fed up with feed company

Went through kind of the same deal with Armada several years ago. I could never get the pre-mix when I needed another batch of feed. Another local deer farmer and I made up our own very similar mix. I have fed it now over 10 years. Armada's mix was very good. They were not reliable in getting the necessary premix to my grain company so now I have my own mix.

getting your fat too high can cause excessive powder too. we use to run 5% but we had to back it off to 4.5 to keep it from all turning to powder. it has something to do with the pelletizing process. I am running 18% protein. also if you're putting corn in your feed whole corn is not as good as cracked corn. They cant digest the whole corn as well.

Does anyone use extruded beans in their mix? Thinking of using them instead of roasted beans. My thought is we would not need soy oil at that point.

We have steam flaked corn in ours, I'm would Think that digestibility is highest when steam flaked.

This is part 2 of the question above.


 


What is the difference between extruded soybeans, Soybean meal, and roasted soybeans?


Are all ok to feed to deer?


What reasons would you use one, and not the others?


 


Thanks 

Show Me Racks916931399252208



Does anyone use extruded beans in their mix? Thinking of using them instead of roasted beans. My thought is we would not need soy oil at that point.




Brad, I use bean meal in my feed mix because up here most feed mills will not sell soybeans because they say they belong to Monsanto as long as they are un-ground ? 


 


I know alot of folks battle fines and getting the deer to clean them up..........................And I also know how "Top Secrtet" Folks keep their feed mix!


 


 


Well here is my feed mix and it's mostly fines! LOL and my deer LOVE it and cleaning it up is NO problem!


 


Corn


Bean Meal


Oats


Molasses


Cherry Flavored Corn Oil


Dical


Calcium- Granulated


Vitamin A


Vitamin D


Vitamin E


Amprollium Crumbles


CTC 50


 


And that is it................1 ton in Bulk varies from $378. to $412.50 and I have to go pick it up. And it's about 18% Protein


I have fed this same recipe year round for 3 years and the last 2 with NO "Enhancers" or Additives or any other Product!


 


My Deer LOVE it they do EXCELLENT year round Health and Horn Wise and it doesn't "BREAK The BANK" because I have fed feed at over $750 a TON!


 


Best of Luck to everyone as I to know how frustrating POOR feed at PREMIUM prices can be.

Wayne, Would that feed mix work in a gravity feeder? I have been wanting to try a new feed. I have been feeding MFA deer pellets and they have gotten really high the last couple years. If its not your secret recipe. I would like to know the amounts of everything poundage wise you put in it. I am from Sullivan,mo were do you get it mixed if its close to me I could even maybe get it there. I totally understand if you dont want to give it out don't feel obligated at all.  Tried to send you a private message but it said you couldn't except anymore. [email protected] Thanks again, Brad

i feed extruded beans seperately too. My pellets are also made with extruded beans instead of bean meal. I have also found that MY DEER eat extruded beans much better than the roasted beans. feeding a couple pound per head each day.

Our Purina pellet is consistent with very little fines. The last thing we want to have to worry about is our feed. We want that to be as boring and routine as possible. We don't lose any sleep because we are confident our deer are getting the best possible. There are plenty of other things to spend our time on. Also, we use gravity feeders and it works great.

Wild rivers, What is your cost per ton for the Bulk Purina feed??


Thanks


Cody

wthollow917001399259472



Wayne, Would that feed mix work in a gravity feeder? I have been wanting to try a new feed. I have been feeding MFA deer pellets and they have gotten really high the last couple years. If its not your secret recipe. I would like to know the amounts of everything poundage wise you put in it. I am from Sullivan,mo were do you get it mixed if its close to me I could even maybe get it there. I totally understand if you dont want to give it out don't feel obligated at all.  Tried to send you a private message but it said you couldn't except anymore. [email protected] Thanks again, Brad




Brad, Ag Land in Brookfield, Mo. does my feed and MFA did it before them and did a good job it was just their corn was almost always double in price. All my does are on bulk feeders and it works just fine.


 


Corn 1300 lbs


Bean Meal 500 lbs


Oats 16 lbs


Molasses 100 lbs


Corn Oil 30 lbs


Dical 20 lbs


Granulated Calcium 15 lbs


Vit A 2 lbs


Vit D 1 lb


Vit E 1 lb


Amprollium Crumbles 10 lbs


CTC 50   5 lbs


 


 


Hope that helped

Thanks fr the ideas guys..AND GAL the molasses comment brought up another gripe,,,i sometimes think they "forget" to put it in. Sometimes VERY dry and light in color while other times darker and wetter. Obviously dry = more fines. We use the same mix a local deer farmer had mixed up fed up with the premium price of feed, I keep it at 18% protein yr yr but i did up the fat to 4% i THINK. I inherited this and welcome any and all feed back


Our mix is:


 


Corn 528 lbs


Soybean Meal 328 lbs


Corn Gluten Pellet 316 lbs


Soy Hull Pellets 252 lbs


Distillers Grain 126 lbs


Oats 190 lbs


Molasses 104


CLE Liquid Fat 82lbs


Limestone Calcium 38lbs


GainRite GlutenGro 18 lbs


 


$453.18 ton ...fluctuates a few $$$

I was reading to the South Dakota Annual Report on Commercial Feeds and Remedies which is a test of all commercial feeds sold in our state. They actually take  samples from all the products and lab test them to see how they compare with the percentages that are labeled on the ingredients tab. I found it interesting that some of the biggest names were off as much as 30-60% on what they claim to have for feed and vitamin values and what's actually in the feed. How bout thinking your getting 20% protein in your feed when its actually 8-12% and paying a premium for it too...... From the looks of it, we should all be mixing our own feed to really know what's in it. I never knew they even did such a thing until my neighbor who works for the SD Dept. of Agriculture told me about it. Some were really close and most of the bigger companies were WAY off.

Can you post a link??


This is not surprising at all. In the equine business I see it all. MOST feeds are crap. Very few are what they say they are. When u get a good feed company you stick with it or you will pay for it later.

 Wayne, thank you for the recipe.  I went to MFA today and they said they couldn't mix it for some reason or another. I am going to try another place tomorrow. I have a couple questions do you know what the fat, protein and fiber content is on that mix. Is the molasses dry or liquid form? I don't have much browse in my pens so if the fiber isn't high enough I will probably have to add some fiber or keep hay in front of them all the time just wondering your thoughts on that and if you ever feed it to any deer without much browse before. Thank You, again 

Jerrilee, You can just google search ; annual report on commercial feeds & animal remedies. It should pull up several years worth. It amazes me these companies don't get fined or something for falsifying information. I will say there are several of the big companies that fail the compliance check year after year. It probably wouldn't hurt to tell these feed mills that we random check our feed mixes for consistency and maybe they'd do a better job, probably not, just wish full thinking


 


Cody

I had so many issues years ago and was so frustrated and let them know it. They admitted errors and for a period of time agreed to pay for me to do random testing at a lab of my choice. After a few months of that they stopped paying because the results were within reason. That was a small mill. Everywhere has their issues. However I think the big companies truly don't care less about providing a good product or service to little deer growers. They act like we have no other options and that because we raise "exotics" we are somehow forced to except it. I have used a big company the last several years simply because of pellet quality at small local mills not being satisfactory. I use ADM but a slightly different mix than they offer as their standard commercial mix. I don't fall for the green coloring gimmick they offer. Some guys think it is flavoring and it's not, it is simply coloring. The rep admitted that to me himself. I also run a different level of fat and Vitamin A as well as protein. What some folks forget is protein levels required in the grain ration can fluctuate from farm to farm and also pen to pen due to the pasture available. At my old place the pastures were high in growing proteins in summer and I fed very high quality hay in winter. Now my pens aren't as rich so I will need to adjust my grain ration up to account for this. All needs are not the same for all farms. Folks should keep that in mind when planning your feed program.

18pxRoger,


 


 


18pxGood post. You said the green in the ADM pellet is a gimmick, that some guys think it is a flavoring.  I presume that's the Avocado Green you are referring too, I guess I'm one of the guys that fell for this... Do you have any idea what the additional cost for the Avocado Green is?


 


 


18pxGood info, thanks Roger...

Awesome Antlers917601399472415



18pxRoger,


 


 


18pxGood post. You said the green in the ADM pellet is a gimmick, that some guys think it is a flavoring.  I presume that's the Avocado Green you are referring too, I guess I'm one of the guys that fell for this... Do you have any idea what the additional cost for the Avocado Green is?


 


 


18pxGood info, thanks Roger...




Hello Barry, Yes the Avocado Green is the stuff. Tricky naming it Avocado as if it has a flavoring like Avocado's. I am not sure what the cost was. Seems a friend of mine pays about $50 per ton more for it, but I could be off.


I will say that some guys have the theory the green coloring of the feed is supposed to make the deer eat it better because it is green like grass or something. I call bull crap to that.


Have a super fawning Barry!


Roger

Roger I know the green coloring works it catches me off guard every year .but Im irish lol


 


Ed