[SallyintNorth]

katog I am so sorry you lost your pig but thank you so much for sharing all that information.

I was buying Farmgate and was very happy with them but then my supplier suddenly switched to another brand without explanation.  I think I can guess why, now.  And I will be sticking with that supplier for my pig and dairy feed; they've bought themselves a lot of loyalty by protecting me from the heartache you have experienced.

Best of luck with remaining pig and new one arriving this weekend.

[robert waddell]

with both cases a lawyers letter or just proceed to the small claims court        with tiva diva i think you would have more clout with your profession and background      it is a 50/50 chance anyway     both have suffered losses         
a long time ago SAI supplied feed to a farmer (pig) and his herd was wiped out that one went to court because the farmer did not pay his feed bills(there is a name in my head but not 100% sure so wont mention)
we all have to be carefull with feed and storing and if anything is suspect  DONT FEED 

[HappyHippy]

I would DEFINATELY take it further with Farmgate, when I spoke to them they were of the opionion that the feed being mouldy was no big deal and not harmfull   
Your post mortem shows that there is a problem and it IS harmfull - please send them the results (by recorded delivery), so they have proof and have to do something about it. You may not get your costs back for the pig or pm, but they couldn't deny knowing about it in future cases and might feel the need to give you some compensation. What about Harbro ? They might deliver to your area ? You could split a tonne or half tonne with someone close ? It's definately worth getting in touch with them 
Karen x

[robert waddell]

east coast vinners deliver to ayrshire and dumbarton you can get them to drop of at other customers and collect
so far we have not had a problem and feed is just made that week so stores well             the other big if    is your storage 

[Pebbles]

Gibb of Galston deliver 2-3 tonnes to us every month in 25kg bags. We're in Strathblane and not far from Reid & Robertson (we use them sometimes if we're stuck!) - you're more than welcome to buy some of our bags from us anytime.

[katog]

The new pig arrived without too much trouble and they are now friends.
Thanks for the info on alternative feed.
Pebbles - did you get my pm?
I will contact Farmgate when I have the bills for vet and autopsy in front of me.
Tiva diva - What happened to you? I can't find previous posts.
Do you all feel we SHOULD stop using Farmgate? It was a bad batch yes, but this is the first problem we've had in 3 years.

[Roxy]

All the feed suppliers near us, and even further away, seem to use Farmgate pig feed, and their poultry feed too.  I have never had a problem (so far).

Re the mouldy feed - how can it be proved it was mouldy when it left the bagging plant??  I know two of our suppliers who store their bags in a farm building and quite often the bags are damp .....so thats not Farmgate's fault, but the supplier.......not defending Farmgate, but surely they will try and say it was ok when it left their place?

[katog]

Hi Roxy
When it (finding mouldy feed) first happened I emailed and called the shop and Farmgate. The shop looked at their bags and the whole load was blue and furry, Farmgate said they were sorry gave us some 50p off vouchers and said an employee had bagged them before they were ready. It was definately their error not the shop or our storage. That said it was one error and we've had no problems before and am not convinced it's necessary to change.

[Greenerlife]

OMG!  That is simply not good enough!!!  (IMO)

This stuff killed your pig and they gave you 50p off vouchers?  I would be going beserk at them!

[katog]

When they gave me the vouchers the pigs were still fine, it was 3 weeks later the pig died. I will approach them as soon as I have the bills from vet and autopsy.
I assume it was the feed but could never prove 100%

[Tiva Diva]

Much the same thing happened to us: but the first 6 bags of the batch weren't visibly mouldy when we opened them and fed it to our weaners.  The bags were warm to the touch (but it was a hot day - remember April?) and the feed had a funny, coconutty smell, but it wasn't until we went to open the next bags that we saw the whole lot was hot, blue and furry. (We open about 6 bags of feed at a time & store it in a bin: store the rest of the feed in a big rat-proof storage cupboard in the barn)
Our feed merchants said they'd had about 2-3 tons of the stuff that was the same.
2 of our 6 weaners died - about a week after eating it. None of the other 14 that we had sold a week before we got that batch of feed had any health problems: go figure!
Our vet said he was 95% sure the feed was the problem, but the pm showed nothing, no other cause of death found but mycotoxins can be very difficult to detect. The feed had gone back to Farmgate so I couldn't get it analysed.
Interestingly our pigs seem to be growing better on Carrs Billington too. I like D&H but can't afford to use it.

[Tiva Diva]

As to wether we should all stop using Farmgate: I think that's an individual choice. We had never had any problems before this either. There are 2 issues: one is the feed itself and what happened to Farmgate could happen to any manufacturer. Our pigs are doing better on Carrs Billington than they did on Farmgate, we can get it easily and are only paying a little more - which may be offset by the faster growth.
The other issue is the attitude of Farmgate. If they'd apologised and offered compensation we might not have switched feed (though actually we probably would anyway). As it is they seem to be distancing themselves from the whole episode - another reason to vote with our wallets. Look at it this way - if we DID all switch feed manufacturers they might be a bit less arrogant! But like I said, I think it's down to how you feel personally.

[HappyHippy]

2 of our 6 weaners died - about a week after eating it. None of the other 14 that we had sold a week before we got that batch of feed had any health problems: go figure!

Interestingly our pigs seem to be growing better on Carrs Billington too. I like D&H but can't afford to use it.

I got 2 of Tiva Diva's pigs - and can vouch that they have been fine.
AND having seen the ones that have been getting Carrs Billington feed, I have to say that they do look great on it ! They are better looking than mine which have been on the Harbro stuff 

[SallyintNorth]

The penny has just dropped and I have realised who you are Tiva Diva.

How's the new OSB boar doing? 

[Llandovery Lass]

If you contact your local trading standards they enforce the feed regs and it is definately illegal to sell mouldy feed. Give them a ring and see what they say, they should investigate the whole issue and inspect the mill to see why this happened in the first place. It should not have been bagged warm.
So sorry to hear about your pig.