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[RC] Hay--How Much to Feed? Feed x Weight, not Volume - Lucy Chaplin Trumbull

Tina writes:
Consider the weight (in
pounds), not number of flakes....

Of course only a certified nut-case would *weigh* individual hay
feedings.
oops! cat's out of the bag!
Er... <casual inspection of fingernails>...

I have to confess to weighing my hay, otherwise I
would have no clue what I'm feeding.

Since Mouse is currently confined to stall/pen 24 x 7
and she tends towards, er, rubinesque proportions (the
vet said *that* didn't help her ligament problems), she
has been on a diet for the last four months. To that end,
she receives not more than 7.5 lbs of hay (80% orchard
grass + 20% grass/alf) at each feeding (twice a day).
This is her "maintenance diet" - up until recently, she
was getting not more than 6.5 lbs at each feeding (and
still doing very nicely, thank you - the weight didn't
exactly fall off).

The other two get 10-12 lbs of hay at each feeding (twice
a day), which lasts them most of the day and works more
or less like free-feeding (Mouse's ration, OTOH, is inhaled
in the first 1.5 hours, leaving her to suck on the stall
mats for the rest of the day...pitiful to watch. Her stall/
pen is spotless).

They all get a BP+goodies snack in the evening - Zini
getting a *real* portion, while the other two get a "token
effort" (handfuls) to make them feel like they're getting
a treat. I've managed to wean myself off weighing the
BP. :)


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lucy Chaplin Trumbull
elsietee AT foothill DOT net
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, California
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