Feed prices skyrocketing again

[muffntuf]

JMSMiniature - how do you like the PrimeGlo and who are you feeding it to? I feed Jr Glo to the mares and foals and one pony that just does better on the higher protein. Two others get that Ultra Fiber because they are too easy to keep. The rest get Sr. Patriot.

 

[charlottein]

Ya, I am paying 15 dollars a bale here!

 

[Minimor]

We still feed mainly oats and get a 20kg bag of rolled oats for just over $7. We cannot buy any of the big brands ( Purina, Buckeye etc) locally. TSC sells Masterfreds and some other brand--store brand I assume? That is more expensive than the Masterfeeds products. When I but pellets I go with Front Runner--the horses like it and do well in it. We have a yearling colt that refuses to eat anything but Frontrunner Phase Two--he could be their poster child. That is $16+ per 55 lb bag.

 

[mydaddysjag]

I had tried oats not too awful long ago, but I was mixing 50/50 doing the switch, and saw horses drop weight almost immediately, within two weeks (I switch slowly, over a period of 3 weeks or so depending on how much of the old feed I have on hand. Here oats are $14 per 50lb of crimped, rolled are more. Plain oats are $13 for 50lb. I did see a local farmer sells them by the bushel or $7.50 for 50lbs but I was worried I couldnt keep weight on with them

 

[MajorClementine]

I paid $16 for 50# of Purina mini feed last month. I only go through one bag every 3 months (2 minis and I don't grain much) so I'm not sure what the price has done. We are buying 8 1500# bales of alfalfa next week for $150 each. I figure $200 a ton for alfalfa isn't a bad price.

We (as a government) need to look at what we are doing to the food market by requiring feed corn to be used for ethanol. With all this drought we need all the feed corn to feed the livestock. Also, Ethanol is NOT good for your engine. It strips the lube out. 2 stroke engines like boats, lawnmowers, dirtbikes, 4-wheelers, weedeaters, etc need that lubrication since you mix the oil with the gas. Putting ethanol in the gas defeats this and you end up with blown engines.

Sorry about that. Off topic I know.

Hubby and I were talking that it would be hard to justify keeping our horses if hay went up to $10 for a two string bale. I can't believe there are so many people paying more than this already. It scares me to be honest...

 

[Magic]

Hubby and I were talking that it would be hard to justify keeping our horses if hay went up to $10 for a two string bale. I can't believe there are so many people paying more than this already. It scares me to be honest...

Oh my. And here I am, keeping and feeding two full size geldings that I don't even ride.

I was the breeder of both (only ever bred three big horses, these two boys and their dam) and the older one is 20 so he's here for life. I would sell the younger one if I could find the right home for him, but in this market it's a stretch. I'm lucky that they are easier keepers, at least so far, but they each eat as much as at least three minis. And I won't even go into the number of minis we have.

Hay costs were up last year and it's gone up 50% more this year, but I'm one of those "diehards"-- I'll give up a whole lot before I give up all of my horses.

 

[MajorClementine]

Yeah we've got 11 big horses!!!! Most of them are retired race horses of my grandfathers. Can't justify sending them to the meat plant. He quit breeding years ago but still has a stud and 4 brood mares. I figure they worked hard for him and deserve to live out their lives on his property. Lucky we have enough pasture for summer so we only feed through the winter. The other 6 horses are riding horses. Need to cut them down by 2 but in todays market even a good riding horse is hard to sell.

I'm thinking mini horses are best choice. They eat less, no shoes, and you can still enjoy "trail riding" with them.

 

[wingnut]

I know when I first started with my minis in 2009, a bag of Omolene 300 was around $13. I'm no longer using it but learned it was no nearly $19.

My 5 younger horses are getting no grain this summer and will go on a supplement only (no calories) come winter unless I think they're losing weight. And *all* of them could afford losing anywhere from 5-25lbs, so I'm doubting its going to be an issue for us. Still, I'll be watching carefully. We're also contemplating adding a round bale to the dry lot for the winter. I pretty much free feed during the colder months as my research has shown that constant eating helps them stay warm. And we can easily block them from it so we can manage how much they eat at a time. The round bale will be a slightly lesser quality too, so not quite as rich as the alfalfa/grass hay I use in small (30lb) bales.

The hard keeper (Cha Cha) is now on Purina's miniature feed along with rice bran pellets. At 2lbs (Purina feed) and 1/2lbs (rice brand pellets) per feeding, we go through the bags somewhat fast but I'm not sure she'll be around for the winter. I happy that she's eating and will continue to give her whatever she wants.