is air conditioned they should be fine.

As for the rabbit food for chinnies, I still argue that it is a big no-no. There is much proof that over long term use, high fat diets such as rabbit food, will cause sever damage to the internal organs of a chin that can be fatal. While the chin may not die a week later it will not live out its life span. A normal life span for a chin can be upto 20 years. Most on rabbit pellets don't live a quarter of that.

Everyone needs to understand the importance of doing research on the natural habbitats of each breed of animal. It would be nice to all live in one big happy world, but that is not reality. It is a much saught after fairytail. If all 3 of these breeds have done great so far, you may cause more damage by seperating them, then by just letting them be. My only suggestion was to watch them for any behavorial changes.