farmgate chicken feed, advice please & other options

[tlck9]

HI Guys

I have 3 hybrid and 5 ex batts. In order to get the best selection of feed, I normally mix 2 parts farmgate layers mash with 1 part smallholders crumb and 1 part smallholders pellets

A few months back I started getting what looked like blue plastic bits and paper bits in the feed, so I complained - told that no one had ever complained about this before (ummm, just a one off, however tonight I met with another chicken person and they said they had found it in their pellets and had complained but never heard back)

I've just opened another bag of farmgate layer mash and its like powder, its never been like this, some powder yes, but with "juicy" bits if you know what I mean. This looks like 90% has been put through a mill

Has anyone experienced this lately, have they changed their receipe?

and can anyone suggest an alternative feed,

[shirlthegirl43]

I used to buy farmgate but the place I buy my feed stopped stocking it. I wonder if this is why.

I go to the local farmer's co-op and now get Castle feeds layers pellets. I usually have pellets and mash at this time of year and if there are enough peelings and bits they girls get mash, if not they get pellets.

[chris]

I get farmgate pellets, and so far they've been fine.. I'll keep an eye out though thanks for the heads up.

[Suechooks]

My feed guy complained about exactly the same thing Tick. He has now stopped stocking it as they were also hiking up their delivery price as well as the stock price. I know he has complained direct to BOCM about the blue bits though several months ago.

[polo]

I stopped using Farmgate for a couple of reasons - the main one being that it got really powdery but not as bad as what you describe.

I changed to smallholder layers because they are certified as vegetarian feed. I'm not veggie but I sell and give my eggs to lots of veggies!

change your brand if they won't listen to you! I really like the smallholder range layers but I'm sure theres not much to choose between them

Polo

[tlck9]

Having searched the web i've seen this, Natural free range layers meal from smallholders?

Is this a type of mash? anyone use it? if it is that is a answer to my problem

[Bramble-Poultry]

does it have to be mash or could you use pellets instead? we use the generic local feedstore for ours - CCF Farmers, but we will be changing over to Marriages soon as they deliver me a pallet at a time and i can get the pellets with added flubenvet direct from them as it makes it easier for us to worm all our birds in one go.

[shirlthegirl43]

does it have to be mash or could you use pellets instead? we use the generic local feedstore for ours - CCF Farmers, but we will be changing over to Marriages soon as they deliver me a pallet at a time and i can get the pellets with added flubenvet direct from them as it makes it easier for us to worm all our birds in one go.

Wondering now if I can be really cheeky and take a run up to you and nab a bag of those pellets

How's Mrs Piggy doing?

[RichmondHens]

I too have switched from Farmgate back to Marriages, but partly this is because my Farmgate supplier has been inconsistent with supplying it and I got fed up going to get some and finding none in stock. And for 75 p more and a few extra miles I can get Marriages which I think is better quality anyway. Interesting people have found the Farmgate powdery, as I too experienced this last summer.

[tlck9]

my ex batts, dont seem to eat the crumbs/pellets, so I try and mix mash in with them to ensure they all eat something.

If I put too much pellett in, or crumbs I find half of it on the floor, they seem to like the little corn pieces in the mash (or whatever they are)

Although farmgate has been powdery, this batch looks like bread flour - I shall be taking it back on Monday

The only way I can get them to eat the pellets/crumbs is to put warm water in it and they gulp the lot...

I would prefer to feed them smallholders as the quality just seems better than the farmgate full stop, but I dont want the others to starve, the cost recently is negligible

[polo]

You could get another feeder and put the two different feeds out then they will all be happy. I know it would be nice to get something they all eat but this could be a solution.

They are as bad as cats I say. Mine turn their noses up at fresh fish from the chippy!

Polo

[its hilly]

I usually get farmgate as my best supplier does a deal if I get 2 pellets and one corn at the same time. I've had odd bits in it, but not really owt much. My (bloomin expensive) horse feed has had the same problem once or twice.
My lot aren't kiesty cos if they try to ignore the pellets they dont get anything else . They only get a little corn for treats at bedtime, and other stuff (veggies etc) if they have cleaned up all their pellets.
However I fed D&H for a while (sorry thats Dodson and Horrell) and did think they were a little glossier and in generally slighty better nick on it, when they were only on pellets with no extras.
I suppose you gets what you pays for...but if you give a huge variety of food they'll never go short of much.

[Flummery]

We used to use Farmgate but Like Shirl, our supplier stopped stocking it. Don't know why but reading this, maybe they had had complaints? They now stock Nutripeck premuim grade layers' pellets. Interestingly, they still seem to have some Farmgate mash in stock.

[Snadger]

I've just been and bought my usual fortnightly five bags of Farmgate Layers pellets today.
Ran short last week and had to go to Jolley's pet food shop and pay nearly 8 squid for a bag of some other stuff! was surprised to see the mash was more expensive than the pellets?
£28 today for 5 X 20Kg bags of layers pellets...........thats £5.60 a bag (heck of a difference from Jolley's where the same ammount of pellets would have cost £40!)

Farmgate stuff is cheap, has no GM material and my chooks love it and thrive on it.

Only thing I have noticed is that for my last batch the bags were sealed top and bottom whereas todays batch and batches before have a woven thread along the top. Easier to pull the cord and rip the top open!

As long as its stocked locally and is cheaper than Jolley's I will keep buying it!

[frias]

Last sack of Farmgate pellets had gone up from £6 to £6.50 and I have noticed they are a bit more powdery than usual but no blue plastic bits or paper.