Manna Pro recently gave its Facebook fans a $3 coupon. I've been using these coupons for over a year. Not that one, but different ones they put up as old ones expired. The others were for $2. Last December through January, I paid a little over $10 (after $2 coupon) per 50lb bag while TSC ran a 6 week long price reduction. Heck of a deal. The usual sticker price at my TSC is around $14, and has been for quite a while. It fluctuated a little higher a few times but that was in response to the hay and grain market at the time. Drought or other weather disaster caused price hikes in feeds. When the farms recovered, the price went back down to normal. Sometimes the price fluctuated a bit lower.
Recently there was some sort of glitch in the supply chain and MP was nowhere to be found in many areas. What little there was in feed stores was way too old. Breeders were not happy, and I don't blame them. I guess I was the lucky one, it didn't happen to me. It helps that I have fewer rabbits now and I'm not going through as much feed, but when I went to my TSC, it was stocked and it was fairly fresh (about a month old). If the glitch affected my store, I didn't see it. I didn't need feed until the glitch was fixed.
I wondered why the latest coupon was so generous, MP had never given a $3 coupon before. I thought it was to placate the ones who suffered during the glitch and thought that was very nice of them. Then I went and got feed this week. The price had jumped exactly $3! I had never paid that much before. I don't know why the price hike. Maybe it was trickle down from the glitch, maybe there was something in the hay/grain market I wasn't aware of. Maybe both. I don't know.
During the glitch, many breeders made a fast switch to a different brand. What are you gonna do, the buns gotta eat. Some are doing so even though it's available again in protest of the price hike. Unfortunately, here in TN, the options for quality rabbit feed are limited. There's Purina (NOT!) and off-brands, that's about it. If you want something else, you have to drive a LOT farther for it, or rely on someone to help you get it. I'm not inclined to do either so I'm glad MP is here for me. The price isn't killing me, and it will probably go back down again. If not, well, I'm still not switching.
Some breeders began to seek another feed before the glitch because they felt MP wasn't doing it for their herd. They complained of poor condition, lack of litters, poor milk production, and the general condition of the feed itself. That's why I switched from Purina to MP so many years ago. I'll buy TSC's off-brand before I'll go back to Purina!
I don't have any complaints about MP, other than the recent price hike. I get plenty of live litters and always have on MP. I've never seen a case where a doe didn't have enough milk for her litter. Condition of the buns comes and goes but it always does. As long as they are eating well, it's good. It's when they don't eat you know there's a problem. I don't even have to supplement with hay. That's another topic, but I rarely give the buns hay anymore. The rabbits' digestive systems are working just fine without it. Even weanlings do well. MP is apparently providing all the fiber they need.
Complaints about the condition of MP were about fines and corn. Fines are caused by over-handling. Every time the feed is moved, it grinds some pellets into dust. Feed that is warehoused before going to the retail store is handled several times from mill to store. I actually over-handle it as well. It goes from the car to the wagon, unloaded into the barn, and then into the storage bin. It might get moved around some more before it goes into the bin. I'm not that strong so I'm not handling the bags gently. From the bin, I scoop it into a pail, and then it's scooped more as I feed each bun. That's a lot of rough handling. I don't gripe about fines because I'm causing at least half of them. I consider the amount of fines I see to be normal.
The occasional corn kernels in MP are from the cleaning process at the mill. They use the hard kernels as a food-safe scrubber in the equipment. Sometimes it ends up in the bags. No biggy unless there is way too much. I know someone that happened to, but it was an isolated event, and their feed dealer made it right. I've only ever seen a few in any bag. MP does not include corn in the feed itself, although small pieces of cracked corn might end up in a pellet. If I see yellow, I just pick it out and toss it in the chicken feed.
There's something important I learned not too long ago about condition. It's about genetics as well as feed. They have it or they don't. A certain buck improved the hindquarters on my current young does which was something I was sorely lacking. Before him, my buns often had thin flesh condition in that area (as well as less than great structure) even though they ate and drank very well. Judges feel the rump first and if that turns them off, the rest of the animal has no chance. All the feed or conditioners can't fix that. But breeders immediately blame the feed when they think their buns are out of condition. They never consider it could be their breeding stock. They might be tricked into thinking the bunny suddenly went out of condition, but maybe it was the transition from childhood to adulthood. That happens, you know. Some bunnies are just better jrs than srs. If they go to pot after maturity, that's when you cull them. You want stock that gets better as they mature, not worse.
Another thing many breeders (especially newish ones) blame feed about is fur condition. This too is a genetic thing. Some go through the molt very quickly and are almost always ready for show season. Others are in some stage of the molt for a good part of the year. I gave up Siamese Sables many years ago because they were so frustrating in that respect. There was a very small window when they were in show condition and color, and most never regained their glory after the first adult molt. I noticed other shaded lines in the region were better off this way. It wasn't the feed or the climate. It was the genetics. I didn't have it.
I'm not saying a feed can't affect the overall condition of a herd, or their ability to reproduce, it certainly can. However, if many breeders feel the feed works well, maybe it's not the feed. Maybe it's your stock or some other condition in your barn.
I have litters. Considering it's fall going into winter, and that I hadn't bred any does since June, I'd say that's really good. Most of these does are first-timers. Baroquen's litter of 4 are FAT babies. They were getting more milk than they needed even though I only allowed them to nurse once a day for 2 weeks. I was bringing the nestbox into the house at night as I usually do to protect a valuable litter. I have no complaints about Manna Pro. Just like gas prices and pretty much everything else, I'll live with price hikes.
I also have no complaints about my local TSC. They're outstanding, and the fact that the feed is not too old is the result of their intelligent management. I know not everyone can say that about their local store, but I'm so glad that I can.
Happy Thanksgiving
