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 Expert
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| We have a brand new tractor supply in town. Love the store but seems like all their horse feed is to old! Brand new store so they must have gotten old.stock from warehouse etc. The omelene 200 I wanted had a date of 4th of July! Isint that a bit old for a sweet feed? I even looked for lower bags with newer dates and they were all the same. Thanks. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I would never buy feed from Tractor Supply's for my horses they dont move their feed fast so it sits longer, the only feed i buy is catfish food, cat food, dog food. |
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Expert
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| Thanks. My ultium is pretty fresh with a mid Sept date. I don't mind if it's month or 2, but 4 months is a bit far.
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Expert
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| Just called Purina. Gal said that feed should have been pulled long time ago. She confirmed that fresh feed is shipped to a central location then distributed to stores. You would think that if they were a big Purina Retailer that they would get on them for this type of stuff. |
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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
Location: North Dakota | This seems like an odd question.....in ND we harvest corn oats barley-all grains in the fall. If I were to feed whole oats, I would expect my grain to come from the fall before. So what is in the bin now will last until next year at that time. If the grain and processed and in a bag and smells OK (no mold) I would expect it to be OK as well.
Maybe I just don't get it......something to think about today. |
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Expert
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| If it were whole grains I think its totally fine. I would feed a bag of whole oats that were a few months old. This is processed sweet feed. LOL |
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Expert
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Location: Willows, CA | Most grains in feed are pretty stable if the moisture content is under 13%. This is the problem with most sweet feeds as the molasses in the blend can raise the moisture level above that or draw moisture with the same result, mold. Some sweet feed labels add a mold inhibitor. Most grain based feeds also have insect eggs present that will, in time, hatch causing an infestation. This is normal, and unavoidable with grain, but frustrating. In general the grain has to be about 75 degrees or warmer for the eggs to hatch, so the feed will last longer in cold weather. High fat feeds are subject to rancidity in warm weather, depending on the fat source. Also, any feed that has raw rice bran in it is rancid when you get it, and will be worse as time goes on if the weather is warm. That is why it is worth the premium in price for stabilized rice bran in a blend. In general, sweet feed with molasses will last about a month or two in cool weather. Conventional dry mixes will last two to three months if bugs don't hatch. Longer if they were fumigated when made. Stabilized Rice bran and some non grain blends can last a year if they are kept clean and dry. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
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Location: Kansas | Have you said something to the manager about the age of the grain they are selling on the shelf? I definitely would! Or even contact the company that makes the grain and advise them. |
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Expert
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| Yep, Manager at the store said thats what corporate sent him, and Purina says it should have been pulled months ago. |
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Experienced Mouse Trapper
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Location: North Dakota | winwillows - 2014-10-27 1:41 PM Most grains in feed are pretty stable if the moisture content is under 13%. This is the problem with most sweet feeds as the molasses in the blend can raise the moisture level above that or draw moisture with the same result, mold. Some sweet feed labels add a mold inhibitor. Most grain based feeds also have insect eggs present that will, in time, hatch causing an infestation. This is normal, and unavoidable with grain, but frustrating. In general the grain has to be about 75 degrees or warmer for the eggs to hatch, so the feed will last longer in cold weather. High fat feeds are subject to rancidity in warm weather, depending on the fat source. Also, any feed that has raw rice bran in it is rancid when you get it, and will be worse as time goes on if the weather is warm. That is why it is worth the premium in price for stabilized rice bran in a blend. In general, sweet feed with molasses will last about a month or two in cool weather. Conventional dry mixes will last two to three months if bugs don't hatch. Longer if they were fumigated when made. Stabilized Rice bran and some non grain blends can last a year if they are kept clean and dry.
Thanks for the information. LOL! I think sometimes we forget to use our senses when it comes to feeding-if it looks bad, smells bad, don't feed it. I work in the food industry-most foods have a "code date" but if the correct storage methods are used many "processed" items (like the feed mentioned here) will last well beyond their code date. Good manufacturers strive for "above average quality" when putting their products on the shelf! I have never looked at the code date on a bag of feed, but I do smell every bag I open before giving it to my horses. I have a mix made for butcher cattle to fatten that sometimes has molasses put on it-depending on how fussy they are-sometimes that cracked/rolled/molasses soaked feed will last 6 months in a tote-but that is during the winter with very little moisture getting into the barn. Like me continuing to respond to this post, it seems a little fussy to be worked up about "old" feed. |
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