Feeds: Standard Formula vs Least Cost. Does it matter?

[arizona_chicken_noob]

I know we have some animal nutrition majors here, and I just wanted to pick some brains on the topic

The main reason I ask is that in the past, I have personally preferred Standard Formula (where the ingredients are printed on the bag and don't change) food for animals, so that I can expect the same ingredients every time and assess allergen potential.

But I've read a few threads of folks who actually prefer to buy simply the freshest feed possible like many Purina products, where the bag gives minimum % values but has spent the least amount of time on the shelf. In my memory this is called Least Cost Formulation.

Do you have a preference?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

So...

I have a set of % I won't go below for various nutritional targets, and a price I won't go above. That's my floor and ceiling. Within that universe of possibilities, I go with what's freshest (and where everything is relatively fresh, I go with my preference).

For me, that means the local mill, from my local feed store, restocked (with what I mix) weekly. But if I was still in the farm store, it would be Purina All Flock, Nutrena Flock Raiser, Dumor's 20% in that order. The Dumor should rank higher, but the local store has an issue with freshness, and there's been some quality issues reported here on BYC at greater frequency than I would expect - powdery feed. I'm to moist and hot an environment to store bags that are more powder than crumble for the three to four weeks I keep them on hand. That's more my location than an issue with the feed specifically.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

To add to the confusion we also have Best Cost Formulations, this is where the nutritionist places limits on ingredients before doing a reformulation. The difference between this and Least Cost is that the Least Cost give the cheapest blend of ingredients with no limits.

In actuality you do not want a fixed formula because the nutrient content of commodities varies from time to time, the nutrient content is not static. If the formula is fixed then the final feed may not contain what is intended when the nutrients change in the ingredients.

Instead you want a Fixed Ingredients Formula where there are ranges of the different ingredients then the feed is formulated to account for the nutrient content at the time of mixing.

 

[3KillerBs]

No one in my family has food allergies and I will not allow my chickens to be picky -- expecting them to eat whatever I put into the feeder.

I choose the most favorable combination of cost, freshness, and 18+% protein that I can get (with availability being more and more influential as these rolling shortages affect more and more industries).

 

[Brooks_]

I choose the most favorable combination of cost, freshness, and 18+% protein

Of the brands/types that are usually available to me, I do have my preferences. But that is the formula I use before heading to the checkout.

 

[3KillerBs]

Of the brands/types that are usually available to me, I do have my preferences. But that is the formula I use before heading to the checkout.

I never allowed my kids to be picky eaters and I'm certainly not catering to picky chickens.

 

[WIchickMama]

I never allowed my kids to be picky eaters and I'm certainly not catering to picky chickens.

Agree! I have changed a couple times because of the local fees store either not having the main feed I like, they only have it in a 5 lb bag (which would last like a week, maybe) or not fresh

 

[Brooks_]

5 lb bag

I don't understand the point of 5# bags.

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't understand the point of 5# bags.

Yeah.

Even before the flock expanded the 50# bag only lasted a month.

 

[WIchickMama]

I don't understand the point of 5# bags.

The only thing I can think of is if someone would use Flock Raiser/All Flock, for example, as a mash treat when feeding layer food. Otherwise, yep even if you only had a couple hens/ducks/etc it would not last