Purina feed problem******UPDATE Page 4****** Sunday, 07/11

[beth59]

We use FRM and have no problems.

 

[Kirtusjon]

Thank you for the replies. The "dust" I have been finding lately was feces from meal worms. I grew up next to a chicken farm and learned a little in my wee years. Just in case someones bird gets a "web" of meal worms, drizzle a little vitamin e or cooking oil down their throat. This will will help loosen the feed and massage the crop gently or they may become crop bound. I want to get this info out so no one else looses any of their birds. If you see what looks like "webs" in the food, I would suggest not giving it to them and get other feed. Thanks again for your replies.

 

[TGreenhut]

oh no I've been feeding my flock Purina Layena for about 5-6 months but haven't noticed any problems! Should I switch?

(and I've been feeding my my chicks Purina Start and Grow (medicated) for about 6 weeks now....is this bad???!!)

 

[laughaha]

Me, my mom and our friends flocks all stop laying eggs EVERY time we get our chicken feed from the local agway. Just recently I gave some 2 yr old hens to a friend who wanted to get back into chickens. Every day I'd get a call about how many eggs they got (for the first week). And then I got no calls- just had a barbeque with them and learned that after a week every single chicken stopped laying- I asked them if they bought their feed from the local agway and yup you guessed it- they did. Going on a feed run tomorrow to the only feed store around I trust- a semi-local one named rockwells. Tried the TSC feed and wasn't happy with it- egg production went down and feather picking started so I switched back to blue seal from rockwells. LOVE IT.

The feed from the Agway that's about an hour away is much better than the local agways, I think the local one sells old feed or something. Not sure...... Was interesting to learn that there are still problems with their feed (I hadn't bought it in over a year).

 

[pinkyglory123]

I believe TSC sells Blue Seal feeds. L

 

[speckledhen]

Since Purina was bought out by Land 'o Lakes, there have been complaints about quality control. I do not feed Layena because it does not have animal protein in it, so I can't comment on what's going on with them from personal experience. The only product I occasionally buy from Purina is the Game Bird Flight Conditioner (has animal protein) and use it as a grow out feed for chickens.

 

[Kirtusjon]

Quote:
I am not saying to stop using their feed but keep an eye out that there are no clumps or what looks like "webs" in the feed and does not have more dust then usual when you open it. I just want people to be aware, that's all. They have several feed mills, so your feed may and probably is OK. I have been in contact with Purina about the situation and my feed store has stopped selling it until it is resolved at Purina. If you look at the bottom of the bag, it will have the date and mill it was made on the long white strip that is stitched all the way across the bag (not the small info tag). My bags were: Jun 02 MUL 1

 

[Chickenaddict]

Huh I have almost always fed purina and never had ANY problems, in fact when it became unavailable at the local co op because they wanted to sell their own feed instead thats when I began to have problems. Now for the chicks I get Sprout brand sold at my local fleet farm store as well as their layer crumbles. I do prefer purinas scratch over ANY other scratch. They seem to have the most variety and other brands or store brands are more cracked corn then anything else. As far as the layer feed I have been getting the amount of eggs I should be getting is about 30 or so everyday. Lately I am lucky to get between 4-6 eggs! I may have to make a trip to a different feed store miles and miles away just to get some decent layer crumbles now....

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
Any brand of feed can get weevils. If you buy a bag of feed that has more than a very few in it when you open the bag then take it back to the feed dealer you bought it from. Chances are it's not the fault of the mill that produced the feed anyway but rather were picked up somewhere along the line from the warehouse to the distributor to the dealer. I've fed Purina feeds for years and once in a great while I get a bag of their feed with weevils in it. Just the same as I've gotten weevily feed from every other brand of feed I've used extensively. Last weekend I took back a hundred pounds of FRM feed wheat that was so eat up with bugs they'd eaten holes all through the bag itself. The person that loaded it should have noticed it and never let it out of their warehouse.

High summer is the time when weevils are going to be at their worst and are a headache for every mill, warehouse, and feed dealer. It is in everyone's self-interest to pay attention when they buy feed. Look at the outsides of the bags to see if they've gotten wet, have holes in the bags, or an unusual amount of grain dust on the outside. Then look at the feed when you open the bag. If it's webby, clumpy, damp, discolored, or has an off smell then take it back. At least once a year I have to take feed back and this is from dealers I've done business with for years.

 

[LaurelRidgeDreams]

What about Southern States feed?