New IFA feed

[SamO]

Ok, I'm sure I'm going to miss details so ask questions if you're interested. A friend of mine put together a small group of people (I was one of them) to approach IFA (Intermountain Farmers Association) with a formula that had been developed by a local rat breeder. The breeder is a private kind of person so does not want to be named, I can say he's been using this formula for years. Those who have seen his rats have told me they are top notch.

My IFA just got the first bags of this new feed in "textured feed" form (grain), and a lab block form is comming but is a couple of months away.

The breeder who developed it, gave, as far as we know, the complete formula to IFA. They manufactured it to spec and the breeder is buying it from IFA rather than sourcing the parts himself.

The price for 50lbs is $18.99, way better than the $32 for Mazuri I have been paying.

Because distribution of the new feed didn't occur at the same time at all IFA stores some of my friends have been on it a week already. I am going to test the textured feed on some of my rats but I'm waiting for the lab block before testing it on 25% of my colony.

So if you're in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and maybe some surrounding areas there is a new rat feed you can try. Oh, actually, it is called Small Animal Complete and is intended for rats, mice, gerbils, ASFs, etc... I'm just a rat guy so I was only thinking in those terms when I wrote this.

[lunasjy]

I may not be in your area but if others are, it would be nice to know ingredients and nutrients. Crude fat? Protein? Mice only need 16% while ASFs need 19%... so knowing the protein is important.

[SamO]

I knew I'd forget details. I have a picture of the ingredient list, with all those details but I can't post it from my phone. I'll need to do that from my computer. I can tell you two things, IFA used a top notch company to certify the breakdown of the vitamins, minerals, etc..., and two is it doesn't have as high a protein content as most people want/expect. The breeder who formulated this feed knows this, and explains his 20 year track record with it, saying the results prove it works.

For me, having been privy to the process of getting the formula to IFA, I know that the breeder believes in this and tells us what IFA is producing is what he told them too. Thus I am going to experiment with the feed slowly, now, and more when they get the lab block.

[SamO]

Here is the data I was talking about. Love to hear feedback from you rat breeders. Like I said I'm testing this, and will switch part of my colony to the grain and another part to the lab block once they produce it.