Please help me find a better rodent food supplier!!!

[WaRocker]

My local feed store keeps charging more and more for Mazuri 6F. It is now up to $23.99 for a 50 lb bag. Can anyone recomend somewhere that sells cheaper???? Please send any suggestions in Central to NE Florida or SE Georgia!

Mike

I am here to help you. The best service and food around!

http://rodentpro.com/

[littleindiangirl]

I pay $29.99 per 50lb 6F bag...which is a bit pricey. I'm interested in the Kent product as there are tons of Kent feed stores here in Iowa and no doubt I could just goto Muscatine and pick it up. : )


I'd be interested to know the type of kent food recommended?

Thanks!

I would personally recommend 19% for rats. Which is the label I copied and pasted up there.

I would call their customer service line and talk to a rep. They are all very helpful and would give you a good idea of how much you would be spending.

Trust me, it's a lot less expensive then you would believe.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

connie, compare this to what you provided by kent... 16 percent protein, but compare the ingredients. It is for the most part the same stuff made by purina.... $11.70 for a 50lb bag.

PURINA® SOW & PIG BUILDER COMPLETE
FOR ALL CLASSES OF SWINE

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Crude Protein (Min) 16%

Lysine (Min) 0.60%

Crude Fat (Min) 3.0%

Crude Fiber (Max) 7.0%

Calcium (Ca) (Min) 0.60%

Calcium (Ca) (Max) 1.10%

Phosphorus (P) (Min) 0.65%

Salt (NaCl) (Min) 0.25%

Salt (NaCl) (Max) 0.75%

Selenium (Se) (Min) 0.30 ppm


Ingredients:
Processed grain by-products, grain products, plant protein products, roughage products, molasses products, calcium carbonate, animal protein products, salt, monocalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, calcium iodate, selenium yeast, vitamin D3 supplement, sodium selenite.



RUMINANT MEAT AND BONE MEAL FREE

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Please let me add... I know you personally prefer 19% protein, but keep in mind Mazuri 6F is 16%.

Do you see anything in this hog feeds ingredients that set off any alarms?

thanks for you help.

Mike

[littleindiangirl]

The blue is from Harlan's own Nutritional Analysis.

PURINA® SOW & PIG BUILDER COMPLETE
FOR ALL CLASSES OF SWINE

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Crude Protein (Min) 16% - 18-19%

Lysine (Min) 0.60% - 0.92%

Crude Fat (Min) 3.0% - 6.0%

Crude Fiber (Max) 7.0% - 3.8%

Calcium (Ca) (Min) 0.60% - 1.0%

Calcium (Ca) (Max) 1.10% -1.0%

Phosphorus (P) (Min) 0.65% - 0.65%

Salt (NaCl) (Min) 0.25% - 0.23%

Salt (NaCl) (Max) 0.75% - 0.23%

Selenium (Se) (Min) 0.30 ppm - 200 ug/kg **not sure how the ppm measures up to ug/kg.

As to the ingredients themselves, I'd take concern over the roughage products and their being so close to the top. Not knowing what they are, I would be concerned that the rat's would not be able to digest the product, with them not having the easiest time of digesting whole fibers and plants, leading them to consume more to make up for it simply being a filler for them and passing right through.

I assume plant protein products to be extracts much like many manufacturers get from alfalfa. I am not sure about that one either if it would negatively impact them, but being close to the top of the list, it's something to think about.

I've highlighted red what harlan also carries in their product, but they are also not in the same order as Harlan's, which would make me wonder at the amounts in the product.

Ingredients:
Processed grain by-products, grain products, plant protein products, roughage products (not sure on the digestibility by rats), molasses products, calcium carbonate, animal protein products, salt, monocalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, calcium iodate, selenium yeast, vitamin D3 supplement, sodium selenite.



If you're comfortable with feeding them this, then do it. I would personally pay close attention to the mothers physique, body mass and overall skin and health, as well as the litter sizes and weights of pups on weaning.

Wouldn't hurt to keep track of how much they eat too, just to know if they do eat more or not, which would shed some light into the major ingredients at the top of the lists like roughage and plant proteins.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

thank you for the input connie. think I will grab a bag and try it on 2 or 3 of my breeding groups to see what the results are....

[SatanicIntention]

The fat content is not high enough to provide adequate levels for a gestating/lactating rat or a mouse. The hog feed I get for my mice has a higher fat content than that.

I honestly would not use it just because of the significantly low fat content. They need at least 6%, if not 9% fat. I was using the 6F Mazuri on my pet rats (30 of them) and they started to look like crap. Very rough and not holding their weights. I switched to 9F, which is 16% protein and 9% fat and they are completely different. They look alot better and don't have to eat as much.

[littleindiangirl]

The fat content is not high enough to provide adequate levels for a gestating/lactating rat or a mouse. The hog feed I get for my mice has a higher fat content than that.

I honestly would not use it just because of the significantly low fat content. They need at least 6%, if not 9% fat. I was using the 6F Mazuri on my pet rats (30 of them) and they started to look like crap. Very rough and not holding their weights. I switched to 9F, which is 16% protein and 9% fat and they are completely different. They look alot better and don't have to eat as much.

How's the pricing on the 9F? I've been thinking about picking some up and trying it out.

[shadi11]

I have been feeding the kent diet for over a year now.. We switched to harlan for awhile but actually my production went down in my ASF, rats and mice. My ASF ate their babies and things didnt work so I went back to kent. Theres a family farm and home that carries it over here. and also other tractor supplies that carry the other kent diets can order it for you.
The kent runs me about 13 bucks a 50 lb bag.
We also tried the pig chow and it seemed to make it more stinky.. it has more oils and other additives that make them have stronger smelling waste.

[mxrider42]

My local feed store keeps charging more and more for Mazuri 6F. It is now up to $23.99 for a 50 lb bag. Can anyone recomend somewhere that sells cheaper???? Please send any suggestions in Central to NE Florida or SE Georgia!

Mike

Check on http://www.frmfeeds.com/80712/74012.html
I have never used it. But know of a few people who have used it.
Trey