By Theresa Gibilisco, owner, The Hungry Puppy
We've fed Monmouth County's horses, backyard flocks and goats right alongside its pets since 1987. Here's a quick tour of the farm feed we carry this fall, and who each bag is for.
Quick picks for horses
- The everyday horse: Nutrena Stock & Stable 12% Textured. A balanced, value priced sweet feed for horses who are doing fine and just need dependable energy.
- The step up: Nutrena Triumph Active 12 Pellet. 12% protein, 8% fat, controlled starch, prebiotics, amino acids and biotin, for mature horses at any activity level. Not sure which Nutrena bag fits? See Triumph vs. Stock & Stable, side by side.
- The easy keeper: Triple Crown 30% Ration Balancer, fed at about a pound a day for an average horse, or Triple Crown Lite for ponies and horses that get heavy.
- The senior: Triple Crown Senior, ProElite Senior or Nutrena Triumph Senior. How they differ is in our New Jersey winter feeding post.
- The metabolic horse: Triple Crown Low Starch, with your vet's guidance. Our Triple Crown guide sorts out the whole line.
- When the hay runs short: Purina Impact Hay Stretcher or Nutrena Triumph Complete, plus Triple Crown cubes and timothy pellets. Here's how they compare.
Quick picks for the backyard flock
- The daily feed: Nutrena Country Feeds Layer 16% Crumble (or the pellet, if your hens waste crumbles). A complete layer feed for hens 16 weeks and older.
- For the fall molt: NatureWise Feather Fixer, 20% protein to help hens and roosters grow feathers back. More in why your hens stopped laying.
- The treat bucket: Nutrena Country Feeds Scratch Grains. Fun to toss, but keep it to 10% of the diet or less, per Nutrena's label.
- The side dishes: NatureWise Oyster Shell for calcium and NatureWise Poultry Grit for grinding, each free choice in its own container.
- Chicks: Country Feeds and NatureWise chick starter growers.
New to chickens? Start with what chickens eat.
Quick picks for goats and the rest of the barn
- Goats: Nutrena Country Feeds 17% Textured Goat Feed for most goats, including milking does, and the 16% Medicated Pellet for young kids. Both include ammonium chloride. Read sweet feed for goats before you choose, especially if you milk or keep wethers.
- Mixed barns: Nutrena Stock & Stable 12% Multi-Species Sweet Feed, one textured bag for horses and other livestock. Read the tag for each species.
- Everyone else: Country Feeds for sheep, rabbits, llamas and alpacas, and mini pigs, in our livestock feed collection.
Bedding, without the separate minimum
This one surprises people. Pine shavings and fine pine shavings ride on the same truck as your feed, under the same $20 delivery minimum. There's no separate bale count for bedding anymore, and shavings don't cost more delivered than they do in the store. We also carry wood pelleted bedding, so just ask. Stalls, coops and rabbit hutches all covered.
What's special order
A few slower moving feeds come in on special order, which usually means a few extra days. This fall that includes Triple Crown Complete, Triple Crown Alfalfa Forage and Grass Forage, and Nutrena Triumph Active 12 Textured, among others. If you don't see your feed at all, ask. We can bring in a lot through the distributors we work with, often on your next delivery.
Not sure how much to order?
Tell us what you're feeding and how many animals, and we'll do the math with you. A 1,000 lb horse eats about 20 lb of hay a day, a laying hen eats about a quarter pound of feed, and a 50 lb bag goes faster than most people expect in January. It's easier to order a little ahead than to run out the morning of a storm.
How farm delivery works
- Free delivery Tuesday through Friday on your town's route day, with a $20 minimum, across Monmouth County and parts of Ocean, Middlesex and Mercer.
- Our own trucks and our own drivers, who carry the 50 lb bags to the barn, coop or garage.
- Order by 5pm the day before your delivery day.
- Orders over 29 bags are bulk orders and go out on a Tuesday or Thursday.
Find your town's day on our farm feed delivery page, order online, or call 732-938-4470. We're open Tuesday through Friday 9 to 7, Saturday 9 to 5 and Sunday 10 to 4, closed Mondays, at 1288 Highway 33 in Farmingdale.