Hi all,
I can't remember if I posted something about this already... memory tells me I have not.
So there is a guy on Craigslist right now selling a locally milled layers feed for just a bit more than that I'd get my girls regularly. I really like the idea of it being locally milled, but also have reservations about I don't know this guy from Adam so how can I protect myself and my girls and make sure I'm really buying high quality stuff??
Here's his link to his website -- and he now has an organic feed coming out in December. What are your guys' opinions on this?
http://www.urbanfarmstore.com/
Feed Opinions
LL, i may be wrong, which i most likely am, but shouldn't the feed be 20 pecent protein? and $20 a bag? i pay 11.95 or laying crumbles and i thought that was high.
Sounds Good lady i don't know feed that well but the list of the ingredients sounds right.
Yea this sounds real lazy but i go to the store buy the feed and dump it in my bin and i never really look at the tag Lazy Lazy Woman.
harmony, you dowhat i do, except i have to gripe about the price
I pay $13.45 for 50lbs move over jordan i'm moveing out there in bama feed seems cheaper there.
Don't gripe i pay almost $30 for seed for my pigeons and doves not to mention the $15 for chick starter.
it was 9.95 in april. is it really that high in ga?
12.95 for chick starter here. think i'll stop complaining.{looking ashamed :(}
Yes Ma'am It is and i feel it more everyday with this economy.
I'm real funny about what i feed my birds i don't cut corners because in the end it's the chicken that gets the short end of the stick.
if you cheat your chcikens they will return the favor "no eggs for you"
if they don't get treats everyday, they don't lay
It is $15 for a 50lb bag here. So another $5, when I only have three girls and they don't eat that much, seems worth it when I could be getting better ingredients.
What about the kelp? I'd never heard of kelp in chicken feed?
JKJ,
I thought they were supposed to have at least 16%, so I was thinking 18% was good. Anyone else know for certain what they should have?
i got the 20 percent from leon valley
We suggest a feed ration of 20% protein, and a handful of Scratch
and Greens daily.
hmmmm... interesting. I'll need to do some more research before my girls run out of this current bag. I coulda swore they were getting a 16% protein ration right now, but the bag is long gone... so now I'm second guessing myself. ha!
Thanks for your guys' thoughts!
I just feed mine a 16% layer crumbles it's all i've ever used and my chickens do fine on it^_^
The Amish around here feed 16% layer mash, I feed 20% crumbles. They butcher at the end one one year, I do not. I suspect this indicates -something...
I am curious to know what they mean by the word pellet.. Is it proccessed just like the pellets at the feed store? The same ones our girls really didn't want to eat?
My feed guy mixes his own grains to make a 19%, he uses it on all meatbird, turkeys, layers and require it to be fresh ground for new chicks. Won't sell a years supply at a time.
corn
soybeans
oats
fishmeal
calcium
kelp
nutrabalancer (minirals)
It is .27 cents a pound, $13.50 a 50# bag, a bit more than I pay right now, BUT no waste in crumbles, pure organic (they are an organic farm) grain.
In my dog years.. that equaled, more "utalizability", less waste = less clean-up.. less trips to the store, less feed per serving...
and so the extra cent or two you have spent has more that paid for itself.
Wish i lived where i could buy that WOW thanks Fran
Yah, me too, WOW fran!
I went to a local feed store where my MIL recommended I go. She said he was great and would mix anything... well all he did was argue with me about what a chicken needs and told me that what they sold was perfect. *sigh*
LL been there done that, I told the lady, this is what I want and if you have it I would like to purchase if not, I will go elsewhere. I did go elsewhere.
Thank you all for the friendly greenary.. always makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing when you all say such nice things..
These folks are great and I think the good part is, they are not just sellers of feed.. they are growers of the animals and grain as well.. they know what works because the use the same products.
Take a peek for their story:
http://www.sonrisefarms.net/
sounds fabulous Frans. You are very fortunate to have them near by.
I have to mix my own feed to get the protein and combinations I need. Wheat, corn, game bird feed (lots of seeds) layer pellets and I bump up the protein to about 24% with whey.
Well, I need to talk to Molly, but he said I could knock down the protien by adding a bit of corn.. 19% is too high for the goats.. but the grains are good.. just too much protien..
careful not to give goats too much corn -can cause kidney stones, especially in whethers...
good thought there grow.. this is the stuff I need to know.. I am thinking they really do not need all that grain anyway as long as I can get her to eat her hay.. BUT she just doesn't seem to be a hay gal.. just nibbles, really wastes most of it.. likes any leaf she can't reach.. so every few days I will rake outside her area and give her a tote of leaves.. just like a big bowl of ice-cream to a kid. LOL
It's often better with goats to hang the hay -suspend. She's probably getting all the goodies she can while they're still there. And a lot of the leaves are good natural wormers. Remember grains are 'hot' feeds...if she's fat enough to suit you back off 'em a little and give them more when the cold is a worry. And corn is a fattener. More than anything else. How'd I get on goats??
cuz I sucked you in.. LOL But I really do appreciate the info..
She is SOOOO picky on the hay.. I put one flake and she will eat about an 1/8 of it and waste the rest.. I have yet to figure out how to prevent her from wasting.. I am going to check out the hanging bags though.. Wonder if I can make/macrame one?
Probably fairly easily if you can figure out how to keep the enticing ends away from her.
It was $17.45 or .95 last time I bought feed. It had been running a bit less $14.95-$16.95. A couple of months ago the only starter I could find in stock was organic. YIKES! $23. All 50# bags. I need feed and need to start calling around to see how much and who hs what I want in stock--too far to drive without knowing that I can get what I need.
My starter is, I believe 22%, the layer is 20%. Gamebird is 35%, which is WAY, WAY too high. A different store sells a gamebird at a more reasonable percentage of 24%.
If they digest more of the ingredients, then a higher cost is easily justified--like with the higher quality cat and dog foods--more stays in the animal, less is "recycled."
Hi,
I'm the mystery guy with the local feed! I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.
First, I can address the protein content questions: most layer is 16% and most starter and grower is 20%. Our layer is 18% (nearly 19%) protein because I felt that it was important to have a little more in there based on my research, especially during the molt. It's also important to note that it's not just the amount of protein, it's the digestibility that's important. We blended the layer feed to be balanced in amino acids and included some animal protein in the form of fish meal to further improve performance (don't worry, there's no fishy smell or eggs!).
The kelp provides trace elements and minerals.
The alfalfa helps to keep yolks dark yellow when the birds are eating less greens.
As for the price, it is a little more than most. Here in the city (Portland OR) the prices range from about $14-20 for a 50lb. bag of regular feed and more if purchased in bulk. We are on the high end of that range for now as this is a custom product and we're new to the marketplace. In time, we expect the price to become more competitive. We will never have the economy of scale of the big guys nor will we ever use their cheap ingredients, so we'll always be more than brands like Payback and Albers/Purina.
Please let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks for your support,
Robert
www.urbanfarmstore.com
Glad to have you! Too much transport cost for me, but I'm all ears ( eyes) anyway!!
Welcome to the group Urbanfarmstore and thanks for the very informative post. I was pretty much 95% sure I would buying from you when my girls were ready for their bag, but now I'm 100%.
We've emailed a couple of times. I'll email again when they are ready.
I have been sold for a long time on custom blended feed.. but I must say, it is very nice to have you come aboard and explain a bit as to some of the reasons why things are the way they are.
I spent several months trying to explain to DH why the pennies extra were so worth it.. and really with the high cost of gas it was pennies.. in my case .24 cents vs .27 cents one trip a month or whatever we want of 3 miles both ways to the farm or 64 miles a week to the farmstore.. HELLO... and for better quality.. NO BRAINER!!!
And the girls eat so much less and are so much happier!
offtrack again.. but thanks for dropping in Robert.. great information
Oh, I forgot to mention that we'll have an organic layer mash soon, too.
hey... Robert, could you explain the official difference between crumble, mash & pellet Please??
We have discussed this several times and all of us I believe have "guessed" at the answer, I would love to know what the business answer is.