hilda-and-evadne Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 (edited) Just bought and opened a new bag of mixed corn from D&H (sell by date February 2013). As soon as I grasped a handful to throw to the chooks, I noticed that - unlike the bag we have just finished - a lot of grain is shrunken (concave on two or three sides) instead of plump, and there is more than the usual quantity of husks. So I thought I'd mention it here. So long as the hens eat it, I will put up with it until I find a better source. I buy it only as a treat, not as a staple of their diet. Even so, I don't think they will eat the husks. If I still had a handful of corn from the old bag, I would put it in a freezer bag and send it to D&H with a similar handful from the new bag in a separate freezer bag and ask them to explain the difference - it is really noticeable. Am guessing that these shrunken grains are from the failed harvests in the US, and any grains there that still look like grains are probably still sale-able, very cheaply, for animal food. Edited November 20, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 more like old grain or insect damage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zakjon-98 Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I have had this and I have to admit the cheaper mixed corn I buy from a local supplier near a market is much better quality! The chooks don't seem to mind it but I agree it does seem to have lots of husks in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinning Top Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 If you're looking for a change anyway have you tried Dr Green's chicken treat from Farm and Pet Place? It's a mxiture of corn, sultanas, bananas and loads of other goodies. About a tenner for 20kg and there's P&P too but if you combine delivery with a couple of sacks of pellets (also very reasonable), it works out OK. Our girls love the treats and we've always had excellent service from this supplier - wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 more like old grain or insect damage Thanks. This morning, decided to complain to D&H, after pulling out and examining another handful of the mixed corn. There are almost no plump grains. I'll send them a scoop of it in a freezer bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 I have had this and I have to admit the cheaper mixed corn I buy from a local supplier near a market is much better quality! The chooks don't seem to mind it but I agree it does seem to have lots of husks in. I must try to find a better source where I can see what I am getting before I pay for it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 If you're looking for a change anyway have you tried Dr Green's chicken treat from Farm and Pet Place? It's a mxiture of corn, sultanas, bananas and loads of other goodies. About a tenner for 20kg and there's P&P too but if you combine delivery with a couple of sacks of pellets (also very reasonable), it works out OK.Our girls love the treats and we've always had excellent service from this supplier - wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Thank you - I will have a look at that. Am very irritated with D&H because I feel "done". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Maybe if you contact them about your issue they may send a replacement bag? I am sure they would like to know your concerns and feedback (though I haven't dealt with D&H before!) I used Garvo food and have always found it to be great quality. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 Maybe if you contact them about your issue they may send a replacement bag? I decided against sending a sample of the shrivelled corn to D&H because, it seemed to me, this is a bit serious. Instead, I took a bagful of it and the date stamp strip along to Pets At Home, where I had bought it and completed a customer complaint form (concerned about quality control failure and not getting value for money). Then, with the Pets At Home staff agreement, I opened a new bag of mixed corn there and then (before paying for it) that had a best-before date sometime in March 2013. The mixed corn in this new bag was, if anything, even worse quality than that in the bag that had had a best-before date of February 2013, and some of the grains appeared to have a white powdery "bloom" on them. Pets At Home staff got really interested at this point and said that the bag would be sent away for analysis. I'll try to remember to update this forum with whatever the result is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I've never got along with D&H feeds TBH. I buy Smallholder super mixed corn and it always seems fin... mind you it take me ages to work through a 5kg bag so I haven't bought any recently. I'd certainly send it back and follow up with a phone call too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimi5 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Hi, I like The dogmother use the smallholder super mixed corn. It's lovely and has spilt peas in it to, my pekins go mad for a handful!!! I did hear grumblings on another forum about the poor grain harvest putting up the feed costs this year. Has anyone here heard this? Good job I stocked up at the national! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I switched over from D&H to Smallholder quite a long time ago after concerns about quality. It will be interesting to see what response you got to your complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I did hear grumblings on another forum about the poor grain harvest putting up the feed costs this year. Has anyone here heard this? Good job I stocked up at the national! That's right, that and rising fuel costs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 Hi, I like The dogmother use the smallholder super mixed corn. It's lovely and has spilt peas in it to, my pekins go mad for a handful!!! Thank you for all the Smallholder recommendations. I have just ordered a 20kg bag of mixed corn to give them a go. At the moment, the hens are having (defrosted) frozen sweetcorn for their afternoon treat which they love, of course, but it is too expensive except as a stop-gap solution. It has been at the back of my mind for a while that our local Pets At Home might close in the foreseeable future, as Austerity I is followed by Austerity II, and fewer people can afford to keep pets, and that I ought to be looking for an alternative supplier of poultry feed etc. The smallholder products might be the answer. The delivery charge is half as much again as the cost of the feed but I guess I'll just have to live with that. (I can wheel bags of feed home from Pets At Home and so don't have delivery charges.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Blimey! I hope you can use that all up before it goes out of date - 20kg is a lot between 3 hens............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 Blimey! I hope you can use that all up before it goes out of date - 20kg is a lot between 3 hens............. Five hens ... (see my signature) I hope to try hatching a few more in the Spring, when the weather gets warmer, because Berthe will probably not lay again. I gave up hatching in 2012 because I had so much bad luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 my mistake, I was looking at the icons, not the wording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
