Pellets Pellets Ingredients And Hay?

[rsgymjam]

Hello!

Are these pellets okay? They are the Kaytee Forti-diet and here is an ingredients list:

Ingredients: Sun-cured Alfalfa Meal, Ground Corn, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Oats, Ground Wheat, Ground Flax Seed, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dried Cane Molasses, Soy Oil, Ground Rice, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Chloride, Algae Meal (source of Omega-3 DHA), Fructooligosaccharide, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), DL-Methionine, Yeast Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin A Supplement, Choline Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols (a preservative), Ferrous Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Rosemary Extract, Citric Acid, Cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Artificial Color. Allergen information: Manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts and other tree nuts.

Sorry its so long... also I was hoping anyone would know how do you buy hay by the bale? We don't have many local farmers around here...

 

[rsgymjam]

Okay let me throw another one at u. One moment while I copy and paste.

 

[rsgymjam]

Okay nevermind! I will be going with oxbow!

 

[TwoMissPiggies]

Yes go with Oxbow! My pigs have been doing great since I switched from Kaytee.
Have you checked Craigslist for local hay? Or a Farmers Market?

 

[rsgymjam]

What about the western Timothy hay from drs. Foster and smith? Is that okay to buy? And if so how long would a 128oz bale last two pigs?

 

[TwoMissPiggies]

128oz is the larger bag at PetSmart and Petco.....

 

[rsgymjam]

I have not been to petco in a while.... sorry

 

[TwoMissPiggies]

I have not been to petco in a while.... sorry

That's ok. It may last you a month or a little bit longer?

 

[Gandalf]

What about the western Timothy hay from drs. Foster and smith? Is that okay to buy? And if so how long would a 128oz bale last two pigs?

It's really difficult to guess how long hay will last because everyone uses it differently and refreshes it at different time intervals. How it is offered (bag, bin, rack) can also determine how much they consume in a given time.
If I were buying it by the bag at the pet stores, I probably would be trying to not waste any and be more sparing because of the price. But since I buy by the bale, I don't even worry about waste.

The people I got my piggies from provided a full 48 oz bag of hay. I used that up before switching them to my hay. It lasted about 1 week (2 pigs). So my estimate of the 128 oz would be about 3 weeks.

You might want to check some local feed stores and see if they might sell timothy by the half-bale. That would cut costs way down.

My rabbits go through hay much faster than the piggies. I'm guessing that between the buns and the piggies, a bale is going to last me about 8 months. So that will equate to about $35 per year. But only a third of that is for the piggies-- so really about $12/year in hay for the piggies. (And I am very generous with the hay.) That should give you a general cost comparison.

 

[bpatters]

The absolutely most expensive way to buy hay is in bags from a pet store. Doesn't matter which store it is or what brand, it's the most expensive.

The middle-cost way is to order large boxes of it from somewhere -- KMS Hayloft, American Pet Diner, Sweet Meadow Farms, Small Pet Select, or Oxbow (which is delivered in bulk to a store that orders it, and you pick it up). Any of those will be less than half what you pay at a pet store, but exactly how much you save depends on how much you buy, how far you are from where it's shipped, and whether there's any sale or discount going on. Not only will it be cheaper, but it'll be much better hay.

The cheapest way is to buy a bale or flakes from a local farmer or a feed store. Whether you can do that depends on where you are and what kind of hay grows there. I can't do it here in Houston because the coastal hay is such poor quality.

 

[pinky]

Drs Foster & Smith and Petfooddirect.com are both good sources for hay. Watch for sales and free shipping. The larger amount you order, the less it costs per pound.

 

[rsgymjam]

Would it be better to just order hay and pellets from KMS and pay the outrageous shipping? I hate shipping.

 

[lissie]

Did you calculate the cost per pound from each place that you're pricing?
You'll find that KMS doesn't cost that much per pound, compared to pet stores.

 

[rsgymjam]

I did not.

 

[bpatters]

@rsgymjam, did you look at the price of KMS pellets and see that they're far, far cheaper than the pellets you see in the store?

You pay shipping on everything you buy, wherever you buy it. The difference is if you buy an item in a store, they add the shipping to the cost of the item, the add in the overhead and the amount of money they want to make, and quote you one price. KMS sells the pellets for what she needs to make off them, then charges you the shipping to wherever you are in the country. People closer to her get pellets cheaper than those far away, and the only difference is the shipping.

Shipping is NEVER free, even if a site advertises free shipping. Companies can't stay in business if they ship for free. It just means that their mark-up on their goods is high enough for them to offer you "free shipping" as a way of enticing you to buy their product.

I live 2000 miles from KMS, and per pound, her pellets are almost exactly what Oxbow costs in a store here. Sometimes one will be a nickel more, sometimes the other will.

 

[rsgymjam]

Thanks bpatters and lissie. I think I will have to order from KMS in the future.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

I just bought 50 lbs of oxbow pellets from Petfooddirect.com with free shipping. It was the same price per pound as 50 lbs of timothy KLM pellets with shipping.

I stuck with the oxbow because the piggies like it.

 

[rsgymjam]

Thanks! I actually think I will order 20lbs hay and 10lbs pellet combo from small pet select. Free shipping!!

Will check out pet food direct in a minute though.

 

[Artista]

@rsgymjam , did you look at the price of KMS pellets and see that they're far, far cheaper than the pellets you see in the store?

You pay shipping on everything you buy, wherever you buy it. The difference is if you buy an item in a store, they add the shipping to the cost of the item, the add in the overhead and the amount of money they want to make, and quote you one price. KMS sells the pellets for what she needs to make off them, then charges you the shipping to wherever you are in the country. People closer to her get pellets cheaper than those far away, and the only difference is the shipping.

Shipping is NEVER free, even if a site advertises free shipping. Companies can't stay in business if they ship for free. It just means that their mark-up on their goods is high enough for them to offer you "free shipping" as a way of enticing you to buy their product.

I live 2000 miles from KMS, and per pound, her pellets are almost exactly what Oxbow costs in a store here. Sometimes one will be a nickel more, sometimes the other will.

That's what I said in some Small Pet Select thread where they try to get you with "free shipping" and I was told I was wrong.

 

[rsgymjam]

Yeah- but with shipping for me, I think Small Pet Select is a tinesy bit cheaper.