Chicken feed price rocketing

[pipscariad]

I went to my local Farm Stores this morning to buy another sack of organic layers pellets, and the price has gone up yet again - 50p more than last time. They've gone up £2.50 per sack since June! Good job I love my hens - it'd be cheaper to buy eggs!

(I know I could buy non organic pellets for less, but I do love the flavour of my eggs.)

[HeyWayne]

Inflation eh....

YouTube - Feed The Birds Sing Along

[MaureenHall]

I went to my local Farm Stores this morning to buy another sack of organic layers pellets, and the price has gone up yet again - 50p more than last time. They've gone up £2.50 per sack since June! Good job I love my hens - it'd be cheaper to buy eggs!

(I know I could buy non organic pellets for less, but I do love the flavour of my eggs.)

I'd rather feed my lot on organic pellets too, but unfortunately the price now has had to make me change to a cheaper brand. However, I've not noticed any change in the flavour of the eggs, or the overall quality/quantity. The chooks do have lots of greens available each day (tatty cabbage leaves from the lottie) so whether that's got anything to do with it or not, I don't know. The chooks are happy and for me, that's the main thing

[Snadger]

I think organic feed is a bit of a rip off!

If you have a look at the spec for organic and inorganic feed the only difference is that producers (from what I have been told) are ONLY allowed by law to add 30% inorganic material to organic feed.
Taking that there is probably less than 30% inorganic material already in inorganic feed (wheat to me is wheat whether organic or inorganic!) I can't see what you're gaining?
Organic feed has NO replacement for the inorganic material left out much of which are added chemicals that benefit certain functions in the chooks for which there is no organic substitute or it is prohibitively expensive!

The feed I use, and will keep using, is Farmgate layers pellets with no genetically modified material added!

PS It also happens to be the cheapest feed in the UK at £4.95 for a 20Kg bag!

[pipscariad]

I think organic feed is a bit of a rip off!

If you have a look at the spec for organic and inorganic feed the only difference is that producers (from what I have been told) are ONLY allowed by law to add 30% inorganic material to organic feed.
Taking that there is probably less than 30% inorganic material already in inorganic feed (wheat to me is wheat whether organic or inorganic!) I can't see what you're gaining?
Organic feed has NO replacement for the inorganic material left out much of which are added chemicals that benefit certain functions in the chooks for which there is no organic substitute or it is prohibitively expensive!

The feed I use, and will keep using, is Farmgate layers pellets with no genetically modified material added!

PS It also happens to be the cheapest feed in the UK at £4.95 for a 20Kg bag!

Hmm, this is interesting - I feel some research into this coming on. Have to be later though, no time today. The whole organic/non organic thing is a tricky old business, personally I always buy certain things organic (milk, banana's, apples, peppers), and other things I'm not so fussy. Plus the cost is a major factor! I'm certainly going to have a good look at chicken feed, as this is a huge price hike. I did buy some Smallholders pellets a few months ago, thinking they'd be lots cheaper, but they were only £1 less. Be interested to know what the rest of you feel on this one?

[MaureenHall]

The feed I use, and will keep using, is Farmgate layers pellets with no genetically modified material added!

PS It also happens to be the cheapest feed in the UK at £4.95 for a 20Kg bag!

That's the one I'm using too, but it's £5.50 here. Think it'd be too expensive to come to your neck of the woods and stock up

[Snadger]

That's the one I'm using too, but it's £5.50 here. Think it'd be too expensive to come to your neck of the woods and stock up

Still not a bad price though Maureen!

[shirlthegirl43]

I am using Farmgate pellets too - eggs taste way better than the local free-range farm so I will stick to that. I think I paid nearly six quid for mine - need to buy another bag next week so will know then.

[MaureenHall]

The strange thing is, I get the feed from a local Haulage firm. The farm shop a mile further away sells the same brand at £7.50.

[Noodle]

I use allen and Page layers and mixed corn. The pellets are £7.25 a sack! I haven't gone for organic cos my garden isn't organic (I haven't lived there long enough!) and the veg scrapes they get aren't always organic, so I don't really see the benefit under the circumstances.

[frias]

Try living in the south. £8.50 and that's not organic.

[MaureenHall]

The place I get mine from is about a mile from J13 of the M6, so if any of you happen to be passing, give me a nod and I'll come and show you.

[Hashette]

Mine are still on growers' mash, but I'm sure I paid about £8 for a big sack of it. I can't actually remember, as the total bill for stocking us up with all the bits and bobs when we got our girls last month was over forty quid.

Does anyone buy their feed on line, or is it not worth the postage? If anyone knows of anywhere a bit cheaper down my way I'd be really grateful, we're credit crunched, chewed and spat out again for the next few months

[MaureenHall]

Hi Hashette, if you go to this site, it's stockists of Smallholder layers pellets, give some of them a ring and see if they stock other cheaper brands too. I'd stay away from buying online, the postage costs would be phenomenal unless you're buying really HUGE quantities.
Welcome to The Small Holder's Site

[frias]

Hey Maureen, That's a useful site. Quite a few stockists Hants/Dorset. I will ring around later. Thanks for info.

Avril x