What is the best brand of hay for chinchillas?
Hay always plays an important role in your chinchillas’ diet, and it is imperative that it is included. However, there is the problem that many chinchilla owners occasionally notice the quality of the hay differ between packs even when you get them from the same brand.
In order to avoid this, you should go with the reliable hay manufacturer. If you’re searching for the best chinchilla hay and you don’t know what is the brand you should believe in, we’re here to help. These following are some indicators of the good brands’ hay.
#1 The color of hay
The first thing you should know is that good brands’ hay is typically green in color. The color of hay will point out the quality and how nutritious the hay is. The hay that being cut and stored in the good condition is usually retains its greenness. If the hay is left in the rain after it is bled, it tent to lose the nutrients contents such as vitamins A, vitamin E, protein and carbohydrates.
There are some brand of hay provide the yellow hay packs. It may show that this hay was harvested too late or the rains made it lost its nutritional content. Moreover, the yellowness of hay could be the result of exploring to direct sunlight, what make it decreases carotene content and palatability.
The brown hay is also not the prime quality and does not contain lots of nutritious contents. The brownness of hay can be the indicator show that it may be baled when it wet. So that brown hay can contain fungus and bacteria.
#2 Preference
Some chinchilla owners prefer certain brands and stick with these brands their whole lives since they high quality and contains full of necessary nutrients that their chinchillas need. But sometimes, these brands are not what their chinchilla pets prefer to eat.
So that the best brand of hay should be what both you and your chinchilla like. Something that chinchilla enjoy eating and also contain all the nutrients it needs.
Also, remember that you should not frequently change and offer different brands of hay for your chinchilla in a short period of time. Changing new hay should be occurred gradually.
#3 The most popular brands
There are some most popular brands today that you will easy find at any pet stores such as Oxbow, Kaytee, Small Pet, American Pet Diner, Kleenmama’s, Feldman’s Hay.
Many owners prefer to use Oxbow and we also recommend you to go with Oxbow grass hay. Oxbow is one of the most reputable manufacturers of foods and treat for chinchilla, as well as other types of rodents. They always deliver good products. They produce the hay options that do not contain any bad ingredients or contaminants.
Oxbow is seems to be higher quality than Kaytee hay since it contains less protein and is high in fiber, which is good to stimulate the digestive health of chinchillas.
If the Oxbow hay is no longer available, you can also go with the hay of Small Pet as the alternative option