More Feed Research...
More Feed Research...
We have received a number of inquires about feed brands and have spent the past two months knee-deep in research to try to answer as many of them as we can.
We have been communicating (and attempting to communicate) with representatives of the largest grain companies on the market today. We have also had conversations with our knowledgeable grain dealer and we've done a ton of internet research.
The opinions and recommendations expressed in this newsletter are entirely our own. We are not compensated in any way by any of the feed companies mentioned anywhere within.
Ultimately, our goal is to provide you with the kind of information many of you have been asking for in the hopes it will help you make an educated decision regarding the diet of your pet ducks and geese.
We apologize that this newsletter issue may be a bit heavy with information and may not be entirely pleasurable to get through. We've tried to keep it as simple as possible without leaving out any pertinent information.
Clearing Up Company Confusion
Below is a basic list of how feed companies stack up today. It is by no means all-inclusive and only covers that information which we found relevant to domestic waterfowl owners.
There has been a lot of recent confusion about which companies are affiliated with one another, especially in regards to Purina brands. Ralston Purina was divided up and various divisions were sold off separately to other companies years ago.
As an added measure, we have provided details about any relevant recalled products we could find in order to give you a good overall view of things. You can investigate these further by visiting FDA's website.
Parent Company: Nestle Purina
Nestle purchased Ralston Purina Company in 2001 to expand and improve their dog and cat food line (Alpo, Beneful, Purina One, Pro Plan, Moist & Meaty, Friskees, Kit & Kaboodle, Fancy Feast).
Nestle Purina company does not sell any poultry/waterfowl feed products and never has.
Parent Company: Land O'Lakes
Land O'Lakes purchased the Purina Mills LLC division of Ralston Purina. Here are some of their popular feed divisions:
1) Purina Mills LLC Relevant products include: Purina Flock Raiser SunFresh Recipe Purina Layena SunFresh RecipePurina Layena Plus Omega
Purina Layena SunFresh Recipe feed was recalled 2/06 due to excessive salt.
Purina Layena SunFresh Recipe feed was recalled 4/10 due to metal fragments in a limited number of bags.
2) PMI Nutrition International
3) Mazuri Relevant products include: Mazuri Waterfowl MaintenanceMazuri Waterfowl BreederMazuri Waterfowl Starter
Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance feed was recalled 7/12 due to potential elevated levels of vitamin D. This recall involved at least 110 feed products that we could find, spanning over Mazuri as well as their other non-waterfowl feed brands.
Parent Company: Cargill
Cargill purchased the RPI International division of Ralston Purina. Here are some of their popular feed divisions:
1) Nutrena Relevant products include: NatureWise Chick Starter/GrowerNatureWise All FlockNatureWise LayerCountry Feeds Starter/Grower FeedCountry Feeds All Flock FeedCountry Feeds Layer Feed
NatureWise Chick Starter/Grower feed was recalled 12/11 due to high levels of aflatoxin/Aspergillus mold. This recall involved at least 75 feed products that we could find, spanning over NatureWise, Showmaster, ACCO, Prime Quality as well as many other of their non-waterfowl feed brands.
Although it involves NatureWise Lamb & Sheep Feed, Nutrabeef Cattle Grower Feed and Llama Mineral, the FDA issued a Letter to Cargill dated 6/25/08. This is a pertinent letter because it indicates quality control issues regarding continued feed manufacturing utilizing a mixer that was known to be damaged, not adhering to proper sequential ordering of medicated feeds to avoid spill over contamination, distribution of known contaminated feeds, and slow response times (7-10 months) regarding corrective action.
2) Showmaster Relevant products include: Showmaster Sheen
3) Purina RPI International
4) Agway
Relevant products
include:
Agway Chick Starter/Grower Non-Medicated
Agway Egg Layer
Agway Meatbird Feeds
Nature Smart Organic Layer Pellet
5) ACCO
Relevant products
include:
Paymaster Layer
Pellet
Paymaster Layer Crumble
Paymaster Chick Starter/Grower
6) Prime Quality
Relevant products
include:
Brood's Best Chick Starter/Grower Crumbles
Prime Quality Layer & Layer Blend Pellets
Prime Quality Laymaker Egg Pellets & Crumbles
Parent Company: Kent Nutrition Group
Here are some of their popular feed divisions:
1) Blue Seal
Relevant products
include:
Blue Seal Home Fresh Grower-Cal
Blue Seal
Home Fresh Layer Pellets
OrganicLife Starter
Crumbles
OrganicLife Grower Crumbles
OrganicLife Layer Pellets
14,000 tons of poultry feed were recalled 9/98 when it was found that it did not contain the essential ingredient: salt.
2) Kent Feeds
Relevant products
include:
Home Fresh 27 Poultry
Home Fresh Multi-Flock
Home Fresh Extra-Egg 16
Parent Company: Tractor Supply
DuMOR and Producer's Pride are both Tractor Supply brands. Since they do not have their own plant their feed is manufactured by both Land O'Lakes/Purina Mills and by Cargill/Nutrena.
1) Producer's Pride
2)
DuMOR
Relevant products
include:
Poultry Grower/Finisher
Poultry Layer
Crumbles
Poultry Layer Pellet
Poultry Chick
Starter/Grower
Winning Show Poultry Feed
DuMOR (Land O'Lakes/Purina Mills) recalls:
DuMOR Poultry Grower/Finisher feed was recalled 4/12 due to potentially hazardous mis-packaging (bags actually contained: Poultry Layer 16% Crumbles).
DuMOR Show Poultry and DuMOR Poultry Grower/Finisher feeds were recalled 7/12 due to lack of added vitamin D.
DuMOR (Cargill/Nutrena) recalls:
DuMOR Chick Starter/Grower and DuMOR Poultry Grower/Finisher feeds were both recalled 12/11 due to high levels of aflatoxin (a carcinogen produced by aspergillus fungus).
Feed Formulas
To date, Mazuri and Nutrena are the only two companies to provide us with information regarding the formulation of their waterfowl feed.
Mazuri researched
and developed their formulas around the 1970's
at Slimbridge Wetland Centre (waterfowl wetland
trust). Over the years they have refined the
diets to support the needs of ducks, swans and
geese.
Cargill has been conducting poultry research
with chickens, ducks, turkeys and game birds
since 1958 at their Innovation Center in Elk
River, MN as well as at several other locations
around the world.
They currently run approximately 40 poultry
trials per year on a worldwide basis. The
information and learning from these trials are
incorporated into how they design and formulate
their feeds. When they develop a new feed, they
then conduct a limited release trial to get
feedback before they market their products.
Milling
Map taken from:
www.wwt.org.uk
Photo taken from:
www.cargill.com
It's in your best
interests to know where your feed is
produced and what other products are being
milled in those plants in case of any
spill-over.
Mazuri has officially confirmed that they own
and utilize their own manufacturing plants. They
also confirmed this on behalf of Purina Mills.
Purina Mills owns all its own feed plants. In
addition to manufacturing their own brand line
they also mill feed for other companies (such as
Tractor Supply's DuMOR brand) as well as
doing custom formulations for other large
customers. All
products within the Mazuri line are manufactured
in company facilities. Most of the Mazuri
production is done at the Richmond, IN Specialty
Mill. This mill is run completely drug-free (no
antibiotics, other meds or hormones) since 1971. In the
U.S., Cargill primarily manufactures feed at
their own mills, although in some areas they
have agreements with regional mills to
manufacture their feed for them. If at any time
they have a mill outside their company
manufacturing their feed for them, that mill
needs to have the same QA/QC (Quality
Assurance/Quality Control) programs in place as
Cargill. At this
time all Cargill facilities and equipment are up
to date and proper adjustments have been made to
ensure the safety of the feed produced at all
Cargill manufacturing and Cargill toll
manufacturing facilities. In addition
to flushing between runs, they sequence their
feeds and set the order of manufacturing in such
a way that risk of carryover of antibiotic from
one feed to another is minimized. In some cases,
medications that may be harmful to a particular
species will not be bagged at the same mill as
the feed for susceptible species.
Feed Ingredients
We went through the feed labels of the most
popular brands on the market and researched
every ingredient on the list and here's what we
found:
1) In our opinion, Mazuri appears to be using
the best quality ingredients compared with
other brands.
2) Nutrena Naturewise blend also appears
to be using high quality ingredients.
3) Blue Seal OrganicLife blend is
third on our list.
4) Blue Seal's Home Fresh blend seems to
be tied with Purina in fourth place as far as
quality ingredients is concerned.
5) And finally, DuMOR was our least favorite.
We did not research: Agway,
ACCO, Showmaster, Prime Quality, Kent Feeds
and Producer's Pride feeds who all tend
to be lower-quality options similar to DuMOR.
These production-grade products are simply not
designed for the optimal health and longevity of
our pet ducks and geese.
In terms of clarity and most informative
ingredient labels (in comparison to one another)
we found Mazuri and the Nutrena Naturewise
blend to be the best.
Interesting facts about ingredient labels
1) Current labeling laws do not require
livestock and poultry feed ingredients to be
listed in any particular order on the tag. Even
so, Mazuri does
list their ingredients in descending order
according to weight.
Nutrena NatureWise ingredients are also
listed in descending order according to weight
on their tag, and so too are the ingredients in
their Country Feeds blend.
2) According to these same labeling laws, feed
companies do not have to
specifically list all of the ingredients
on their feed labels either. For example, if
they purchase an ingredient from a supplier,
they do not have to list anything that supplier
may have added to that ingredient before the
feed company purchased it.
3) Ingredients are listed according to the
condition they were in when they were first
purchased by the feed company, not
by how they may have changed after
being purchased. This means that any changes
in the state of the ingredient after coming into
inventory (whether intended or not) do not have
to be listed. For example, if a company adds
viable probiotics to their feed, it does not
necessarily mean they are still viable at the
end of manufacturing. Follow?
4) If the label doesn't say the ingredient is
"whole" it may have had the healthy germ
removed. Often times wheat, corn and soybeans
have the germ removed prior to processing. This
is sometimes done as a preservative measure, but
other times it is the result of a feed company
using inexpensive leftovers. Check the label to
see if the germ is added back in later. If so,
it was likely done as a preservative measure. If
the germ is not added back in you may be buying
grain remnants that have had all of their hearty
centers removed. Generic or Group
Labeling Blue Seal Home Fresh blend, Purina,
Nutrena Country Feeds blend and DuMOR all
use generic labeling (sometimes referred to as
"Group Labeling"). Instead of listing exact
grains used in their feed you may see
ingredients like:
"Grain" and "Grain by-products" on
their label. This means the grains they are using (and the
parts of the grains they are using) tend to
vary, making their formulas different from
bag-to-bag or lot-to-lot depending on their
suppliers, availability and ingredient prices.
Rather than having a myriad of ingredient
labels, they use one vague and generic label.
Questionable Ingredients
Menadone sodium bisulfate complex (vitamin K3)
This
ingredient (or Menadone Nicotinamide Bisulfite)
is listed on every ingredient
label we reviewed--in all of the major brands. Our online
research showed that this
ingredient has been banned from pet foods in
some foreign countries because it is considered
a possible carcinogenic. Some sites even refer
to it as a: "cheap vitamin K alternative."
Further online
investigating seemed to indicate that vitamin K1
(which is found in natural plant sources
like alfalfa & kelp) is the best source of
vitamin K and that vitamin
K2 is another good alternative. So why
is vitamin K3 used in all of our
poultry/waterfowl feed? Mazuri and
Nutrena offered some helpful insight on this
ingredient. According
to Mazuri, the naturally occurring sources of
vitamin K (alfalfa and kelp) are very unstable,
variable in concentration and/or have very low
bioavailability. The form
they use, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex (MSBC)
is the only approved form of vitamin K
supplementation for animals and it is actually
very expensive (thus dispelling the myth of it
being "cheap"). It is
also used to ensure common vitamin K
deficiencies (including those seen during
antibiotic treatment) do not occur anymore. Nutrena
further explained (and emailed us research
documentation) that vitamin K3 is actually very
safe when used in appropriate dietary levels.
While they are very conscious of their formulas,
the research they provided indicates that
vitamin K3 can be ingested at levels up to 1000
times the recommended dosage with no adverse
effects.
Porcine animal fat preserved with BHA This
ingredient only turned up in
Mazuri. Basically it's pork fat preserved with
butylated hydroxyanisole or BHA (which is a fat
preservative that may be a
carcinogen--it's still being researched). Mazuri
explained that they add this ingredient to their
feed because the fats/oils being used provide
what they feel are optimal fatty acid profiles.
They use multiple fatty acid sources for birds
because they have evolved to eat some saturated
& omega 9 fatty acids in addition to the need
for omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, and
multiple sources allow Mazuri to achieve the
balance desired between the fatty acid types.
Antioxidants (BHA) at very low levels are used to prevent rancidity in the fats/oils because rancid/oxidized fatty acids are incredibly destructive and can rapidly cause DNA damage. The minimal levels of antioxidants added are only there to protect against rancidity.
Mazuri also noted that labeling laws allow manufacturers receiving fats/oils already containing antioxidants, to not list the antioxidants as an ingredient since they were not the ones who added them. Mazuri opts to share this information with pet owners and zoos.
Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract
This ingredient only turned up in the Nutrena products. We wanted to mention this ingredient because it might seem alarming to anyone who sees it there.
According to Nutrena, Aspergillus Niger is cultured to grow citric acid. It's an enzyme that helps fermentation in your duck or goose's intestines, which is why it's an ingredient in their feed.
It is NOT the same as Aspergillus flavus, which is a fungus responsible for the lung ailment aspergillosis. It's also not the same as Aspergillus Parasiticus. Both of these produce aflotoxins, which are carcinogenic and very dangerous.
Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product
This ingredient only turned up in the Nutrena products. We wanted to mention this ingredient because, again, it might seem a bit alarming to anyone who sees it there.
While it's true that some strains of Bacillus Subtilis are known to cause disease, others can be utilized as probiotics. In the case of this product ingredient, it is a probiotic.
Yucca Schidegera Extract
This was one of those strange finds that we just have to mention. Taken from the Yucca plant, this extract is found in the Nutrena NatureWise products. Apparently it contains an enzyme that reduces intestinal and blood ammonia levels in animals and in their waste, which reduces fecal orders.
Hmm... If the poop stinks that bad perhaps it's time to clean your barn!
Probiotics
Nutrena Naturewise products list nine different probiotics on their ingredient label. While they may add viable probiotics to their feed, it's important to know how many of these organisms are still viable after feed manufacturing is complete.
Nutrena has confirmed that their probiotics remain 90% viable after pelleting and extrusion. As long as the feed is kept dry and stored well, the probiotics will remain intact for the shelf life of the bag (which is 60-90 days after the date stamped on the bag).
Vitamin D Levels in Mazuri Feed
In light of their recent recall, one of the questions we asked Mazuri was how they came up with the levels of vitamin D they add to their waterfowl feed. They provided us with the following answer:
Studies done on vitamin D levels in Pekin ducks in the 1940's suggested a recommended intake of 400-900 IU/kg in a diet containing 2900 kcal ME/kg.
But what does all this mean?
IU = International Units is how vitamin potency is measured.
ME= Metabolizable Energy is the amount of energy available to your duck or goose once food digestion is complete and waste is removed. It is the usable calorie count in feed.
Kcal = Kilocalorie (1000 calories)
Kg = Kilogram (1000 grams)
But don't worry! You don't need to understand any of this math stuff to be able to follow what we're about to share with you! You just need to know that the study in the 1940's showed that 400-900 IU vitamin D/kg diet did the trick, but they also noted that higher levels might be more beneficial (NRC).
More recent studies have shown that 900 IU/kg and 8200 IU/kg provided similar performances in Pekin ducklings during their growth period (e.g. Rush et al., 2005).
Later, Shuange (et al., 2009) demonstrated that a requirement of 1236-1303 IU/kg was ideal for growing Pekin ducks.
A review of duck nutrient utilization (Adeola, 2006) recommends 2500 IU/kg diet for growing and breeding ducks.
These studies support a diet within a range of 900-2500 IU vitamin D/kg to foster optimal growth, egg production and maintenance of healthy bones in ducks.
Mazuri formulates a 2250 IU/kg diet. See? That wasn't so bad!
But there's more to consider...
Mazuri Waterfowl feed is formulated to meet the needs of a variety of different kinds of ducks and geese. Flying waterfowl will have more rapid bone remodeling than our flightless pets, so they have to cover the needs of those birds who have higher requirements at the same time they meet the needs of our birds who can't--remaining very cognizant of toxicity levels.
And then comes the question of sun exposure...
Interestingly, it has been shown that birds cannot synthesize vitamin D in their feathered areas--only on their bills, legs and feet (1994, Tian et al.). Furthermore, the color of their skin will also significantly impact the production of vitamin D. Ducks and geese with peach, yellow or orange bills and feet will produce more vitamin D than birds with black bills and feet. Again, in formulating for everyone, Mazuri needs to cover the needs of black Cayuga ducks as well as our orange-footed Pekin friends.
There is actually little-to-no research on vitamin D synthesis in birds. It is unknown how much vitamin D they are able to produce through sun exposure and exactly what kind of situations are ideal for this to occur.
In all other species, location means everything. Those studies show that animals living at higher latitudes have less UV exposure, which results in lower vitamin D production. Meanwhile, those animals at lower latitudes have more UV exposure and produce more vitamin D.
Diagram taken from:
www.backintymewordpress.com
Also in all other species, animals living at higher altitudes have increased UV exposure and synthesize more vitamin D than those living at lower altitudes.
Diagram taken from:
www.gosunsmart.org
There is no doubt that birds can synthesize vitamin D from proper UV exposure. But Mazuri is manufacturing feed for birds that are managed in all kinds of situations and cannot make the assumption that all have proper access to the sun. Many zoos have indoor waterfowl environments where birds are not exposed to any true sunlight at all. Some ducks and geese live in our homes while others spend the majority of their winters in barns. Their feed is designed to provide the proper levels of vitamin D to keep birds healthy throughout the year in all kinds of habitats, under various conditions and in all parts of the world.
Mazuri also has to consider that our ducks and geese are eating things other than their feed. Most outside birds spend a good part of their day foraging and are also eating vegetation, bugs and worms. Many families also supplement their birds' diets with lettuce, watermelon, tomatoes and other delicious snacks. Mazuri formulates their feed so that your bird's TOTAL DIET has a certain percentage of vitamin D in it. The more food that your duck eats outside of their Mazuri feed, the lower their daily percentage of vitamin D will be.
Also keep in mind that vitamin D is very unstable. In Mazuri's trials, vitamin D levels dropped significantly within three months of manufacturing. This is only worsened if the feed is stored in hot and humid conditions. Because they know our bags aren't always stored in ideal conditions--out in our barns, for example, their feed is formulated so that even in these situations, our ducks and geese will receive adequate levels of vitamin D.
In Conclusion...
In closing we'd like to say that Mazuri is the only company who has quickly and openly responded to all of our inquiries, so if this newsletter seems a bit weighty in the Mazuri department it's simply because they've been the only ones talking to us for the past two months--while we were drafting this issue.
Even so, we would also like to thank Nutrena for coming through at the last minute with some valuable insights regarding their products and ingredients as well.
It's hard to trust those feed companies that didn't respond to our inquiries; after all, if they're not going to talk to us during the good times, what are the odds they're going to help us out when we have an issue? One can only guess...
Whether or not you agree with any of the feed information we've provided herein... well, that's entirely up to you. We're not looking to engage anyone in an argument, we're simply trying to provide some of the fundamentals you may need to help in your own research.
We encourage each of you to seek out your own answers and make your own informed decisions to help ensure the health & happiness of your ducks & geese. As always, we wish you and your flocks all the best!