Have you noticed any differances?

[Katiean]

I feed my horses Beet Pulp. I have been feeding the same brand forever. The feed store ran out and I had to find it at another store. They sold a different brand but, I figured beet pulp was beet pulp. I always feed it soaked. The old brand was rather packed in the bag. I would use 1 1/2 cups beet pulp and 2 cups of hot water. There was always some water left in the beet pulp. The new brand is loose in the bag and I use 1 1/2 cups beet pulp and 3 cups of hot water. There is about the same amount of water left in the beet pulp as with the other mixture. I didn't think the other beet pulp was any wetter than the new stuff.

 

[Bonny]

The only thing I can think is maybe the new beet pulp is thicker cut? needs more water to absorb?

 

[coopermini]

Not all beet pulp is processed the same. There are many plants that process and sell it. We have been getting some really crappy beet pulp this fall and into winter. There are some pellets (about 1/3 of them) that seem to have lots of added molasses and they take forever to breakdown.

We had to change brands this fall as our regualr source (Blue Seal) ran out and said it would be Jan before they could get any. We bought a ton of Sure Gain brand from Quebec. Quality is horrible and changes from bag to bag. Others near us have had similar issues with other brands as well this winter.

 

[Lewella]

The reason beet pulp is sometimes harder to get in the winter is the big sugar plants in the Red River Valley in Minnesota and North Dakota don't produce dried pulp this time of year. This is wet pulp season and much of that is trucked directly to cattle farms and fed up as a silage alternative. Once the weather starts to warm they will start producing dried again.

 

[crponies]

Of course, something that probably would have been better to do is to weigh the feed. 1 1/2 cups of one brand is not necessarily the same amount as 1 1/2 cups of the other brand. You could be feeding a different weight of dry matter now compared to the old brand.

 

[Sue S]

I found some beat pulp different than others to, when I buy it at one store the flakes are bigger than another store I buy it at, the bigger flakes take the same amount of water and it soaks the water up better, when I use the smaller size flakes I have to add more flakes using the same amount of water and I think that the color looks a little different.

 

[Warpony]

Of course, something that probably would have been better to do is to weigh the feed. 1 1/2 cups of one brand is not necessarily the same amount as 1 1/2 cups of the other brand. You could be feeding a different weight of dry matter now compared to the old brand.

I highly recommend this. I feed pellets, but when I can't get them I feed shreds. I have discovered that even pellets from the same company can vary quite a bit, so feeding by weight is the only way i can be sure they are actually getting the same amount every day.

And yes, even the same amount of weight will sometimes soak up very different amounts of water. The bag I have now, 2 pounds of beet pulp will soak up a half bucket of water, the last bag of pellets from the same company only soaked up half that much.