My one and only weanling is living with an older gelding. They both have been eating Junior. Now my feed store is discontinuing carrying it. I can still get the Senior. Would it be ok for the baby to eat Senior? Seems I have heard that some people do that.
Can't get Purina Equine Junior Anymore
- Thread starter WeeOkie
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Carolyn R
Well-Known Member
According to my vets, equine senior and equine junior are very similar base formulas, then they are tweaked accordingly (I know there is more to it, but for simplicity sake, there is a basic formula with similar ingredients among particular formulas under the same brand).
With that said, the formula should be pretty similar, but you may need to add the extra oomph needed by supplementing the weanling with calf manna (love giving this to those that are "just lacking" in some way) or something similar. I have, when I was breeding, fed equine senior to all my horses! Including weanlings, with good results, very easy to to digest.
With that said, the formula should be pretty similar, but you may need to add the extra oomph needed by supplementing the weanling with calf manna (love giving this to those that are "just lacking" in some way) or something similar. I have, when I was breeding, fed equine senior to all my horses! Including weanlings, with good results, very easy to to digest.
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chandab
Well-Known Member
Not Purina brand, but I fed senior top dressed with a little Calf Manna to my weanlings last winter and I think they came out of winter looking great. [i had fed them some growth formula while they were nursing, but I had to special order it, and the store manager was getting difficult to work with, so I just switched them over to the senior with a little Calf Manna and they did great.] There are other feeds, besides Calf Manna, that can be used to up the protein level in the senior for a weanling, its just that Calf Manna is usually pretty readily available in most areas (or can be ordered on-line, if you want to pay shipping).
chandab
Well-Known Member
There are other things to boost protein levels with, even alfalfa pellets can boost protein levels (depending on the particular product). Protein is one of the biggest differences between growth and senior formulas; depending on the brand, you might not need to top dress with anything. The senior I can get is just 12% protein, so would need a bit of a protein boost to be close to growth formulas of 14-16%; other seniors are already 14%, so probably would work just fine as is. [For example: Triple Crown, both senior and growth are 14% protein. I did speak with one of their nutritionists, and was told it would be fine to use senior for youngsters.]
