Shocker Price for Feed

[cskotek]

Are these the oats people are useing to mix in?

http://www.tractorsupply.com/producer-s-pride-reg-oats-50-lb--5050123

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

I avoid TSC, they are over priced, and we prefer to spend with local ran feed stores. All of our whole grains come in plain mill bags with tags sewn into the end.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Are these the oats people are useing to mix in?

http://www.tractorsupply.com/producer-s-pride-reg-oats-50-lb--5050123

Wow thats expensive, at our only feed store which trends to be high Whole oats were 12.00 50lb. Southern States brand

 

[Going Quackers]

How much was it? it blocked the pricing asking for my zip code(we don't have those here, they are postal codes lol) I can get a 50lb bag of whole oats(This mill is all organic) for 12.50$ and i am not in the US, everything costs more here.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How much was it? it blocked the pricing asking for my zip code(we don't have those here, they are postal codes lol) I can get a 50lb bag of whole oats(This mill is all organic) for 12.50$ and i am not in the US, everything costs more here.

16.49 you did good this time GQ

 

[cskotek]

Thats the only place near me that sells feed like this and if theres another place thats ran by someone local, I would perfer that but I dont know of any.. And I dont have that many ducks so it would last pretty long..

 

[Senna95]

I'm lucky that there are local grain growers here where I can buy direct from the farm. I pay 15 cents/pound (comes to $7.50 per 50 lb bag). The place I buy from has oats, barley and wheat, all the same price, but I have to buy by the ton (which is no problem cause I have about 300 birds in all). I mix the grains with turkey starter (28 - 30% protein), and a few pounds of fish meal. I end up with a 15 to 16% feed at about $10 - 11 per 50 lb bag.

Turkey starter here is about $25 per bag, and regular layer feed is $15 to 18 per bag. I could NEVER afford to feed my animals at those prices!

 

[1MrsMagoo]

I purchased feed 10 days ago at a feed store just across the border in Mississippi.

I got 50lb Wheat - 10.95
50lb lay pellets - 13.10 (increase of 1.40/bag)
50lb starter - 15.30 (up .45 a bag)
50lb scratch - 15.10 (special mix with BOSS and lots of millet-way better than others I've gotten) - up .25 a bag
50lb All Grain - 14.00 (sweet feed for livestock) up .75 a bag

The prices at the TSC jumped much worse than this though. The owner of the feed store told me she'd been warned to expect the prices to increase with each new shipment for the foreseeable future.

Due to the non-stop rain and severe thunderstorms we experienced over the past couple of months (last year we had an extreme drought...now we get 10" of rain a month) I lost most of the millet and field corn crops I grow for the animals to mold/mildew and pests. I did manage to get a good crop of pumpkins and winter squash though and have been feeding those to the birds weekly.

I am tilling up a few areas and planting winter wheat and oats this year (Have the seed ready and waiting in the extra freezer). I also have a ton of lettuce seed that is starting to get old and lose germination, so will be putting in a field of leaf lettuce as well (bought several varieties a couple years back and didn't notice they were a quarter pound of seeds). I am also going to double my English sweet and sugar snap peas this winter: They produce well and I can boil them and feed them to the ducks who dearly love them.

In addition to the usual over-seeding of winter rye grass, clover, and southern alfalfa for the pastures, I am also going to try putting in some chufa: I understand waterfowl love the stuff. I also understand they have to dig to get the roots, which is the part they eat, so will be very careful about where it is planted.

Also, I am am setting up a duckweed growing area. I grew some before, but couldn't keep the ducks from eating it all. Now that I have a secure fence I feel better about the chances some of it will survive. From what I have read, duckweed is used to feed livestock and waterfowl in many Asian countries. It doubles in size every sixteen hours if in full sun and can be grown in the water from the duck pond. I understand it is very nutritious and high in protein, and can be used for up to 1/3 of their diet. I have some kiddie pools left from before I had ponds and am going to put those in my garden area and pump some water from the duck pond into them. I have an old fountain with filter to use as an aerator too.

I had planned to start selling some of the meal worms I am raising, but will be supplementing the feed with them instead. I started with 2,000 in February and have way over 100,000 now despite feeding between 3-4 thousand a week to the birds. They are SUPER easy to raise: Some wheat bran, cornmeal, rolled oats, or chicken crumbles for bedding, a carrot or piece of potato for moisture and keep them in a warm dry place. I keep them in those plastic stackable drawer units (using three of them right now). I am on my second generation of beetles, which cannot fly nor climb on the plastic to escape (worms can't get out either). Each female beetle can lay up to 40 eggs a day for up to three months: Making each female lay over 3,000 eggs. Oh, and the worm poo, called frass, looks like sand and is supposed to be good fertilizer.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Your prices are still good 1, I bought Flock Raiser today 50lbs 18.25 , Boss, was 30.00 for 50lbs. didn't have to buy Whole oats yet. I was told BOSS will be going up with next order they get, last year it was 38.00 for 50lbs though so it is a little better this year so far.

 

[ChristineR]

I have a question about duckweed. Is it considered an invasive species? I thought that it was, so I was surprised when I learned that people actually buy it. Maybe it's only certain species of duckweed. Does anyone know? I ask because I would like try growing it for my waterfowl, but I also have a pond on my property that the county has classified as a protected wetland. I do not want it to be taken over by duckweed.