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Cheaper alternative to hemcore?

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Hi all, I went to our local horsey typed place yesterday and the hemcore price has gone up- yet again.

It was £6, which was good :D.

Then it went to £7...which is Ok.

Then £7.50.....

Now, £9 :shock:.

 

Ok- so it's not that much, but with:

* A bale of hemcore £9

* A 5kg bag of mixed corn £4.99

* A 10kg bag of layers pellets £9.99

* A 5kg bag of chick crumb (for our babies) £2.99

* Mixed poultry grit £4.99

* Chick grit £2.99

 

That's about £36 every 3 weeks :shock: (apart for the hemcore, which is bought weekly.) Everything is getting more and more expensive from where we buy our supplys from. So does anyone have any suggestions on what we could use which is just as absorbent as hemcore but cheaper? Also, anyone know anywhere we can get our feed from a bit cheaper? I don't mind ordering online...

 

xx

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Easibed is cheaper - I paid £6.36 for a huge bale. Quite a few people on here use it so I think it's OK and more readily available as our local petshop stocks it (rather than having to rely on Horsey places).

 

Haven't used any yet though - just stocking up for their imminent arrival!! :D

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Hi all, I went to our local horsey typed place yesterday and the hemcore price has gone up- yet again.

It was £6, which was good :D.

Then it went to £7...which is Ok.

Then £7.50.....

Now, £9 :shock:.

 

Ok- so it's not that much, but with:

* A bale of hemcore £9

* A 5kg bag of mixed corn £4.99

* A 10kg bag of layers pellets £9.99

* A 5kg bag of chick crumb (for our babies) £2.99

* Mixed poultry grit £4.99

* Chick grit £2.99

 

That's about £36 every 3 weeks :shock: (apart for the hemcore, which is bought weekly.) Everything is getting more and more expensive from where we buy our supplys from. So does anyone have any suggestions on what we could use which is just as absorbent as hemcore but cheaper? Also, anyone know anywhere we can get our feed from a bit cheaper? I don't mind ordering online...

 

xx

 

Your feed is REALLY EXPENSIVE. Is it organic?

 

I buy Mole Valley stuff in bulk-25kg and it costs about £6. It's not organic, but not all organic material would be from Britain. The same with the mixed corn.

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Easibed is the cheapest bedding I have found, it's slightly co"Ooops, word censored!"r than aubiose.

 

I buy marriages feed from our local poultry place - it's £8 for a big sack (about 20kg). You get through it pretty quickly, so it might be worth buying 3months at a time to save on courier charges if you have the storage space. You can buy it online from their website but unless you register it won't show the price!!

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Your country store is definitely very expensive! I haven't bought mixed corn for a while, but a 3kg bag of indigo high-protein wheat from Wiggly Wigglers is only three quid and I'm pretty sure that's a lot more expensive than plain old mixed corn, even organic. And I'm also pretty sure that the 20kg sack of Marriage's organic pellets was around nine or ten pounds, which is half what you are paying.

 

Hemcore is probably expensive at the moment because there's a shortage owing to the bad weather last year. Ditto any wheat-based feed - the farming community has been hit really hard by rocketing prices, as you may have noticed from the rising price of bread, eggs, etc in the supermarkets!

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Hi, Have you tried Gibsons at Kingsley in Cheshire? I also got some easibed from a farm near Crewe for £5 for a large bale. He was advertising on ebay, watch the advert though the auction is not for the easibed just the picture, it may not be there now. I just asked for a buy it now price. The easibed is good and he did say he was getting some easichick bedding in stock shortly. Sorry I do not have his number to give you.

 

I did try the organic pellets however the chickens did not like them as much.

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Gosh, your supplies are really expensive! I pay just over £7 for Hemcore, which lasts for weeks. £5.96 for 20Kg free range pellets and £3.49 for 5Kg mixed corn, which lasts for several months. If you can manage to talk to one of your local breeders or egg suppliers, I'm sure they could put you in touch with somewhere cheaper. I was given several good options by a local breeder.

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This Hemcore...do people put this in their run even if its on a grass lawn? I just wondered because my (orange) Eglu is being delivered next friday complete with 2 chooks and i plan on having them on lawn then just move it around every other day or so.

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I don't have a cube, just an eglu which isn't maybe as easy to move, but I think moving it every day or so would become a real chore very quickly! I don't think there are many people who have managed to keep that up - most opt for a permanent run. As for change of scenery, any freeranging you can give them allows for that. You can put perches, dustbathes, etc in the run to keep them amused too.

 

Certainly give moving it often a go - but have plans for a permanent run on the back burner just in case :wink: .

 

Another thought, moving it in the summer will certainly be easier than braving the wind/rain/snow/mud we've all had recently!

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We have an Eglu on the grass which we move once a week, we put hemcore in the run and then when we move the eglu we just sweep up the hemcore complete with poo and put it in the compost bin, it doesn't take long and the grass doesn't look too bad the only downside is having the shower curtain on the run to keep the chooks and the ground dry means the grass goes a bit yellow but it does recover :lol:

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lol im used to the rain etc! My dog still needs walking no matter what the weather-we're always out in monsoons,blizzards and hurricanes! :lol:

 

I was originally gonna build a static coop & run,but when i read about the Eglu's portability and practicality-it sold me.I know to some it maybe a chore to move it regulary,but it wouldnt bother me at all. :D

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