Should pellets cost more than crumbles?*UPDATE #2*

[Sunny Side Up]

There's a new feed store in town. On my first visit they just had layer feed (Manna Pro) in crumbles, 50# for $12.35. I asked them if they could get it in pelleted form, and told them I prefer it because there seems to be less waste when it's spilled on the ground. Although this store's brochures state "Free Delivery" the owner told me he'd give me a discount if I came to the store for pickup. When I went there for the first bags of pellets they received, they told me it would cost me $14.59!!! When they saw my shocked face they said "Well, the pellets should last you much longer!"

Since Mister is out of work & we're pinching every penny, and I'm selling eggs to pay for the chickens' feed, I told them I couldn't afford to buy pelleted feed from them at that price. I can get Walpole layer pellets at our local grocery store for $13.59. So the feed store owner says "All right, I can give it to you for $13, but just for you"

Poop. I was hoping to get the pellets for at least the amount I was paying for the crumbles, and if they were regretting having offered free delivery and wanted to instead offer discounts for pickup, I would like to now get the pellets for less than the price of the crumbles.

Shouldn't it cost the mill less to bag pellets? I'd think they were making their feed formula into pellets first, and then would have to take an extra step to crush it to make crumbles. So pellets should cost less to make, and should be sold for less, or at least the same price as crumbles. Not more.

Also, I think these folks are feeding me back my own information. I don't think they knew the difference between pellets & crumbles, and the belief that pellets last longer, until I told them.
All right, what do you all think?

 

[NurseNettie]

I don't know much about the milling process at all-- but I'd imagine that the crumbles are just a bunch of ingredients "crumbled", crushed and mixed together-- bagged up and sold. I would think the pellets would require extra steps, labor, machinery to form the pellets, therefore costing more.
The pellets we buy are always more than crumbles.


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[Teach97]

Kinda sounds like they don't have much of an idea what stuff costs locally...I would be tempted to go somewhere else...

 

[mrsengeseth]

my feed store sells crumbles more expensive than the pellets. they said th eprocess is the same, but the crumbles are crumbled and crushed pellets. Thus more steps for the crumbles vs the pellets

 

[Marlinchaser]

You are right crumble is exactly that Crumbled Pellets. I would think the only way the mill could justify a higher price is because it is a more limited run. Cheaper to make everything the same compared to changing process around to bag just a few bags of pellets. BUT I wouldnt think that to be the case. Purina pellets and crumbles are the same price here. I would ask the Seller to explain why crumbles are more, then take notes, and send the same question with thier answers to thier distributor, you may not get a discount, but you will at least let the distributor know what BS artists they are entrusting to uphold the good name of thier product.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The crumbles look so uniform in color I don't think they're just assorted ingredients tossed together, it seems they're somehow blended & baked together before crumbling. I think they first extrude the mix through a mesh to get the pellets, bake it & bag it, and then crush the remainder for crumbles.

 

[mtnhomechick]

I can get crumbles here for 9.00/50lb.......pellets are a bit cheaper.

 

[rkent]

Crumbles are crushed up pellets. Every once and a while you will see a pellet that didn't crushed up in the bag.

 

[Marlinchaser]

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I didnt know that, but I have noticed that every once in a while I have been known to have crumbles in my pellets.

 

[NYREDS]

Pellets start out as mash. The mash is steam heated & compressed into pellets. Crumbles are pellets that have been, well, crumbled.
If a line of feed offers mash, pellets & crumbles with the same name [ie: Purina Layens] they are all the same feed processed differently.