So, I visited a local feed mill...(not-so-natural diet)

Zass":16gb8866 said:

Kalmbach feeds has a sort of unusual policy...
http://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/faq/1/freq ... questions/

From their webpage:

Can I get an ingredient list for your products?

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Unfortunately, no, for confidentiality reasons, we cannot give out our ingredient lists.

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When I first started doing some research about them I thought that was a little strange too. After talking to their nutritionist he told me that they occasionally have to change feed stuffs depending on the markets at the time of milling.
He was a very informative guy. I was going to switch to a 16 percent feed and he thought I should go with the 18 percent first just so I could compare the 2 feeds equally.

I am very happy with their product. You should give them a call and talk with them for a bit.

I order my feed from a small store that orders it for me. If I call before Saturday it will be at their store on Wednesday. <br /><br /> -- Sun Sep 27, 2015 8:54 pm -- <br /><br />

ohiogoatgirl":16gb8866 said:

Big Tom":16gb8866 said:

Zass,

I been using Kalmbach Feeds for about 8 months now. I switched from Manna Pro Grow. I'm still feeding an 18 percent and all the rabbits have done well with the switch. It's about $3 a bag cheaper and is made in Upper Sandusky, OH.

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ohhh! where do you buy from?

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Click on the link, then click on Dealer and it will find a dealer close to you.
http://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/dealers/

Ugh-we are trying the Manna Pro because of the value, and so far haven't had any problems (that I know of). After hearing your experiences tho, I am going to watch carefully and look into something else when the bag of feed runs out.

macksmom98":1nlabjfj said:

Ugh-we are trying the Manna Pro because of the value, and so far haven't had any problems (that I know of). After hearing your experiences tho, I am going to watch carefully and look into something else when the bag of feed runs out.

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Some people are quite happy with manna pro.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a mill procedures and supply chain that can harm a feed.
It just seems like the local mill has some weak points.
I also know for a fact that my feed store has some very questionable policies, and I do know one other local breeder who has struggled with the manna pro they sell. Last I heard, she had trouble with sho and pro, but gro was working out for her. :shrug:

I am using the grow, and I mix in some oats daily and some BOSS twice A week, and they get a salt or mineral wheel and Timothy Hay. I suppose I can wait and see if I do have any problems come up. Any feed choice when changing things up can be a little risky, especially when you are trying to save money but still need a quality feed.....I'll be more cautious with it tho and aware that there may be a higher chance of problems. We buy it at our local tractor supply, and so far I am pretty comfortable with what I know of their company....

macksmom98":2rr3o97m said:

We buy it at our local tractor supply, and so far I am pretty comfortable with what I know of their company....

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I've had very little luck with feed stores and mills. I suppose it's probably because there are not too many rabbitrys in my immediate area.

Once I returned a bag of feed that I had informed them was KILLING MY WEANLINGS. :x

They didn't believe me I guess, because they taped it back up and put it back on the shelf for resale...at a reduced price.

An employee also questioned me in disbelief when I insisted that the different types of the same brand could not be substituted for each other.

If the store is out of SHO for example, some people do not understand why I can't just grab a bag of GRO and feed that instead.

I think at least one person who worked there took personal offense when I insisted on traveling to a different store 45 minutes away to get the right kind of feed.

It's a case where store employees simply didn't understand the nature of the animal they were selling feeds for...

I'm positive not all stores have THAT particular problem. :yes:

Zass":85zqj5ol said:

macksmom98":85zqj5ol said:

Ugh-we are trying the Manna Pro because of the value, and so far haven't had any problems (that I know of). After hearing your experiences tho, I am going to watch carefully and look into something else when the bag of feed runs out.

Click to expand...

Some people are quite happy with manna pro.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a mill procedures and supply chain that can harm a feed.
It just seems like the local mill has some weak points.
I also know for a fact that my feed store has some very questionable policies, and I do know one other local breeder who has struggled with the manna pro they sell. Last I heard, she had trouble with sho and pro, but gro was working out for her. :shrug:

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I have a local brand that I use, but lately the quality has been iffy. A couple bags back it was very very dusty/crumbly - I just figured maybe it was the bottom of the stack and had been jostled around too much? The next bag was much much better. The next had different colored pellets - an even mix of tan and a reddish color. I have no idea what is going on with the feed. For the months prior it was fine :?

I would love to do without pellets, but now is a tough time of year to try and figure that out since the growing season is all but over.

I started feeding a fairly local feed (Big V Feeds) that had a great ingredients list, until I started finding pieces of corn in it. I swapped to regional feed and have been very happy with it (Pen Pals). The only thing with both these feeds is they are low in vitamin A.

grumpy":sc38odjh said:

... I feed a Nutrena brand that's 17%, with reasonable products on the list. ...

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Which one Grumpy? I see 15,16 and 18% but not 17%. Always looking for something better ya know.

I've been feeding Small World 16% the last couple years with very good results. I had one bag out of all of them (~200) that had a clump in it when I dumped it into my feed bucket. Put it back in the bag and returned no questions asked to Wally World.

I'm back to Prime Quality 16%.

I had switched from it to Manna Pro because it has a better ingredients list. I started having poop pancakes building up in several cages -- I think they were made of cecotropes, because even if it was one poop stuck to the wire, it was so hard to scrape it off. I finally figured Manna Pro was just somehow too rich.

I switched to Purina Complete, which I had used before with no problems (but with different rabbits). The problem seemed to be getting better, and then stopped getting better.

So... back to the Prime Quality. Ingredients list isn't what you'd wish for, but once I finish scraping the cages this time, I doubt I'll have much issue with it again.

I have small poop pancakes too. I guess I thought they were normal, but I have wood bottoms cages and the wood actually gets a little damaged during cleaning, and actually never seems totally clean. Are the cecotropes smaller, stickier poo? I have considered replacing my cage floors with wire, when the wood wears out. I just think it looks to be more sanitary. Anyway, bottom line question is will those pool pancakes go away all together, with a diet change,
or do the just become less?

macksmom98":3ehuvert said:

I have small poop pancakes too. I guess I thought they were normal, but I have wood bottoms cages and the wood actually gets a little damaged during cleaning, and actually never seems totally clean. Are the cecotropes smaller, stickier poo? I have considered replacing my cage floors with wire, when the wood wears out. I just think it looks to be more sanitary. Anyway, bottom line question is will those pool pancakes go away all together, with a diet change,
or do the just become less?

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I have solid bottoms in all my hutches too. I've never had an issue with Poop Pancakes unless I fed to many radish tops in one night.

Mine are wood slats, so some can escape the bottom. Good to know tho! I feed pellets, Timothy hay and occasional oats. So the too many greens thing can't be my problem. I think I'll up the oats and look at the pellet content