U.S. drought fallout . . . might it affect all of our ducks?

[Miss Lydia]

Okay, are you ready for this? I called and spoke with head of operation in Concord, NH for Blue Seal. We spoke at great length today and he told me about an email that has gone out company wide. Kent, who is the parent company for Blue Seal, has made the decision to keep to their old and tried levels of any aflatoxins. The email said that any delivery of grain would be tested at the gate before they even get into the plant. Not the black light test either. This would be a full profile testing and any, ANY aflatoxins will be turned away no matter where it comes from or what the USDA claims is good for us.

Today I purchased my grain from Blue Seal.

I also put in a call to the local supplier of the Surgain grains. I am waiting for a call back on how the Canadian company is going to be handling the issue.

The man from Blue Seal also told me that the only grain in Canada that tested positive for the toxins was grown just north of Michigan. A very small portion of their total crop. To me this sounds positive. Blue Seal uses some Canadian grain and may have to increase their usage of their grain to make sure they can provide a 'clean' product. This certainly is a lot more info than what I got from Purina. I say buyer beware. There is a reason they are stone walling us at Purina.

Good news for you, sad news for me, I don't think Blue Seal is in these parts never heard of it being. I'll have to check it out. Still waiting to hear from Purina

 

[Haunted55]

Thanks, Haunted55 and Amiga for mentioning the controversy over legumes.

I agree that communicating concerns with Purina and other feed companies could be helpful. Considering that the corn is still being harvested, the feed manufacturers are probably still figuring out what they are going to do. Anyway, we have some time before the corn harvested this year makes it into the bags of feed. I have found that most bagged feeds have a date that indicates when they were packaged.

Another thing I noticed when reading about aflatoxins in the news is the mention of putting so called binders in feed to prevent the toxins from being absorbed into the animal's system. That doesn't exactly put my mind at ease.

The problems with this is it could affect any absorbtion of nutrients. I'm sorry, after the way I was treated when I called Purina and voiced my concerns, I have no confidence in them at all. Those letters the woman gave me, in reference to their standards, are an Australian standard. Not American. I'm not saying that the Australian standard is sub par, all I'm saying is they really do need to get their story straight and their facts correct. No confidence, period.

 

[Miss Lydia]

The problems with this is it could affect any absorbtion of nutrients. I'm sorry, after the way I was treated when I called Purina and voiced my concerns, I have no confidence in them at all. Those letters the woman gave me, in reference to their standards, are an Australian standard. Not American. I'm not saying that the Australian standard is sub par, all I'm saying is they really do need to get their story straight and their facts correct. No confidence, period.

Did you talk to a rep from Purina? I didn't know that.

 

[Haunted55]

I'm still waiting on Purina to answer my email. After reading about grains in the link I posted, there is a fine art to making feed for our flock, and not all grains are that good for them, So it's back to more research. What did ole timers do back in the day before feed was available? They kept geese/duck/chickens. Another area to look into.

From all the reading I've done, they pretty much fended for themselves and as Amiga said, got the leftovers. Ducks and geese will hunt mice and other small critters as well as eat anything they can get. Maybe not always good for them but..... Now a days we treat our animals a lot differently than they did even 100 years ago. They for the most part were not pets, they were food. The hay and grains they got were raw and rough. Not the homogenized stuff we give now. I really think we would be horrified to see how a lot of these animals survived the ages to today. The animals were a lot smaller as well. The breeds we have available to us now, are because of centuries of breeding to get the size and looks.

From diaries I have read and farm records, most chickens got what we now call scratch feed and what they could glean from the midden pile. Plus the occasional mouse or rat they could gang up on. They would also glean what they could from the manure of cows and horses. Mmmmm, yeah, that's a pleasant thought. Nutrional, yes, pleasant, no. I personaly do not have cattle or any horses so my geese and ducks are going to have to look somewhere else for their protein. I'll try the Blue Seal and see how it works.

 

[Haunted55]

Did you talk to a rep from Purina? I didn't know that.

Oh yes and they were very snotty to say the least. The info they gave me was suspect to say the least. How dare I ask their intentions about their food processing, is the feeling I got from them. I was totally underwhelmed to say the least, that's why I'm going farther afield to see what i can do.

 

[Haunted55]

Good news for you, sad news for me, I don't think Blue Seal is in these parts never heard of it being. I'll have to check it out. Still waiting to hear from Purina

Ask for it!!!! Blue Seal is available country wide. That's what I was told today by their company. Do you have a small farm store near you? Ask about the Blue Seal and the Surgain feeds. They are able to get them, it's question of people asking and or demanding them.

Case in point, I hounded TS to get in a quality game bird feed. After 6 months they finally did. My peafowl are very happy. I have found that you cannot take no for an answer. Push and push some more. Do it pleasantly, but with the strength of your wallet. Just remind them of how much you spend monthly and how your money spends anywhere. Trust me.....it does work. Pain in the butt, but it does get results.

 

[Haunted55]

I have the phone for the Blue Seal person I talked to today. Not sure I can post it here but I'll try. If it doesn't work, PM me any time! I like to share and he should be able to tell you if their product is available in your area.

The phone # is 1-800-343-0530 and the person I spoke with was named Kevin. He was out of Concord, NH as I said earlier and a super nice guy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have the phone for the Blue Seal person I talked to today. Not sure I can post it here but I'll try. If it doesn't work, PM me any time! I like to share and he should be able to tell you if their product is available in your area.

The phone # is 1-800-343-0530 and the person I spoke with was named Kevin. He was out of Concord, NH as I said earlier and a super nice guy.

I went on their website and didn't see an all flock and I don't want to feed layer to my drakes and roos.

 

[Haunted55]

I went on their website and didn't see an all flock and I don't want to feed layer to my drakes and roos.

On their site did you see their new line of feed? I have the pamphlet in front of me now. They have a Multi-Flock, game starter - protein 28%, a starter/grower - protein 22 % and a breeder - protein 18%.

For starting the ducks they recommend the Multi - Flock and then switching to the Grow & Show - protein 15%.

I am going to follow through with Surgain today and I'll let you know what i find out.

 

[Haunted55]

It might have help if I had the name of the grain company spelled correctly....It's Shur-Gain. DUH!!! Sorry about that. They have a facility in New York as well. Below is a link to their site.

http://www.nutrecocanada.com/shur-gain