Second best feed after Mazuri?

[Ephyra]

From what I understand, Mazuri is really the best feed for geese. My gander loves it, my goose acts as if it's poison. She's been offered it basically her entire life, and still picks through to get the other feed and spits out any Mazuri she accidentally picks up.

We currently feed her Nutrena All Flock, but I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a high quality feed specifically for waterfowl that isn't Mazuri.

Thank you!

 

[Goosebaby]

My geese loved Kalmbach 16% flock maintainer, though I stopped ordering it though amazon after I kept getting moldy bags. I don’t know if it’s an issue at Kalmbach or if it was a middleman issue with bags not being stored properly.

 

[Isaac 0]

My whole flock is fed Nutrena All Flock Feed 18%. Purina Flock Raiser is another good brand.

 

[3xhhheather]

My geese loved Kalmbach 16% flock maintainer, though I stopped ordering it though amazon after I kept getting moldy bags. I don’t know if it’s an issue at Kalmbach or if it was a middleman issue with bags not being stored properly.

I don't know if you've checked out Chewy, but that's where I've been ordering this from. I do 2 bags at a time to save on shipping.

 

[Kiki]

The best feed is what you can buy locally.
What does your local store carry?

 

[Percheron chick]

The best feed is what you can buy locally.
What does your local store carry?

My local feed store made an all poultry feed made from whole grains. My geese prefer it. They were recently bought by Hubbard and thank goodness they continue to mill it. Mine pick at anything in crumble form. I think it's more important to have hay in front of them that they will eat. You can skip the feed if they are eating about 1# hay daily.

 

[Ephyra]

Nutrena All Flock and Blue Seal Home Fresh Grow & Show is all that's sold in my town meant for geese unfortunately. There is also a Purina duck feed. But I really don't mind ordering online or traveling.

My concern with Nutrena, which may be unwarranted, was that my goose had a really long moult and her bill was looking a little pale. I started adding vitamins to her water, which seemed to help her finish her moult. The colour in her bill started to improve with the vitamins as well, so it made me worry that maybe the Nutrena isn't ideal.

When my gander was a baby, he ended up with a niacin deficiency on the Nutrena baby food, but both did well on Mazuri starter. My vet said Mazuri is really the most researched, highest quality feed and the only one he would recommend for pet geese, but she just won't eat it. Because they're pets, I just want them to live long healthy lives - which I think isn't generally the goal for a lot of feeds as they are more for weight gain and egg production etc?

@Percheron chick What kind of hay do you feed them? I was under the impression that hay can cause blockages, but would love to try it if it's safe!

 

[Percheron chick]

How old is the bag of Mazuri? Because of it's price, it can sit for months on the feed store shelf. I have fed the Purina duck feed when my prefered feed is out of stock. They don't complain.

 

[Ephyra]

I don't have the bag anymore because I store it in pet food containers but I'll pay close attention next time. I have it special ordered through a feed store so it's not sitting on their shelves at least, I assume they get it directly from the manufacturer. I've tried the Purina duck feed before too, and she loves it (Mazuri is basically the only feed she won't eat!) but I heard that it's intended for meat birds and isn't really good for their health?

 

[Goosebaby]

Mazuri isn’t an option for me because of the price, none of the feed stores remotely in my area will carry it so I’d have to have it shipped which is $40, so add that to it’s price per bag and that’s an $80 bag of feed that wouldn’t last me a week “11 geese + 4 ducks.”

So right now I’m mainly feeding them Nutrena all flock mixed with dumor scratch to make it interesting, whatever they’re still managing to forage on the lawns, pumpkin which I grew a lot of this year that they seem to be enjoying, and the occasional treats. They also just finished a two month apple binge from the apple trees.