Thoughts on Purina feeds?

[aart]

FIFO. First in, First Out.
Someone's shelf stocker isn't doing their job. Either in the store, or in the warehouse. Sad, really. Most customers won't rearrange 50# bags looking for the oldest date the way they will reach to the back row for the freshest qt of milk.

Hard to balance stock supply and demand, feed has a 6 month shelf life according to the TS manager. Corporate orders it, not the local staff.
I've been known to move a few bags to get a fresher one.

If that product was too old, I'd switch to something fresh instead.

I may have to do that tomorrow if there's no newer available.
Dread it, have no idea what to get as a replacement.

 

[yakitori]

Did it look like this....except 25 in place of 16?
View attachment 2355571
Were your crumbles or pellets?
Summer time almost always brings grain mites to FR,
makes it dusty, even dustier after treating with DE.

yep, it’s crumbles. and that’s the date... grrrr. Do they take returns on opened feed?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

So the failure is at the regional warehouses - I've done Inventory management before, lots of moving parts, mistakes will happen. While I understand it, it doesn't excuse the poor practice, insufficient training, or inadequate oversight of fresh product stocking. Hope you can find something meeting your needs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have 3 feed stores within a reasonable distance. The one 5 minutes away rarely has fresh feed. Starter is never fresh there until shortly after chick days. That feed will still be there when the next chick days roll around the following year.
The other two stores are a half hour into another state. One is TSC and one is Farm & Home. It is rare (30% of the time) to find feed under a month old at either of them. So I have to open up my limits to under 2 months of age.

I have read some posts in this thread and elsewhere about people with feed that has diminished nutritional value. They speak of mixing the old or rancid feed with fresh feed. They will be doing their birds a disservice with that practice. I know it hurts to throw anything away when one is on a tight budget. But the next time faced with an old or moldy feed. To not dispose of that feed can have more repercussions than just the cost of a new bag of feed.
You can compost it, put it out for wild birds or put it in the trash. But you don't want to feed it to your chickens.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

yep, it’s crumbles. and that’s the date... grrrr. Do they take returns on opened feed?

No they don't. That's why it is important to be diligent at the point of sale. At a minimum, always verify the mill date, the protein and calcium percentages and whether the feed is medicated before you stick the bag on your cart.
I've successfully returned open feed twice.
Once at TSC they must have had a roof leak because the feed I bought was moldy on the same corner of every bag. Had I not opened a bag upon arriving at home and immediately returning it, I'm sure they wouldn't have taken it back as they would have concluded it was my fault. It ended up being over two hours of travel time. I complained to the store manager and he gave me a discount on more feed.
On another occasion I bought a 60# bag of Fertrell Nutri-Balancer at the nearest outlet, a feed mill which is over 60 miles into Illinois. There is a date code on it I couldn't decipher until I got home It turns out it was nearly 2 years old. They tried to blame Fertrell for shipping them old feed. However, records showed that Fertrell hadn't shipped any product to that feed store in all that time. They finally agreed to take it back. They weighed it to make sure I hadn't used any of it.
They were not happy.
I discovered another outlet a little over 70 miles from me. It is actually a meat and egg farm that has grass fed pork, beef, lamb, chicken and eggs. They feed their animals the Fertrell so they use a lot and always have Nutri-Balancer that is under a week old.

 

[yakitori]

No they don't. That's why it is important to be diligent at the point of sale.

a $17.99+tax lesson learned, tried the new feed yesterday, and my birds were unamused. I had to mill and mix in some scratch before they would show a hint of interest.

What do I do, toss it out and get another bag? or get some scratch and peck and ferment those in with the purina feed? get another bag of dumor and mix the the two?

 

[Vickischics]

What did you do with the unwanted feed?

I slowly add more until the Chic feed is gone. Plus, the Big Girls really like it moisten. Sometimes, they need a little extra Protein but, not too much.

 

[Tonyroo]

Is 20% protein to high for pullets and hens?

 

[Weeg]

Ok @Willow2253 but the thing is that the reason I get the $28 Green Mountain Feeds layer pellets and chick starter is because it's the best chickens can have in MA. It's Organic, non-GMO, and non medicated. Maybe you can have your chickens eating GMO feeds, but I won't.

Agreed! I am strictly organic, non GMO, and non medicated! I love scratch and peck feeds, 20% protein, Organic, non GMO, and Non Medicated! I like your style!

 

[aart]

Is 20% protein to high for pullets and hens?

No. Especially if you feed some treats or scratch daily.