Whats in your pelleted feed??

[Honorine]

I'm considering doing a feed switch, and I'm really torn. What I'm using is Manna Gro 18%, I've been really happy with it, its soooo much better than Purina was, my growth rates, litter numbers, flesh condition everything has improved. What hasn't improved is the price, its up to $16 a bag, its killing me, I'm afraid its going to go higher, and I have to be thrifty. Enter another choice, thru our 4H club I found out about another feed, its made by a local mill about 80 miles from us. Its $9.60 a 50lb bag, and some of our members are trying it out. I asked for a sample, and the tag off of the bag. The sample looks good, larger pellet, very green and fragrant, obvious signs of corn in it. Manna Gro is more alfalfa based, with ground soybean hulls for fiber, max 22% for fiber, new stuff max 14% fiber. Not a big problem for me, I feed free choice hay. Big problem is the oil source, Manna Gro is vegetable oil, new stuff appears to be animal fat, which is kinda old school. I did some research, I can't find much except that veg oil and animal fat appear to be about equal in undesirability in rabbit food, and that the animal fat pellets can go rancid if stored too long in the heat. One of my bunny guru buddies has concerns about the fiber, she feeds no hay, and she doesn't like the fact that its a grain/corn based food, the animal fat doesn't faze her. I know everyone here feeds different feeds, including some that are highly grain based, just would like some input before I make the leap. It would be a sizable savings, and we may all work together to get the feed and distribute it to members, it could be a win-win for everyone, I'm just balking at the animal fat the most. What does everyone think?

 

[akane]

I have no problem with grains. I have a huge problem with corn. I would not feed anything that has obvious corn or corn too high in the ingredients list to any animal except maybe poultry because it's impossible to get poultry feed that doesn't rely on corn without spending a fortune. Corn is just a cheap source of poor quality calories. Hard to digest and most likely of any grain to cause weight issue, digestive tract disturbances (laminitis in horses), or grow mold.

We feed kent top show family
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein, min
17.0%
Crude Fat, min
2.5%
Crude Fiber, min
16.0%
Crude Fiber, max
18.0%
Calcium (Ca), min
0.7%
Calcium (Ca), max
1.2%
Phosphorus (P), min
0.6%
Salt (NaCl), min
0.3%
Salt (NaCl), max
0.8%
Vitamin A, min

We were feeding nutrena naturewise but found this more cost effective. 10lbs more for the same price. I had a tag around here of the ingredients but I think I finally threw it away. I believe it's alfalfa based, no byproducts or unnamed forage products, and no corn. I mix 6 scoops pellets to 4 scoops steel cut barley ($9/50lb bag at theisen's) and 1 scoop BOSS. Then we feed organic clover/grass mix hay for $6/bale.

 

[Honorine]

I need to find out just exactly how much corn is in it, I don't mind some corn. I have a winter mix that I make, its sweet feed, calf manna and BOSS, so there's corn in that, but I only feed it in the cold months. Its too hot of a supplement for the warm months. Thanks for your input, looks like I need to call the mill and clarify some ingredients.