Mazuri bulk?

[kendra]

Hey I was wondering if anyone had gotten Mazuri from a feed store where you scoop it out of a bin yourself? There are no dates on the bins since it's sort of self serve for the amount you get and all- I'm currently giving ferdinand Oxbow and am not having problems with it or anything, just curious since a feed store nearby has the Mazuri this way and stores around here have been somewhat hit and miss with Oxbow stuff so was thinking of a backup. I know there's a lot of emphasis placed on milling dates and stuff so thought I'd ask if this way was ok?

 

[AZChins]

I'd ask them if they can tell you the mill date. Sometimes they will keep the bag around for questions about it. One place taped the bottom of the bag with the date to the bottom of the drum that the food was in, it had the date of the bag inside. It's been a long time since I have seen it sold in bulk like that at a store.

 

[kendra]

Oh ok good idea, I had never seen it like that either but then again I just began going to a feed store (which is now like my favorite place ever- I'm easily amused). It's sort of handy to get it that way and really good price too!

 

[AZChins]

The only thing is if they can't tell you the mill date, don't buy it. I buy tons of Mazuri - if any of the bags have the mill date missing or it is illegible, I make them take it back. So, I go through all the bags and make sure that I know when it was milled before I let any of my chins eat it.

Mazuri is a good pellet, but it has to be fresh. For all you would know the stuff in the bulk bin is a year old...unless they can tell you otherwise. I'm easily amused, too....I like the bulletin boards in feed stores - they have the coolest things posted there.

 

[Euphoric]

I was doing that until I realized PANR at my feed store is so very well priced (50lbs for $17) and had mill dates. Plus, now that I have a rabbit its easier because now I can feed one food to both of my animals
Also, look at the bins your scooping out of. I went to one feed store where it looked like it was never cleaned out and was pretty gross. Plus, I think they go stale really fast in those bins.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Be careful with Mazuri and the dates, I have lost a few chins to a bad batch. I now use PANR and really really love it. I have never received a bag later than 2 months after the milled on date. Mazuri would always be around 5 month. I toss it at 5 after the milled on date so that did not work for me.

 

[alli713]

I'd be more worried about the Mazuri sitting out in the open like that and not in a fully sealed container. But you can normally get 25 lb bags and those if sealed would probably be fresher.

And I think the freshness issue depends on the mill you go to. At mine, there aren't many chin people around here so they only order Mazuri when the one or two bags they buy are bought, so mine are always super fresh when I go in to buy some. So it really just depends. But you can always ask to see the mill date, it's clearly marked on the tag on the bag.