[blossom1044]

I was buying Allen and Page from our local supplier, but they haven't any in and won't until end of the month.  

They do have Spillers.  Is this any good?  I need to buy some before the chickens this weekend.  

The spillers is £6 where as the A&P was £13 for same size sack.  Therefore this made me think cheaper value=cheaper quality.  Am I right?  I was thinking about trying it, but not sure what it is like?

I will be buying a small amount of the feed they are on at moment from the poultry breeder, so that I can ween them onto the new feed.  His is expensive which is why I was looking for a happy medium which gives good quality and price that the chickens will like.

[kimT]

I had to do the same this month couldn't get my usual Smallholder mash so had to have Spillers and it seems ok.
I pay £8.80 for Smallholder mash 20kg bag.

[si-mate]

I'm assuming that if you were paying £13 for your A&P layers they must have been organic (brown bag).

If so, the spillers are non-organic, and won't be quite as natural as the Allen&Page and A&P are the only company to use identity preserved soya, non gelatine coated ingredients and be vegetarian society approved.

However they will do the same job and you won't notice any difference in your hens.

[kattcottrell]

I buy mine from wiggly wigglers, its mash with bokashi added to it, supposed to  be good for the chickens and stops their poo smelling ( It really works with the smell) its more expensive than plain mash but I think its worth it. I've added a link if you want to have a gander
http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/shop/foundproduct.lasso?product_id=474&-session=shopper:5220600D0f0a81DC41nSFEA648CD

[Fifitrix]

Hey Katt,

I like the sound of that.  How much is delivery?

Fi

[Aunt Sally]

If you are changing pellet brand do it carefully as hens don't take to well to a change of diet.  Unless it's treats of cause  :roll:

Mix the two types of pellet together for a while so they can get used to the new ones while still eating the old ones.

Chickens  :roll:

[kattcottrell]

Hey Katt,

I like the sound of that.  How much is delivery?

Fi

I bought a 12 1/2 kilo bag and P&P was £3, didn't think that was too  bad up to some I've seen

[compostqueen]

the £13 is for the organic I bet. I bought some yesters and mixed it with the remnants of the last bag so they hopefully won't notice the difference

[blossom1044]

Yes the A&P was the organic one.

Our chickens will be a new set from our local breeder and we're going to use their feed first 2 days and then mix it bit by bit with the one we are ging to feed them on.  The breeder is charging a lot more than the A&P and considerably more than the Spillers.   Plus they are too far (30min drive) for us to keep going to buy our feed from considering our supplier is 1 mile down the road!  

We take the homemade pull trailer cart, child and dogs for a walk to our suppliers.  Our neighbours must think we are a bunch of hillbillies at times, but I am not using the car for 1 mile when we can walk it on a Saturday afternoon once a month!  DH has talked about adding an electronic motor to cart as it gets a bit heavy dragging it up a short 1 in 10 hill on way back.

Might buy the spillers in small quanity rather than large bag and see how they go.  I do like the A&P as a product & ethos, but as we all know money isn't as available as it was!

It's so difficult to decide what to feed them on.  As poultry ownership has increase since HFW and co did campaign there are more people making and distributing stuff.  

Another question - I presume all feed is approved?  I know it sounds silly, but I've worked in large scale food industry - human food and it is tightly regulated, but I've never thought about animal food!  It's weird we buy Butchers and Vatalin mixed with James Welbeloved for the dogs which are all good brands, but I've never checked how animal food is produced.  I know how humans is and I know that it has to (cough ought to) pass through lots of testing, especially on mass production.  I just never thought about the other important members of our family!  I took it for granted!

[si-mate]

All feed mills should be UFAS approved.

Have a look on the bag label - it should state the UFAS registration date.

[muntjac]

nothing wrong with spillers ,other than its no organic stuff ...... fed my birs on that and cheap corns fer all the time i was down south  got some here as well .£8 a bag

[geisha1]

Hi,I am having trouble tracking down suppliers of spillers chick products, in tyne/wear.does anyone in my area have any information, it would be very much appreciated. :?

[si-mate]

As far as I can see they only make Layers Pellets, Layers Meal and Mixed Corn.

Try Allen&page or Dodson&Horrell instead.

[Runnerbean]

Hi Blossom.
I work for a company that produces feed pellets and blends, and although we don't produce chicken feed from our site, i would assume that it would have to follow the same strict standards that our cow, sheep and pig feed does.
Every ingredient in every mix can be traced back to where it originated, and we have to keep samples from every lorry load that comes into the mill.  
We also have a very strict quality control system, ensuring no sub standard product is allowed to enter the food chain.
Also, every batch going to every customer has to have a sample taken at the point of packing which is sealed, labelled with the customer details and despatch and manufacture dates and held on site for anything up to two years depending on the product.  This ensures that if any problems do arise with a suspected feed issue, there is a backup sample available for testing.
So i wouldnt worry about the quality or practices involved in making your feed, the regulations any UFAS registered manufacturer has to comply with are very strict.

[si-mate]

I actually think the feed industry is more 'honest' than the human food industry.