last tuesday I bought 2 50lb bags of layer pellet from my local feed store. I usually go through that much in one month, changed my dogs food and that freed up the 50 lb bin that I used to store her feed bag in so I bought 2 bags of layer pellet instead of buying them one at a time. Wednesday my dd fed from the new bag of feed, the kids didn't go after it like normal, didn't think anything of it at first. Thursday my father took my other dd to work early, so when we went out to feed, the feed bins were all full so we thought my dad and other dd fed everybody. Friday I go out to feed when my dad took my dd to work, and all the feed bins are still full, and the only hen that we had seen eating the feed was dead. I took a good look at the feed, I had just figured the lighter color was just a normal variation, I smelled the feed and it had a woody smell to it and was very powdery. I had switched brands of layer pellet 4 months ago, it didn't look like what that brand usually looks like, but the other brand I used to use was always looked different every time I opened a new bag. I called the feed store to inform them that I thought I had a bad bag of feed, and was told the chickens weren't eating because it has been unusually hot, which is has been but no hotter that it was last month or the month before. I called the feed company and they told me to take both bags back to the feed store and get replacements. I took them back and was only credited for the unopened bag and was told the I had to wait for the feed rep to check the opened bag because she swears there is nothing wrong with the feed, now I am out $15 for the opened bag of feed and one of our favorite hens. On thursday I had noticed all the chickens panting and gasping, and just figured that it was the heat, but the hen that died ate more of the feed and had blueish-green skin when she died ( I talked to several people and they agreed she probably died from bad feed, probably a fungus in the feed). I pulled all of the feed friday morning after I found her, offered everyone some allstock -it is what the goat likes and is my emergency back up feed if I run out of feed and can't get to the feed store that day - they refused that. I gave them all bowls of yogurt and they attacked it. I hated to switch them to scratch, but that is all they will eat now, they won't even touch pelleted food if offered. What would you do if this happened? I was shocked that the feed store wouldn't even entertain the idea that the feed could be bad, and that I have to wait until the rep comes in and checks to feed. I have a sample of the feed waiting for the rep to come here to pick it up. I also kept another sample and was thinking of taking it to the state ag lab to have them test it for contaminates.
