Why is feed so .... old? (added question about game bird feed)

[Tala]

Due to the recent Purina Layena recall I learned to read the dates on the Lot number (located on the bottom seam of the bag, NOT on the tag as I previously though)

So my TSC just got in a new shipment. As in they were OUT two days ago so this stuff has to be fresh off the truck.

The manufacture dates?? Purina and Dumor brands -- December 2009 through Feb 2010. The Dumore was oldest and the freshest stuff was Layena pellets.
That just seems rather old to me. The recall was for bags manufactured in March 2010 so I guess I will have to be looking out for those bags in July

Is this feed considered "old"? or Is buying last December's millings in almost-May considered "normal" ???

 

[silkiechicken]

I'd take it as normal. If stored correctly, they should be fine. You eat potatoes which are stored for like 9 months, apples stored for a year if not more (before you see the "new crop" apples in the fall), and grains held in silos for months.

 

[Akane]

My livestock nutrition classes do not suggest purchasing food with a mill date beyond 4 months because that's when most vitamins start to break down and not to store feed beyond 6 months from mill date unless kept cool (preferably frozen) and in an air tight container. You can't live on old potatos even if they still look fine. They already lack most of the more unstable vitamins and minerals and a lot more will be lost within months. The fresher food is the better it is for you and your animals.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
So where do you buy it??

I mean it's not like my TSC store has had this stuff sitting around, it JUST came in within the past two days. I guess their warehouse keeps it around for a while?? Or maybe Purina does????
I mean HOW are you supposed to get fresher feed if that's what the supplier is selling

When you back your truck up to the loading dock at your local feed store do you go back to the stock area and check all the tags/bags for dates or do you just have the cashier ring up "the usual" while the guys throw it in your truck???

 

[A.T. Hagan]

TSC is a major farm supply chain. As such they have major warehouses to match. They get a nice price break from the feed mills because they buy in considerable volume. Sometimes they have feed sitting around in the warehouse for a few months before it gets sent to the stores.

I've had the same thing happen with my regular feed dealer. Got a bag that was six months old Took it back and the manager went into the warehouse and looked at the dates on the rest of the pallet he'd gotten in from his wholesaler. They were all that old. Most of the time the feed I get from them is less than two months old.

.....Alan.

 

[Intheswamp]

A.T. Hagan :

TSC is a major farm supply chain. As such they have major warehouses to match. They get a nice price break from the feed mills because they buy in considerable volume. Sometimes they have feed sitting around in the warehouse for a few months before it gets sent to the stores.

I've had the same thing happen with my regular feed dealer. Got a bag that was six months old Took it back and the manager went into the warehouse and looked at the dates on the rest of the pallet he'd gotten in from his wholesaler. They were all that old. Most of the time the feed I get from them is less than two months old.

.....Alan.

Well said, Alan. To go a little further with this... Since TSC *is* a major retailer of farm goods/feed they have some clout with the manufacturers. They will stock their warehouses to the rafters to get a price that brings tears to the eyes of mom-n-pop feed stores. But, sometimes inventory doesn't turn *exactly* as they predict and it's "Hey old Purina rep, old buddy, ol' pal...I've gotta a bunch of chicken feed that's gettin' a little old on me, 'reckon some of your other boys could use it?". Then, the good ol' boy rep (who knows who is buttering his bread) says "No problem, I got a couple of distributors that we can give a little discount to and they'll take it". And thus mom-n-pop, though buying through a distributor and at a premium over what TSC buys at, suddenly receives a load of old feed that TSC didn't want *even* at the cheaper price. I've been in the tire business all of my life....I've had experience getting other (bigger) companies old merchandise shipped to me *from the manufacturer*...why would it not happen with chicken feed?

...and mom-n-pop have to deal with the bullmatter....yet again.

Ed​

 

[Akane]

That's the downside of shopping at big chain stores. There are local feed store chains here that get from mills in the same region. The feed is usually no more than 2months old. There are also small individual feed stores that buy from mills often in the same town but usually at least the same county so you could potentially get feed the same day it's bagged.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Thank you for telling me what feed stores exist in my area. 2 of the 'local' small feed stores have gone out of business in the past 10 years....
We have TSC, and Farmers Association. That's it.

FA I think does have a mill though. They sell cheap, "Co-op" brand feeds, their chick starter has both Cocci meds AND antibiotics - no way am I feeding THAT.

I usually feed Purina Flock Raiser to everyone, much simpler since I free range the youngins pretty early. FA doesn't even carry it.
They DO carry Layena pellets, in addition to their cheap brand, but no starter or grower type feed except their own brand.

I guess I could try a bag of their gamebird 20% to see how it compares to the Flock Raiser 20%........
I do need to buy feed this week

 

[flgardengirl]

I got some purina chick starter from tsc and it was full of moths and coocoons. It had to be old and it smelled stale. They told me they had just gotten it in before I bought it so I do believe they must have some type of warehouse they store stuff in. I quit buying my feed there because I kept having problems.

 

[Tala]

Well today I got a bag of "Co-op game bird breeder and flight conditioner" and it's analysis is pretty similar to the Flock Raiser. The ingredients are somewhat different, and it does include mysterious "Animal Protein Products"

Also new to me are several things like Lactobacillus Acidophllus Fermentation Product (dehydrated), Streptococcus Faecium Fermentation Prodcucts (dehydrated), and Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation product (dehydrated), and several others like that. Are those good??? They sound ok, but what is their purpose in the feed???????





BOTH the "co-op" brand chick starter and grower have both the thymine blocker and antibiotics. I can live with the Amprolium, but not the unnecessary antibiotics.

Also the date on these codes is unreadable, so I have no idea if this feed is fresher than TSC or not.
While the Purina date says something like Mar28xyz, these Co-Op brand codes are just random numbers to me. The one on this bag is 90840196 and I believe that the 196 just denotes the particular product (game bird feed).