Tractor Supply Stopped Stocking my feed

[ShrekDawg]

I fed Mazuri game bird feed to my quail while they were growing because I couldn’t find any game bird feed near me and I liked it a lot and it’s pretty high protein (they have a few different formulas some lower so you’d have to look. I think mine was starter) but the only downside is it’s pretty expensive online. I got it directly from their website because it was out of stock places but maybe it’s available somewhere else. Chewy carries it but idk if it’s back in stock yet. I’ve also found the Blueseal multi flock is pretty good. It’s like 23% I think instead of Flockraiser’s 20% so I like feeding it and it works for adult game birds too I think. I got it at my local Agway but idk if it’s online or what.

 

[Folly's place]

Shopping around is always a good idea!
Local mills generally will have lower costs, because they are selling mash, and haven't spent $$$ for machinery to make pellets or crumble, or to ship the feed to markets elsewhere.
Still pay attention to the mill date on each bag! You won't want that bag that was forgotten in the back of the barn. And it doesn't hurt to inquire about their testing, assays of the actual nutrients, all that.
Mary

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Local feed mills and mom and pop feed shops are a wonderful place to get feed if they are around. At my old farm, in a different state, I had plenty of choices for feeds and feed places.
Here, not so much.
However, I've talked to the manager at my local TSC and all I have to do is call ahead/ask on the day they order feed, and they will put bags of the feed I'm looking for on the order.
So long as it's any of the feed lines/brands that they carry.

I prefer Nutrena unmedicated chick starter for my babies and a Nutrena ration balancer for my equines, but as a smaller store mine rarely has room for those on the floor/shelves. So, they have ordered them, or had an employee grab some from a larger store while out and about, and bring it to my store for me.
I am not special, nor am I a huge customer (buying large quantities of anything) but all the TSCs I have ever shopped in (3 different states) will/have done this for me.

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

have you tried Chewy? they ship free.

Chewy is the best & their customer service is outstanding too!

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

No I haven't but thank you for the idea. I am a bit old fashioned. I thought chewy was just a dog and cat store and shipping 50 pound bags through the mail is kind of a new idea at least to me.

Just ordered 33# bag of dog food & 40# bag of cat litter from chewy & received both next day, less than 24 hours later - they're impressive & cheaper than my local PetSmart.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

isn't EVERYBODY cheaper than the local PetSmart? Ours is hosting the local rescues for the Animal Shelter while its closed due to Covid, and they even marked up the prices on those!

in any event, those are impressive ship times. My Chewy orders (I'm a bit more remote, order Trifexis for the dogs twice a year) usually take 3-5 days - but its autoship, so I don't notice.

 

[Folly's place]

For poultry feed, where freshness, by mill date, is important, and the feed doesn't store as long as quality dog or cat foods (packaged more expensively), ordering online give you no control over that mill date information.
Mary

 

[ShrekDawg]

Just ordered 33# bag of dog food & 40# bag of cat litter from chewy & received both next day, less than 24 hours later - they're impressive & cheaper than my local PetSmart.

isn't EVERYBODY cheaper than the local PetSmart? Ours is hosting the local rescues for the Animal Shelter while its closed due to Covid, and they even marked up the prices on those!

in any event, those are impressive ship times. My Chewy orders (I'm a bit more remote, order Trifexis for the dogs twice a year) usually take 3-5 days - but its autoship, so I don't notice.

Chewy used to be the cheapest around several years ago but now I find that for a lot of stuff, at least for dogs and cats, they are either the same price or more expensive than in store I know I’ve found some of the brands cheaper at TSC. But maybe it depends on the brand or something. I’m sure there’s cheaper ones there. But still.

I know the bird and small animal stuff is still cheaper as are most toys even dog and cat ones but the food has definitely gone up since I started buying from them hah think it’s because of their popularity and all the ads and stuff. Also a lot of the prices are way cheaper if you do auto ship which I never did. It didn’t used to be that big of a difference.

This isn’t bashing Chewy or anything, btw, I still love them and they have amazing customer service and I buy my small animal stuff from there still but I guess they gotta pay for all those ads somehow haha when I first found them they were still relatively small and hadn’t had ads and stuff yet. They did send me a Christmas card once though.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I can get dog food for the same or less delivered to my door with chewy, but the 50 lb. bags of chicken feed are much higher to compensate for the free shipping. I ordered during the spring, but do curbside at my local feed store right now. The chicken feed from chewy was always fresh when I got it.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Allan, I have to suggest you look for a local mill and associated feed store. Deep South TX is, in many ways, similar to N FL Panhandle, I'm hoping you will have experience similar to mine. I had also been making the 1 hr drive ea way to TSC for feed - and even before the shipping policy change, I was having problems finding the feed I wanted (any variety of "All Flock").

Turns out, a local mill in the State north of me was producing goat feed, cattle feed, game bird feed, layer feed, and a bunch of others for local farmers, and I found a country store that carries it. So I've gone from 20% protein feed in a 40# bag at $16.50 to 24% protein feed in a 50# bag at $11.75 - and the 16% layer feed is cheaper still, so I am considering buying the bags in pairs, then making my fermented feed with equal scoops of each.

There's West feeds, around West, TX (actually, their packaging is kind of fancy) that likely makes what you need - they have a 28% Turkey feed, and distribute their product widely about the state. Sure there are others.

Oh and West TX makes human feed too! They make awesome Colaches! I still am not driving 8 hours there to get them in a Wrangler as much as I would like to, but I bet my feed store can order it down here.