How To Read a Feed Bag Label!

[SandyWI]

If you look at the "Ingredients" list on your feed bag, and the first item listed is either "roughage" or "grain products" then you are NOT getting the same feed every time you purchase a bag of grain! Unless the first ingredient is specific, such as "Barley" or "soybean meal" your feed company will buy the cheapest grains on the market and combine them in any amounts in order to meet the guaranteed protein, fat, calcium, etc., analyses on the label. By NOT listing the main ingredient first, they don't have to print new labels every time they change the ingredients!

So, your horse is more subject to being overweight, colicking, or having possible insulin issues. Here is a very good site that explains everything about feed bag labels and how to understand them. Be sure to scroll down far enough to read the "ingredients" section, right after the "guaranteed analysis" section.

http://elkhorn.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publi...ublicationId=12

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

THANKS Sandy, .....interesting. Corinne

 

[Reble]

Thanks for sharing found it interesting.

I remember with dog food also if the first 3 ingredients is usually corn, by products, etc, and the lamb and rice for instances in later, you will normal find too much corn and this will give dogs diarrhea.

You want the lamb and rice to be the first ingredients. I remember phoning the dog company and found out they had increased the corn, no wonders the dogs where getting diarrhea.

I should have realized to read more carefully my horse feed.

: Thanks

 

[chandab]

Thank you for the link, it's getting late, so I'll read it tomorrow (I bookmarked it).

Ingredient lists that say "roughage products" and "grain products" are what is usually called least cost formulations, they can change from batch to batch to produce the product the cheapest way. The nutritional analysis may read the same, but the quality may not be the same and the combination of ingredients will change, so as Sandy WI indicated you may get digestive upsets or worse.

 

[Becky]

Thank you, Sandy for posting that information! I agree with you 100%! Many feed companies do that as they are in the business for profit and buy what makes them the most profit to put in their feeds.

There are a number of popular, well known feed manufacturers that do this. I, for one, want to know exactly what is in the feed I am feeding!

 

[Bluerocket]

Maybe this can be moved to the "Best of Lil Beginnings" forum - I think this one should be a keeper.

Thanks for sharing the link!

JJay