Alaska Chicken Lover's Soup for the Cold!!

[BirdBrain]

So I talked to the farmer in Palmer that has locally grown Barley for sale. He will sell it by the ton at 12 cents a pound or by the 50 pound bag (you bring your own bag) for 15 cents a pound ($7.50). However, I did ask him if I had a group of people that wanted a ton if we could get a group price of 12 cents per pound and we would bag our own. He said yes and that we would just have a bagging party. SO...is there anyone who would be interested in going this week to get barley? I could be good for 800 pounds. That leaves 1200 for the rest of yall if you are interested. Otherwise I'll just get what I need and pay the 15 cents. Sound interesting to anyone?

 

[Wolfwoman]

i would, but I have no place to store that much feed... However, I would definitely be interested in at least 100-200lbs of it.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
I will check with my DH.
The only issue I can think of, is getting access to the fishmeal for a good price..... any ideas?

 

[BirdBrain]

Well, that would bring us up to a half a ton. Tori, would you be interested? That price is about half of what you are paying right now. Might be worth the trip north to get you a bunch. Besides, we could have a fun BYC get together...

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I'm in. I'll get at least 200#. Did you happen to ask if he has any oats or peas left? Ideally I would get equal parts oats and barley, and some peas. The rabbits leave barley hulls everywhere when I feed them barley.

Gotta pick up some fishmeal when I'm in town on Tuesday, anybody out this way need anything from M&F? I was also reading about some cheap protein/mineral supplement on another thread, Azomite I think? Wonder if that's cheaper than fishmeal.

Edited to say, if you're having trouble getting enough people to buy the ton, I could get more. I just remembered I have a lot of plastic tubs I can store it in.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Quote:
I will check with my DH.
The only issue I can think of, is getting access to the fishmeal for a good price..... any ideas?

Who is the direct source of the fishmeal? Maybe we could even contact one of the fisheries directly. Or, perhaps M&F would give us a bulk rate, too.

 

[BirdBrain]

I asked him if he had the protein level checked recently. He said no, but that years ago he had it tested and it was 16% which seems a bit high to me, but Mike at Budget feed said the barley he uses is 14%, so what he has is probably at least that high. Didn't someone mention getting Fish meal at AMF? Doesn't sprouting the barley increase the protein level? Couldn't we just feed the Barley free choice and then have layer ration free choice and they could eat what they wanted? Wouldn't that meet all their needs---obviously we would add oyster shell on the side.? Just trying to not break the bank feeding all these feathered friends.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

If we can knock our price at Budget Feed down a bit, that would helpful. I don't mind the work.

He has peas as well?

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
My egg production plummets without the fishmeal. Winter means no animal proteins like they would get naturally.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
I will check with my DH.
The only issue I can think of, is getting access to the fishmeal for a good price..... any ideas?

Who is the direct source of the fishmeal? Maybe we could even contact one of the fisheries directly. Or, perhaps M&F would give us a bulk rate, too.

I know there is a local contact, because Wold Lake Wellness provides it.....no idea on price though.