Anybody ever feed Kent "Wildlife Feeds"?

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

Whenever we go into our small town feed store and ask for "gamebird feed" for our quail, the owner asks if we want 24% or 28%. When we reply, "28%", he sells us a 50lb bag of "Kent Wildlife Feeds" for $17. The price per pound is awesome and the quail are thriving on it. It comes in pieces small enough for adult button quail to manage, though I put it through the blender for chicks.

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I still occasionally wonder what this stuff actually IS. If I ask too many specific questions at the feed store, the owner gets confused and repeats that it's 28%. He's a very sweet and kindly person and I don't want to overwhelm him, so I tried looking it up online. I couldn't find the feed on their product list. The bag has a red,green, and brown camouflage print with a picture of a whitetail deer, a ringneck pheasant, and an elk on the front.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried this mystery feed? I assume it is mostly soy and corn like other livestock feed, but there is no ingredient list or nutrition information on the bag, nor even an explanation as to what sort of animals are meant to eat it...

We do have a Tractor Supply Company with fully labeled feeds of all kinds, but nothing above 24% protein. Plus, gamebird starter runs closer to $1 a pound there. I really prefer to buy from the little feed store that has been around all my life anyway, for fear that TSC will put it out of business.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

No, don't know about it.

But makes me wonder. Are the babies you hatched from your birds?

Because if so, they may not be getting everything they need in that feed.
Wildlife Feed is not the same as Gamebird feed.

The guys are going to have to step in here and help you on this one. Cause I don't think I can explain it.

 

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

They are, but this is the 5th hatch I've had and the first time I've seen the anomaly. The first chicks I hatched were on a different gamebird starter with a lower protein content. The only difference I noticed when I switched to the Kent feed was that the chicks grew their feathers in much sooner and were flying out of the brooder after only 2 or 3 weeks. They just appeared to develop faster. The adult flock is quite healthy though and the hens lay good eggs with thick shells. (I know I need to supplement with calcium eventually here.)

I'm not sure whether this is wildlife feed or "Kent Wildlife Feeds" brand gamebird feed. I can't even tell whether the pictures of deer and pheasant are part of the Kent logo or whether they are suggesting that it be fed to deer and pheasant. All I really know is that it is sold to me as "28% gamebird feed".

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Well now I am curious, I need to go get some scratch so I'll try to remember to ask a couple of feed stores if they know anything about the stuff. But I don't remember seeing it around here.

 

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

By the way, the feed I first tried was 24% Manna Pro Gamebird feed, with the excellent labeling and hearty price tag. The chicks did well on it, but the higher protein content of the Kent mystery chow definitely "grows" them faster.

 

[JJMR794]

Your Bag Of Feed Should Have A Tag Sewn Into The Seam
Read The Tag Carefully, It Should Tell You If It Is Gamebird Feed Or Not
To My Knowledge Kent Makes Feed For Hunters To Use In Feeders For Deer, Hog, And Turkeys. I Do Not Know Of Domestic Animal Feed Lines From Kent But They May Produce Them??? Feed Is A Very Regional Thing In Alot Of Cases. The Reason There Are So Many Different Feed Formulas Available Such As Chicken Starter, Layer Crumbles, Gamebird Starter, Etc Is The Varying Individual Components Used To Make Up The Feed As A Daily Ration For Specific Digestive Needs Of The Target Animal---- Obviously Chickens Need Less Protien And More Fiber/ Filler Than Gamebirds-- Etc... The Feeds Are Formulated To Take Into Account The Dietary Differences And Specific Needs. Say For Example ( This Is An Example Only!!!) That Chickens Can Digest Corn To A 89% Efficient Level, But Quail Can Only Digest It To 45% Efficient Level.... How Does That Effect The Different Formulas? Chicken Feed Can Contain Way More Corn And Acheive The Protien Rating It Is Marketed Under For Chickens, Not Quail As They Can Only Absorb A Tad Less Than 1/2 The Protien In It... So Even Tho Its A Chicken Starter With 24% Protien It Would Still Be Insufficient For Quail As The Quail Would Not Be Able Absorb The Full Protien Content From That Specific Formula. This Would Not Be True Of Gamebird Starter As We Have Said That They Are Not Capable Of Efficient Digestion Of That Type Of Protien, So Other Sources, Or Higher Amounts Of Other Sources Would Have To Be Used To Acheive The Intended Purpose

Also, The Wildlife Feeds Are Just Grain Products, Whereas Specific Formula Feeds Contain Everything The Target Animal Needs For Daily Dietary Consumption Such As Calcium And Other Minerals As Well As Vitamin Sources, Things That Are Necessary For Cellular Growth Within The Target Animals' Basic Metabolism.

I Have No Idea If This Is The Case Here, And As Stated Feed Is A Very Regional Thing, But It Pays To Be A Very Selective Shopper Sometimes.

As A General Rule, I Tend To Beleive Politicians And Bankers Before Anyone Who Works In A Feed Store

No Matter How Nice They Are Or Supportive They Appear. Way Too Often I See All Kinds Of Whacked Out Posts Here That State ....the Guy At The Feed Store.... When The Poster Has Been Given Grossly Incorrect Information For Whatever Reason, Be It Lack Of Knowledge Or Inexperience Or Greed( Just Gotta Make A Sale!)

 

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

Thanks for the info. I couldn't find a tag sewn into the seam, though I know what you are referring to. Maybe it fell off along the way; I'll be sure to check whether the other bags have this sort of labeling next time I drop in. I could see from their website that Kent does make domestic animal feed, but nothing that resembles this one. I wonder if I bought the product for hunters? That would explain the camouflage print and deer/elk/pheasant picture.

If the feed store owner(?)--he's been there all my life anyway--steered me wrong, it would be due to inexperience. He's quite familiar with the common varieties of livestock but he really seemed confused by the question of quail. This gentleman definitely isn't trying to make a sale! He spends most of the time trying to talk us out of buying because he worries that everything is too "expensive". He has a hard time even revealing the price of anything we inquire about for this reason.

If this turns out to be something other than gamebird feed, should I try adding soybean meal to the 24% Manna Pro to increase the protein? Our little feed shop does sell soybean meal...of course its expensive ($17 a bag).

 

[JJMR794]

There Are Many Reasons For Misguided Advice From Feed Stores--- Most Are Honest Mistakes.

If He Carries Mannapro Feeds Have Him Order You Some Mannapro Starter/ Showbird Feed- 30% Its A Good Product. Not As Good As Purinas But Still A Good Product

Go To Purina Mill's Website --- They Have A Dealor Locator Built In To It And May Be Able To Steer You To A Source For Their Product In Your Area.

Additional Soybean Meal Would Likely Not Help As The Wildlife Feed Has Soybean Meal In It.... What It's Lacking Are Likely The Subtle Ingredients That Make The Difference Between Gamebird Feed And Others, As Stated Here In The Forum Many Times "there's More To It Than Just Protien%"

As Far As Your Kent Wildlife Feed In The Camo Bag..... If Its The Same Feed I Put In My Feeder Stations For Deer/hog Then It Definately Is Not Gamebird Formula, And So Far As I Remember There's No Tags On It Either (been A Couple Of Weeks And When You Spend 1/2 Day Lugging 50lb Bags Thru The Swamp To Fill 50 Gal Barrels In Order To Maintain The Feed Stations In Brutal Heat And Humidity You Tend To Not Pay Attention To Lil Details Like That...)

 

[Stellar]

I looooovvvvvveeeee Manna Pro

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Warmfuzzyfeeling:
This feed could be the problem you are having with the wry neck in the chicks. I would not breed any of these birds from that hatch or the previous.

I went through this with my chicken flock years ago and basically had to start over. I not only culled the Roo where the problem stemed from but all of his offspring. None could be bred or I risked carrying forward a neurological problem.

If you are evaluating these birds, this would not be fair to them for a mistake made by you in the breeding and feeding of them. They may look healthy and very colorful. But you know they have a problem because the wry neck has occured in your flock.

I am sorry, but I know what I would do in your case. I realize you have been breeding them for at least a year now. It can be very frustrating when working with any breeding program.