FLOCK RAISER in question

[ChickNanny13]

Has anyone noticed the difference in color and ingredients with the Flock Raiser feed?
I keep the labels off the bags, notate the date I purchased and the mill date. Here in Hawaii we get what we get

June 19, 2021 - I purchased a 25# bag with the date *1MAY17RIV* discovered the change in ingredients & yellow in color (corn) Photo #1
July 30, 2021 - Purchased a 50# bag as there was not 25#, date *1JUN160KC1*. Photo #2
Oct 23, 2021 - Purchased a 50# bag, date *LL-532-K7 06-06-2021 0505 36380 plus a green tag on front (?), color is brown & changes in the ingredients. Photo #3

I'm guessing the Mill Date is June 06 and it's now Oct 23 ... 4 months "old" IF so, this is what we (Hawaii) have to deal with
We do have many raising chickens here and there has been times we are without. I'm assuming we get the "leftovers", hence the "old" feed. I'm hoping I'm reading it wrong. Correct me if I'm wrong, please

 

[SamMiller]

Gosh that's weird. I imagine it's because of your location.

Here in Cali, the Flock Raiser I get is pretty fragrant and has a nice yellowy-sandy color. I'd have to wait until tomorrow morning to see the ingredients exactly.

The fact it might be that old is an issue considering, to my knowledge, chicken food generally should not sit around for more than 3-4 months.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Purina has several grain mills across the country and even hires out mills to produce feed.
Available ingredients vary across the country different times of the year, but the guaranteed analysis stays the same.

I'm guessing it just takes longer to ship feed to Hawaii with the processing and packing the container and loading on the ship and traveling.
Then unloading the ship at port and transporting to warehouse and distribution to the store.

I've had feed go bad 5 months from mill date stored inside my house only once in 5 years.
It was bought during winter season, cold damp conditions typical here. It was 3 months old when I bought it.

The oldest feed I've ever fed was over 6 months old when I opened bag. It still smelled good and chickens readily ate it.
It was last year when stores were sold out of many feeds. I bought extra feed myself when it was available.

Tags show mill date I copied from strip and date I opened. Old feed on left.
Most recent feed was opened within 2 months of mill date, typical. I like to finish feed within 5 months of mill date.
I store feed in a spare room inside my house and only keep a large coffee can of feed inside coops to top off feeders for my 11 chickens.

I would say to store your feed inside your house if possible under climate controlled conditions and purchase feed monthly.

I purchase feed monthly on average when I have about 2 weeks of feed left. GC

 

[ChickNanny13]

@GC-Raptor
Thank you for pointing out the Manufactured By and Manufactured For, something I never noticed. I figured the change in ingredients was due to what they could get. I keep my tags & write what I assume is the Mill Date (stamped on the bottom crease of bag), date of purchase & I do keep notes when purchased/used also.

It takes about 3 - 4wks for shipping here and that's all depending on the weather and ocean conditions. Having read somewhere here about freezing feed, I started doing that a couple of years ago. Rebagging the feed into freezer gallon double zip bags. Defrosting in the house where I run dehumidifiers 24/7 in all the rooms, it does get very humid here.

Having only 3 chickens a 50# bag lasts about 2 1/2 months. Only this year has the TSC/Dels here provided us with 25# bag, we don't get the variety. you all do. 25# bag lasts about 2 months but factoring the "Murphy" factor with shipping this time of the year decided to stick with the 50# ... TSC/Dels didn't have 25# when I needed it a couple months ago.

Thank you again.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Lee over at TSC/Dels is looking into the "change". He was shocked by the color difference and the tag itself was different. Asked if feed wet or moldy ... No but it does smell different (attracted some flies) and there was no "dust" at all. Prior feed (all was "Manufactured By") always has dust/fines. He asked if the chickens are eating, having tried yet as I got 2wks of the prior bag. Lee said he'd look into this and get back to me.

I did mention to him what @GC-Raptor mentioned about the "By" and "For" ... He was not aware. We went around looking at tags on the feeds ... Looks like crumbles are now being "Manufactured For" while FR Pellets are "Manufactured By" ... I also saw the Dumor brand (Manufactured For) which cost less but I dont like the results with my chickens.

Called a friend as she purchased 2 bags earlier last week ... Chickens are eating and started laying again but some are now starting to eat their eggs since she started the bag. The weather has gotten better, no rain and the Sun's out the past couple days. Unclear as to why they're eating their eggs ... Is it the feed or something else? She'll monitor

Decided to start fermenting a cup of this new feed, sooner I know if there's any change in my girls the better. Noticing the smell and reaction to the water is different and looks/smells more like the Dumor feed when I did try a bag YEARS ago. Takes 3 days ferment before I feed to the girls. They've started laying again too, hoping this good weather continues ... 3 wks of rainy weather not the best for egg laying.

 

[ChickNanny13]

A friend took the bag of feed, I wasn't comfortable feeding it and was going to purchase a bag of pellets to keep it similar. She gave me one of hers purchased a month ago. That's when we notice the difference in the bags and the color of the feed (#2) was a shade darker, it wasn't as noticeable at the bag (#1) in question.

Pic#3 - "Manufactured By" there was a tape sewn at the bottom with the Mill date stamped on that tape. "Manufactured For" was just sewn with a (# 5) green sticker tag on the top front of the bag. What I thought was the Mill Date on the bag in question isn't, it's the numbers on the green tag but no clue what the code is. Different products have different colors, so assuming its the date. That long narrow white strip (#5) I thought was the Mill date, no clue what it is.

Anyone know what that stamp in the back lower right of the bag next to the UPS is (#3 & #4)? The one on my friends bag (#4) says 'Sept 2020' while the Mill date is 'Aug 17'

Lee from TSC/Dels called me this morning ... His Purina Rep from the Mainland wanted pictures of the tags. Good to know someone's looking into it. You all maybe done with this subject but I sure like to know what I'm feeding my animals.
Warehouse was unloading today, notice more changes to the labels I won't get into.

 

[K0k0shka]

That's odd. I use Purina flock raiser crumbles, too. Just checked the ingredients lists on the last 3 bags I used (haven't thrown out the empty bags yet). All 3 are identical. I order them from the TSC website and by the time they arrive, they're about 2 weeks from the mill date, so they're quite fresh. And yet, the contents of every bag look slightly different. Some are more yellow than others. Some are ground finer than others. Some have a very pleasant, noticeable grain/flour smell, like fresh bread, while others barely smell like anything at all. I don't know why they're so inconsistent, given that the ingredients lists and the age of the feed is the same every time. Maybe there's less of an emphasis on consistency when it comes to animal feed, compared to human food. Humans are weird about consistency and perfection with their food. They want every apple at the store to be perfectly round and shiny, and view any misshapen fruit with suspicion, even if it's fresh and perfectly fine to eat. So I'd worry more about the age of the feed than what it looks like, or even its ingredients list, if the nutritional quality is the same as guaranteed by the brand. My chickens don't seem to care that their feed looks and smells a little different every time I start a new bag. They still eat it just fine.

 

[jher77]

Anyone know what that stamp in the back lower right of the bag next to the UPS is (#3 & #4)? The one on my friends bag (#4) says 'Sept 2020' while the Mill date is 'Aug 17'

The number on the bag is the bags numbers. The bag was made Sept 18 2020 along with a plant code and such. The number on the bottom seal is the mill date which is Aug17 2021 along with its plant code and such.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

A friend took the bag of feed, I wasn't comfortable feeding it and was going to purchase a bag of pellets to keep it similar. She gave me one of hers purchased a month ago. That's when we notice the difference in the bags and the color of the feed (#2) was a shade darker, it wasn't as noticeable at the bag (#1) in question.

Pic#3 - "Manufactured By" there was a tape sewn at the bottom with the Mill date stamped on that tape. "Manufactured For" was just sewn with a (# 5) green sticker tag on the top front of the bag. What I thought was the Mill Date on the bag in question isn't, it's the numbers on the green tag but no clue what the code is. Different products have different colors, so assuming its the date. That long narrow white strip (#5) I thought was the Mill date, no clue what it is.

Anyone know what that stamp in the back lower right of the bag next to the UPS is (#3 & #4)? The one on my friends bag (#4) says 'Sept 2020' while the Mill date is 'Aug 17'

Lee from TSC/Dels called me this morning ... His Purina Rep from the Mainland wanted pictures of the tags. Good to know someone's looking into it. You all maybe done with this subject but I sure like to know what I'm feeding my animals.
Warehouse was unloading today, notice more changes to the labels I won't get into.

Purina told me the date on the bag near the UPC label was the date the bag was made/printed. Like mentioned above ^^^

 

[ChickNanny13]

The number on the bag is the bags numbers. The bag was made Sept 18 2020 along with a plant code and such. The number on the bottom seal is the mill date which is Aug17 2021 along with its plant code and such.

I assumed such .... Purina contacted me and wanted more info, so sent pictures of feed, bag, tag and receipt. It's been about a week, haven't heard back. TSC/Mainland contacted me, saying I could return bag within 30days with receipt ... TSC/Hilo did not mention and it's too late. Guess I'm just making too much out of nothing but I having changed brands of feed I do see a difference in the girls. Then again having only 3 or 4 at a time so I'm probably more Thank goodness for you all for advice & help