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Home > Well, At Least That Will Cut Expenses

Well, At Least That Will Cut Expenses

October 3rd, 2015 at 01:32 am

I'm having to switch rabbit feed and I'm not happy about it. But I can't get it here without an exorbitant shipping cost. The only way for the shipping to even be reasonable would be to buy 29 fifty pound bags at once. I have the capacity to store 15 bags at the moment.

In order to store 29 I would have to purchase 5 more containers capable of storing 150 pounds in each. I can't leave them on a pallet in the garage because we'll get mice. They have to be in chew proof containers. And we don't have the space to store 5 more bins anyway. Even if I could, it would take too long to get through the feed. It would be very stale and have the possibility of going rancid by the time we went through so much feed.

With the buying club having gone under, I can't reasonably get the organic feed anymore. So we are switching back to the feed we were buying before, which is about 33% of the cost of the organic feed. I hate the idea of going back onto a feed that might have GMOs in it, but there is not much I can do at this point. I will investigate other options, but at least getting this type of feed will buy us time. They do, at least, attempt to get non-GMO ingredients for their feeds, they just can't guarantee it.

I do have to admit it will be nice to see the feed bill drop by so much.

Posted in Cutting Expenses, Ee ii ee ii oo | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “Well, At Least That Will Cut Expenses”

  1. turning a new leaf Says:
    October 3rd, 2015 at 03:24 am 1443842658
    1443842658

    Is there a way to see if other rabbit people can split/join the cost or barter with someone that may have the safe space to store it? Is there a local 4H club that might be able to help or alleviate the cost/space issue?

  2. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    October 3rd, 2015 at 02:55 pm 1443884151
    1443884151

    When you get your farm, will you have enough acreage to grow and store your own feed?
    Actually, maybe that could become a side business for you.

  3. crazyliblady Says:
    October 3rd, 2015 at 06:38 pm 1443897525
    1443897525

    Is there a Blue Ribbon Farm store near you? They sell all kinds of stuff like this at affordable prices.

  4. LuckyRobin Says:
    October 4th, 2015 at 06:29 am 1443940145
    1443940145

    Turning a new leaf--No one else has the capacity to store it all until people can come and get it. The guy who ran the club got out of rabbits and didn't want to deal with being the drop for the feed anymore. No one else has a farm with a loading dock. We are still looking. I had heard rumors of a place in Tacoma that has a buying club. It would be a long drive for it, but still cheaper than having a few bags shipped.

  5. LuckyRobin Says:
    October 4th, 2015 at 06:35 am 1443940530
    1443940530

    Joan, when we buy our farm we are going to plant many things for feed. If I even had an extra half acre here we could do some of it now. But we will be growing alfalfa hay, clover, bush willow, oats, barley, and many vegetables, herbs, and "weeds" that the animals eat. We will also be able to have an area set up specifically for growing fodder. We should be able to eliminate all but seed costs eventually for the oats and barley. I don't know about it as a business, though. If we can support our animals and us on the food we grow with just a little left over, that's about all we can do on 5 acres.

  6. LuckyRobin Says:
    October 4th, 2015 at 06:38 am 1443940719
    1443940719

    Crazyliblady--I have never heard of that store. I don't think it's local to my state. I mean I can get organic feed for okay prices in 5 pound pet bags or even in 25 pound rabbit grower bags, but they don't order enough for someone with my number of animals. They order 2 bags at a time and don't place another order for a month. I'm heading back more towards a fodder system this winter so they can have fresh greens after winter hits.

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