Colorado

[alpinefarm]

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Walker's Feed in (Kipling/44th?) sells food grade DE in 1 lb bags. I'm thinking it was $3ish.

 

[alpinefarm]

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Well, I'm game for trying it. I know chickens *can* eat big chunks of things, but when I tried dried/split peas once, they turned up their beaks, wouldn't touch 'em.

Thank you so much for checking this out!

 

[cockadoodle]

Thanks Rosemary. I'll swing by after work tomorrow, always fun checking out new (to me) feed stores

Mark

 

[alpinefarm]

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Welcome!

Walker's is just south of I70 on Kipling, in a strip mall on the east side of Kipling. They close at 6pm.

They specialize in healthy dog & cat food, mainly, and are pretty small, but I do get pine shavings for my chicks there.

 

[cockadoodle]

Just back from Walker's. They buy their DE in bulk and make up a bunch of misc. size bags. was 4 dollars and some change for a 3 pounder. Can't beat that

Thanks again Rosemary.

~Mark

 

[arkanoid]

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Thanks for the update, Rockpile! Very interesting to get the details.

Is anyone else concerned by the beans at this concentration? My understanding is that raw they contain harmful amounts of trypsin which both inhibits protein absorption and can damage the pancreas. Anyone know more about that?

 

[arkanoid]

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Thanks for the update, Rockpile! Very interesting to get the details.

Is anyone else concerned by the beans at this concentration? My understanding is that raw they contain harmful amounts of trypsin which both inhibits protein absorption and can damage the pancreas. Anyone know more about that?

Hmm... I don't see how that comes out to the claimed 17% protein level either. I would think that's more like a 15% protein level too (at best... that's using a pretty high number for the bean mixture, whatever it is).

Not to be overly negative, but it also seems like quite a lot of corn (especially for the summer months). I'm tempted to purchase some and add some additional grains, sunflower seeds, and Nutribalancer.

 

[cockadoodle]

Quote:
Thanks for the update, Rockpile! Very interesting to get the details.

Is anyone else concerned by the beans at this concentration? My understanding is that raw they contain harmful amounts of trypsin which both inhibits protein absorption and can damage the pancreas. Anyone know more about that?

I'm also a little concerned about the beans too. According to this beans are a 'treat' and should only be given to them fully cooked and thats a lot of beans.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

One other concern is knowing that every bag is probably going to be different (depending on what the mill was processing that week). Less likely to believe that every bag has the same ratios of everything they need. We can't even trust the bag tags on the commercial stuff like it's gospel, so I'd have a real hard time trusting this either I think. Is an awesome price all things considered, but will pass on this one myself.

Mark

 

[alpinefarm]

I give my flock soaked/sprouted grains several times a week, to which I add yoghurt, brewer's yeast, and kelp.

I also often feed them cooked grains/vegetables/beans as a basis for adding the yoghurt, yeast and kelp, especially in the wintertime. I'd really be interested in having some of this mixture around for cooking up!

 

[Rockpile99]

I think he stated that the conventional i.e. non-organic stuff was at 17% protien, perhaps with the 5% increase in wheat and added barley? I don't know what the nutritional content of barley is.

He was also clear that every batch will have a different mix, if it is mixed at all. I don't know how often he runs a "batch" but said that some times it's 100% _____. Again just depends on what he's processing at the time. There are no bags, no labels, only a hand written ingredints list attached to the side of the hopper. The grain mixes are all bulk. I'm sure he figured out the mix ratio by knowing that this week he processed 1000lbs of wheat, 1000lbs of beans and 600lbs of corn - or whatever it equals out to.

It really sounds like it's a good source for some of the raw ingredients for a mix of your own.

Weather it sounds like a good deal to you or not... there are more opinions on what to feed your chicken than there is on what to feed your dog, so you have to decide that for yourself.

I'm just reporting what I found - Clean facilities, he charged me his previously stated price, and was forthcoming about what was in the mix at the time I purchased from him. I'll buy from him again, even if it's just for 'treats' to add to my other feed.