The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: dizzydexter on February 21, 2011, 08:29:29 pm

Title: what price for feed???????
Post by: dizzydexter on February 21, 2011, 08:29:29 pm
hi all
just been nosey....what are you are you paying for your feed......are you buying in bulk
thanks
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: craiglockwood on February 21, 2011, 08:57:15 pm
£8.90 per 25kg of grower pellets at my local Scats.

Very interested in this post as £8.90 seems a lot when I go through nearly 2 bags per week for just 2 weaners.
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Helencus on February 21, 2011, 09:07:18 pm
I'm getting mine at £5.99 for 20kg bags but buying by the ton. I was paying £8.49 per 20kg bag at countrywide huge difference
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: dizzydexter on February 21, 2011, 09:13:48 pm
wow........im paying £10 for 50 kilos
its ground up like powder
i get it from local pig farmer
guess ill stick with it then
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Helencus on February 21, 2011, 09:18:13 pm
That's bargain! Good for you  :pig:
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: sausagesandcash on February 21, 2011, 11:04:51 pm
Anybody read the ingredients on cheap feed?? GM this, GM that....
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: robert waddell on February 22, 2011, 07:46:08 am
I am paying £290 per ton for sow rolls from East Coast Viners Grain. I did contact several feed companies and they were the cheapest. I used  to feed barley, potatoes and some sow rolls but this was costing more than just the roll feed. The pigs finished in half the time with feeding just sow rolls, had very little fat (as barley puts fat on) and I saved several hours of travelling with the tractor and trailer to Humbie, East Lothian to get the potatoes.
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: skidley on February 22, 2011, 07:57:48 am
Down here in the south east I'm paying £310 for a tonne of sow nuts
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: robert waddell on February 22, 2011, 08:04:40 am
And as far as feed pricing goes, it is to get dearer, but I hope it dos'nt.
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Fowgill Farm on February 22, 2011, 09:14:05 am
In November paid £281/tonne bags (25Kg) for sow nuts In january they had gone up to £309/tonne.
This is from Thompson's of York. No nasties in it. Pigs like it.
Farmway sell grower at £8.50/25kg. I only buy the odd bag as creep for piglets thank goodness!
I dread to think what my next tonne will be but i'll know this week as i need to order another tonne for start of March!
Mandy
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Rosemary on February 22, 2011, 09:36:15 am
I agree with sausagesandcash - GM free is more expensive butworth it IMHO. I don't eat GM, so I'm not going to fed it to my animals.
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: fifixx on February 22, 2011, 09:42:28 am
I'm organic, so more expensive - £10.50 per 25 kg bag from B & W Feeds - good stuff though, can't fault it and the pigs taste good!
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Helencus on February 22, 2011, 01:01:55 pm
I might just try an experiment as I'll keep boys and girls seperate.. Feed boys organic girls ordinary. Would that be fair experiment do you think as they're not castrated.. Don't want to raise the ugly issue of boar taint so just a thought.. May give more of an informed view as to whether expense feed is worth it.
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Hilarysmum on February 22, 2011, 02:29:21 pm
Up to Nov. about 200 euros per tonne.  Now 330 per tonne in bulk.  Single bags around 11.33 per 25 k. bag.  Is there a crying smiley here?
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: oaklandspigs on February 22, 2011, 05:38:38 pm
I might just try an experiment as I'll keep boys and girls separate.. Feed boys organic girls ordinary. Would that be fair experiment do you think as they're not castrated.. Don't want to raise the ugly issue of boar taint so just a thought.. May give more of an informed view as to whether expense feed is worth it.

Interesting thought, but uncastrated boys grow faster than girls, so you would need to allow for that.  There should be no difference between organic and ordinary, both will be formulated to provide nutrition to allow to grow.  The extra cost of organic really pays for the higher cost of producing the ingredients (less product per acre = more cost to produce), and certification rather than giving better nutrition for the pigs. 

Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: robert waddell on February 22, 2011, 05:50:14 pm
if you are going to experiment with feed/growth rates better to split into 4 groups 2 male 2females that way you can eliminate the problem that oaklands has highlit-ed good luck
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Sudanpan on February 22, 2011, 05:50:54 pm
Just bought half a tonne of sow rolls in 20kg bags at £7 a bag - last year they were £5.85 a bag
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Eve on February 22, 2011, 06:05:30 pm
Fiffix, where is that supplier based? Organic feed here is over £13 per bag (can't remember whether the bags are 20 or 25kgs).  :o

Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Helencus on February 22, 2011, 06:15:41 pm
Thnks oaklands I was thinking more from a taste perspective. Will the meat taste sufficiently better than 'ordinary' fed pigs to make it worth the premium.
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: blonde on February 23, 2011, 12:13:10 am
I am paying £290 per ton for sow rolls from East Coast Viners Grain. I did contact several feed companies and they were the cheapest. I used  to feed barley, potatoes and some sow rolls but this was costing more than just the roll feed. The pigs finished in half the time with feeding just sow rolls, had very little fat (as barley puts fat on) and I saved several hours of travelling with the tractor and trailer to Humbie, East Lothian to get the potatoes.
Weaners  you use wheat and lupins, growers up to say 45 kg you use wheat, barley and lupins, Finishers to 70 - 100 kg you use barley and lupins.   Barely prevents the fat from going on, lupins helps with digestion of a poor feed.  If barley is fed straight with nothing else then yes all pigs will go fat.  Add Soya meal and canola meal added to the feed in the mill and leave out the meat meals.   Add minerals, lysine, salt and chrom-e-late.  Pigs do well on this mix.  Just have to adjust your barley lupins wheat on your different growths of pigs.  You can also add molasses or/and tallow.  This gives enery and keeps the dust down as well.  Molasses has to be warmed so hot water added helps to mix it in the feed and get it out of the bucket.   Tallow needs a drum heat to melt it or put it out in the hot sun to melt.   Coconut oil can also be used and the same requirments to melt it.  vegetable oil does not need melting so that can also be added to your feed....just depends on how set  up you are at home.
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Tudful Tamworths on February 23, 2011, 12:29:07 am
I'm paying £269 per tonne (bagged and delivered) from BOCM. Cheapest I can find round here. Did a ring around a couple of weeks ago and most were over the £300 mark.
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: czechmate on February 23, 2011, 04:39:39 pm
wow........im paying £10 for 50 kilos
its ground up like powder
i get it from local pig farmer
guess ill stick with it then

Wow, that was quite a bargain then. I was loading up 29 t artics of whole grains for over £200/t.
Cereal prices have lost around £25 over the last 10 days so could be some good news on the horizon!
Title: Re: what price for feed???????
Post by: Hilarysmum on February 24, 2011, 12:56:21 pm
Thnks oaklands I was thinking more from a taste perspective. Will the meat taste sufficiently better than 'ordinary' fed pigs to make it worth the premium.

Only my experience (and opinion) but tried both fresh pork and ham from a friend who runs an organic pig farm.  To be honest, ok I may be biased, but my pigs who are fed exactly the same but non bio produce at least as good pork / ham as the bio ones, for less than 1/2 the price. 

This is just my taste test and may not apply to others.