Frustrated with Buggy Feed

[NatJ]

I make all of the chickens a wet mash every night and it seems they've become dependent on it to fill their crops before lock up. They LOVE this so much.

You can stretch your supply of crumbles, by using pellets for the mash.

Yes, chickens do seem to love it wet, even though it is the very same stuff they can eat dry!

 

[GDB]

I bought a bag of premium wiid game bird feed this week for my quail. I had an unexpected rodent inside. I returned it and got another. I had previously bought a bag of premium dog food and when I opened it hundreds of moths flew out. I always dump my feed out into a bin for just such an event.

 

[pamiejune]

View attachment 2610041

How do you know that date is even this year? It could be years old, which makes sense since feed should not get buggy for a long time.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How do you know that date is even this year? It could be years old, which makes sense since feed should not get buggy for a long time.

The way the date is printed. It says the year. If it was 2020, it'd be a 0. It's the way they print the date

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How do you know that date is even this year? It could be years old, which makes sense since feed should not get buggy for a long time.

Fresh feed will get bugs if it's exposed to bugs. Bugs don't care how fresh or old. They're opportunistic and will infest whatever is available. The milling location or the middle man (delivery) is probably infested. I hope that helps

 

[Floof]

The way the date is printed. It says the year. If it was 2020, it'd be a 0. It's the way they print the date

Not to be rude, but where do you see the year printed? I'm looking at the photo and don't see it.

 

[Foxinthehenhouse]

I reached out to a fellow BYC member that's local to me about where they purchase feed and what brand they use. I went to their store of choice and decided to try the brand of feed they use most often. Finding the Kalmbach feed with a mill date of March 24 was impressive as that's the freshest feed I've ever purchased. I've got to figure out if this feed is going to be appropriate for long term use as the gmo free flock maker is labeled as a starter/grower feed. Purina Flock Raiser is labeled for the entire life cycle-from hatch on. Either way, my birds seem to like Kalmbach feeds and it's going to be perfect for my hopeful ducklings that are due to hatch in 6 days. I'll look into this Flock Maker being suitable for my 10 month old pullets and other hens that will eat this feed all the time.

I tried to call Purina but the automated service informed me that they were closed Saturday and Sunday. I'll try to call them again tomorrow morning and hopefully figure out what's going on. I know that SS will take the feed back but I feel like Purina needs to know what's going on and hopefully address the problem. I'm considering trying Kalmbach for my entire flock but of course in whatever variety is suitable for them. The regular blend seems to be less expensive than Purina FR and the gmo free was almost $1 more. The freshness of the feed is certainly a factor to consider as well.

I’d also go to their Facebook site and tell your story! Companies don’t like to be called out in public and usually jump right on the problem to make it right. Just a though.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Not to be rude, but where do you see the year printed? I'm looking at the photo and don't see it.

It's the very first number. The 1 that is in front of Mar stands for 2021.

 

[BiddyBiddy]

I purchased a 50lb bag of Purina Flock Raiser late last week and whenever I opened it I discovered the webs and clumps of feed with larvae and bugs. The mill date was mid Feb. I called Purina and asked them about the quality of the feed. The lady I spoke with said it probably won't hurt my birds but she wouldn't recommend feeding it. (I feed my bantams crumbles) At the same time I also purchased a 50lb bag of Purina Flock Raiser Pellets and that food was perfectly normal. Today I was back at the store and mentioned what happened with the last bag of crumbles. I asked if they had more bags of crumbles that weren't from the same lot and they actually just received an order moments before I arrived. I decided to purchase another bag of crumbles and a bag of pellets. The mill date on this bag was March 15 2021 (1MAR15) so it was definitely from a separate lot. Well, I opened the bag because I NEED crumbles at this time now and it's in the same state! Since it hasn't been at SS for any significant amount of time, I feel like the problem may be on Purina's end. I offered the last bag to someone I know that doesn't purchase feed for their flock and explained why I was offering it up for free and they gladly accepted it. I had to hear the "chickens eat bugs all the time so what's the problem" and I explained that in my personal opinion if I'm going to spend $20 on a bag of feed whenever I can easily purchase another brand of feed for less, I expect this feed to be free from larvae and bugs and to be somewhat fresh so the ingredients haven't deteriorated. (I know that some feed costs much more but that's not the point) So, I'm unsure about what to do next. My bantam roosters will be perfectly happy with pellets but I'm not so sure my bantam pullets and hens will be so excited to switch. Plus I have bantam ducks that are due to hatch late next week and I feel like they're going to need crumbles. I'd rather not have to order feed because I always like to check mill dates and I worry I'll forget to place the order in time ~it's just easier to purchase from a local B&M, whether that be SS or TSC. I'd rather not spend more than $20 for a 40-50lb bag because I go through quite a bit of feed. I plan on writing down the info from this tag and visit TSC tomorrow to see if they have Flock Raiser Crumbles from another facility because I need crumbles asap. I suppose I could crush up some of the pellets but it'd just be nice to get bug free feed.

Side note, my birds aren't huge fans of Nutrena All Flock but I'm guessing that would be better than nothing.

Any other feed suggestions? Is buggy feed just something I need to accept? Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate any feedback you can give

I’ve had the same issue with multiple brands of feed from Tractor Supply. They’re the only nearby store that carries chicken feed near me. Ive returned buggy feed twice. Even had a hen get very sick with a fungal lung infection from moldy feed I failed to notice until it was too late. I got fed up and started ordering Kalmbach feed from Chewy just 2 months ago. I really like it so far and they’re very fresh according to the mill dates on the bags. Free shipping and it arrives in 1 day from ordering online. I’m really happy so far.

 

[Serenityintheverse]

I would never feed Purina anything to any animal I care for. I feed Kalmbach feeds to my hens and they love it. It's easy to find and reasonably priced.