Feed!

[ilfordcurly]

I've been looking at feed prices (don't yet have chickens). I'm seeing 50lb bags from around $22-$30 by me. Can someone versed in nutrition compare these 2 labels for me? I'm planning on having just 2 or 3 buff orpington hens for egg layers. Was thinking of buying 50lb bags for economy.

These 2 labels are from Cal-Ranch which seems to be cheaper than what our Tractor Supply carries.

The percent protein is the main ingredient to look at. So the second is is much better.

 

[Jeri B]

Whoah dumor isn't the cheapest feed in normal circumstances. I drive an hour to get my feed. I've been buying bulk lately..and I have turkeys. Meat bird crumbles is 20...my wallet cries when I go to grab cash...we play tug of war. It asks me why I'm so mean..

Oh my, how much does it cost to drive an hour? Let’s say you’re saving a coupla’ bucks on a bag of feed and your truck gets 20 mpg, your trip cost is $30 plus wear and tear and the value of your time. So you’d have to be buying 15 bags of feed to break even.

 

[Weeg]

I pay 32$ a bag for Organic Scratch and Peck at my local feed store. Not to bad. The prices just about skyrocketed in only a week!! It was priced at 47$ a bag! Up about 12$!!
Found an Organic feed at TSC for 30$ a bag, going to have to switch brands.

 

[DatCampG]

I'm not going to complain about the fifty pound bag prices. I play I pay is the way I look at it. However, it is disturbing when the feed store is out of laying pellets or crumbles.

 

[Sally PB]

Oh my, how much does it cost to drive an hour? Let’s say you’re saving a coupla’ bucks on a bag of feed and your truck gets 20 mpg, your trip cost is $30 plus wear and tear and the value of your time. So you’d have to be buying 15 bags of feed to break even.

Since I'm "way out there," everything is at least a half hour drive away. I combine trips whenever possible. If we're out of something, it has to wait until the next trip, unless it's an emergency. So I have to pay attention to how much feed we have on hand.

It's one of the costs for living remotely, but the trade off is the peace and quiet. I have a lot of that, for free, out my front door.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Since I'm "way out there," everything is at least a half hour drive away. I combine trips whenever possible. If we're out of something, it has to wait until the next trip, unless it's an emergency. So I have to pay attention to how much feed we have on hand.

It's one of the costs for living remotely, but the trade off is the peace and quiet. I have a lot of that, for free, out my front door.

...and the back door, and the kitchen window, and and and...

I just got back from my biweekly trip to "civilization" on Friday, the wife and I are already putting in our Amazon order for what's not available locally, and planning our next drive into town. First haircuts in 3? years???

Its definitely a "change of pace" and a change in lifestyle with it. I will say we've learned to make bread and mayonaisse better than anything on the store shelf, and a chest freezer is pretty much a necessity.

 

[Sally PB]

and the back door, and the kitchen window, and and and...

Yup!

I rarely order anything to have delivered, unless it can come USPS. The last bit of our 1/4 mile driveway is a STEEP hill, and UPS and FedEx don't like to come back here. A lot of times they'll go to my neighbor's house by mistake, because they order a lot of stuff. In the winter, they often can't get back here. I make sure we have a full propane tank before the roads get bad.

We're putting in a new garden fence, and I'm doing a lot of digging. I am finding lots of grubs! Not all of them are Japanese Beetle grubs, but I haven't figured out what they are. The chickens don't care. They love it when I bring the "bug bucket." I figure I'm getting rid of pests and giving the girls free protein at the same time.

 

[Chickengirl209]

I usually get mine at rural king. We don’t have a co op near here that I know of… TSC is about 3-4 dollars per bag more expensive than rural king, and in the long run it makes a big difference. I bought 3 mo of feed last month… I figure prices will just keep going up.

 

[TXChookstead]

KeeKee, fellow Texan, what brand of feed do you use? I'm eyeing Texas Natural right now. Been feeding Scratch and Peck and Nature's Best, which is getting to be too much $ for the amount of birds we now have (chicken math....).

 

[TXChookstead]

I pay 32$ a bag for Organic Scratch and Peck at my local feed store. Not to bad. The prices just about skyrocketed in only a week!! It was priced at 47$ a bag! Up about 12$!!
Found an Organic feed at TSC for 30$ a bag, going to have to switch brands.

Yup, that is what we have used (Nature's Best)...at least for chicks. Was paying around $41 for Scratch and Peck through Azure Standard for the older ones, but I'm looking at other options now that we are feeding more birds. Trying to avoid soy for the layers since I know the estrogen-type compounds from it collect heavily in the eggs, and the boys in the house don't need that.

It's challenging to find an all flock or grower without soy, that's at least GMO free. Not so keen on Round-up-laced corn, either.

I think these hikes are going to keep coming, so we are all going to need to get creative for our animals and our families, too.