Feed prices

[Fid]

Just curious as to what folks on here are paying for feed. Not just the US, anywhere we have members.

Myself, I buy 99% of my feeds at the local elevator. It's family owned, processes local crops, mixes almost all their own feeds, have the best prices and carry just about anything that you can feed to a critter. Only when I have planned poorly do I take my business to TSC.

I pay $8 for a 50lb bag of mash. About $10.50 for a 40lb bag of scratch(I make it last). And a 40lb bag of pellets is $12. We grow our own hay, so that's paid for in sweat.

 

[eco2pia]

I recently started doing the same. I used to pay $14.99 plus tax for 50 lbs of 17% protein rabbit, now I pay $11.05 for the same stuff.

 

[kotapony]

I feed Blue Seal Hutch Plus 17:

http://www.blueseal.com/smallanimal/feeds.php#he17

Last time I ordered I paid I think $13.25 a bag (50#). We run a dairy and every other month get a big load of dairy feed directly from the mill in Hagerstown, MD. They also have most of Blue Seal's bag feed they can throw on the truck for me.

Like you, we make out own hay. But good, second cutting 50# square bales would run $3-$4 a bale if I went to sell it.

Right now I still just have three junior Californians who get free choice pellets and hay. Counting the days till they finally grow up and the popples start coming.

 

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

I buy mine for $14 for a 50 lbs bag at Family Farm and Home.

 

[BoxerMom]

I don't buy pellets...but I buy BOSS which is $20 for a 50lb. bag, I buy oats from the health food store,for 0.79/lbs. I usually buy 20lbs. at a time. I pay $8 for a bale of alfalfa hay, and I recently started buying alfalfa/timothy/grass hay cubes, for $8 for about 40lbs.

 

[akane]

Rabbit pellets are like $20 a bag here for either brand I can find and grains go from $10/50lbs to $20/50lbs from season to season and we don't have the means to store massive amounts of grain so we buy a horse pellet that is $13/50lbs year round and supplement blocks that aren't just minerals. We use some BOSS but found most didn't even want to eat it in the summer so we only use about 4 bags a year at somewhere around $15 a bag. Then we feed mostly organic clover hay at $6.50 a bale and that's expensive hay around here. The guy was all concerned that he was raising his price now that his entire farm is certified organic and we might not want to buy it. I found it really amusing after seeing people post hay prices on forums and reserved a dozen bales from 3rd cut this year. $6.50 for 50lbs of completely weed free, high quality, certified organic clover is well worth it. Every now and then we have to buy one of the ultra compressed bales from the feed store to get by between cuttings. They are $10 and still 50lbs but only about 1x2' and a few feet long. I never know if I'm going to get timothy or alfalfa when I ask for one. They mark it all as alfalfa and don't know the difference. Those result in a ton of waste because they are chopped in to tiny bits in order to compress them that much and are only slightly better than using hay cubes so pieces get scattered everywhere and fall through the cage floors.

 

[fuzzy9]

Oh my, BoxerMom, $20 for 50 lbs of BOSS! Lucky! The cheapest we can find around here is $34. It's insane how expensive it's gotten!

We feed Nutrena pellets, and we're paying $16.99 for 50 lbs.

 

[Pickles]

...

We feed Nutrena pellets, and we're paying $16.99 for 50 lbs.

Is it Nutrena Naturewise Professional 18%? If so, I cant find it in my parts and really wanted to give it a try... do you buy your from a Feed & Seed store or have it shipped to you?

Rght now, the feed I use is a pro-biotic omega-3 all organic natural pellet. Its VERY expensive (try approx. $60 for 50 lbs). Im so over paying that much, but I need to stay with an all organic pellet and I hear that Nutrena Naturewise 18% is very good.

 

[PulpFaction]

A few cents under $15 per 50 lb bag for 18% Manna Pro Gro, just over $14 per 50 lb for Manna Pro Sho.

$60 for 50 lbs? OMG. I cannot imagine. WHY is it worth it to pay that much for organic?

 

[Pickles]

...
$60 for 50 lbs? OMG. I cannot imagine. WHY is it worth it to pay that much for organic?

Im not sure it is worth it, thats the problem. I am, however, very picky about what I allow my rabbits to eat. (For a while there I actually entertained the idea of crafting my own pellets from organics, hmnnn). I dont mind paying more for a healthy, nutrient-rich feed... but there HAS to be a more economical organic option (I hope!).
Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[fuzzy9]

Hi Pickles! No, we're not feeding the 18%. We get it at a farm store about 20 min from us, it's the only rabbit pellet they stock, and they have it because a really big show breeder in the area requested it. So it can't be too bad.

Yikes, $60 for 50 lbs!

 

[mountainrabbits]

I'm feeding Beaver brand pellets, they come in 40# bags for 12.95 each I think.

 

[SatinsRule]

The last 2 times I've bought Pen Pals, it's run me right at $15 per 50-lb. bag.

 

[MaggieJ]

Pickles, do you have some land available for foraging? If so, switching to a natural diet - or at least reducing the amount of pelleted feed you are using - would certainly cut your costs.

 

[Pickles]

Pickles, do you have some land available for foraging? If so, switching to a natural diet - or at least reducing the amount of pelleted feed you are using - would certainly cut your costs.

Im only on about 3/4 of an acre here. My ELops are Very big eaters and I free feed them, I dont really want to reduce what I am feeding them... I sware they have bottomless stomaches! They have always been on a 100% organic diet (organic pellets, organic rye flakes, organic oats, organic barley, organic parsley, organic carrots, etc...) I am very leary of non-organically grown foods for my animals. There doesnt seem to be much of a cost between organic and non- organic (just a few pennies) except when it comes to their pellets, the price difference is brutal. Thats why I was asking about the Nutrena Naturewise Performance 18%... I heard its a wonderful feed and only about 22$ for 50lbs, Its not "organic", but its the next best thing. I just cant find it anywhere within a few hours of where I am. Either way... I am on the hunt for a new feed, I cant keep paying out this much.

 

[akane]

Oh my, BoxerMom, $20 for 50 lbs of BOSS! Lucky! The cheapest we can find around here is $34. It's insane how expensive it's gotten!

They raised the prices a few years ago when they realized horse people were using it as a supplement or even in place of any other feed and were willing to pay more than the bird feeding crowd. I used to be able to get BOSS at like $8/50lbs during certain times of the year so when the price dropped right after everyone harvested I'd buy 10 bags or so for the horses over the winter. Now you never see it anywhere near that low.

 

[MaggieJ]

Even that much land could help you cut the feed bills some, if it is productive of all those wonderful weeds on our Safe Plants list. If you fertilize with bunny berries, it will be organic... and free.

 

[fuzzy9]

Oh my, BoxerMom, $20 for 50 lbs of BOSS! Lucky! The cheapest we can find around here is $34. It's insane how expensive it's gotten!

They raised the prices a few years ago when they realized horse people were using it as a supplement or even in place of any other feed and were willing to pay more than the bird feeding crowd. I used to be able to get BOSS at like $8/50lbs during certain times of the year so when the price dropped right after everyone harvested I'd buy 10 bags or so for the horses over the winter. Now you never see it anywhere near that low.

Just last year we were paying $14.99 a bag, and then it made the jump to $24, then from there went up to $34! I was feeding it to my birds, and we went through quite a bit. After the bear came through this summer, we thought it was maybe a sign it was time to stop feeding birds at those prices. I do feel bad, I miss them, and it happened right at the time when they were nesting too. It's the same thing with the corn, though not as bad. We put a little out each day for the deer, because we like to see the fawns in summer. Well, with everything so expensive, and tight around here, something has to give, and unfortunately it's all those extras.

 

[FurBabies]

Pickles, You should watch the show ******** (sorry all, that is really the name of the show) They prove that things are a bunch of crap. They had a good one on Organic things. After you watch it, and really think about it...where and how your organic stuff is grown blah blah blah, you will think twice about paying the higher prices for it. Its a nice thought to feed your rabbits healthy feed, but buying organic isn't as "healthy" as they say it is.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I pay $14 (I think? Can't remember exactly...) for Country Acre, but have to go a LONG way just to get it - so I end up buying 2 to 4 bags at a time and it adds up pretty fast.

I will pay $6 for nice, GREEN grass hay, and 2 bales last me awhile. I only pay this much because I'm only buying 2 bales, and not a dozen or more. Alfalfa is about $10 for a compressed bale at the feedstore. I think it'd be worth it for $11/$12 for a much larger bale from a farmer, but the towns are just too far.

Emily