Feel free to answer any or all of the following questions with any length of an answer as you wish. We welcome experienced and inexperienced carpers opinions and feedback. Questions, links or additional information about the topic are welcome.

1. What are your favorite items to purchase at the Feed Store and what do you use them in?

2. Do you know of any Feed Store pitfalls? Things not to buy?

1. What are your favorite items to purchase at the Feed Store and what do you use them in?

In order of favorites
- Maize (50 pound bag) - Boiled maize Bait
- Calf Manna - PVA and Method
- Cracked Corn - Method
- Range Cubes (20% protien) - Direct Chuming
- Rabbit Food - PVA and Method


2. Do you know of any Feed Store pitfalls? Things not to buy?
- Rolled Oats may have husks, if they do they will not bind like Old fashion oats.

1.Favorite items to purchase:
Range Cubes
Calf Manna

2. Pitfalls:
Be sure to get the right bag of Range Cubes; higher protein and cotton seed meal adds attractant.
So many choices! Need to go with specific items in mind or it is easy to get overwhelmed!
Not as convenient as Academy, so I usually get my field/deer corn at Academy.

1. What are your favorite items to purchase at the Feed Store and what do you use them in?

maize - bait
tiger nuts - bait
hemp seed to be included in my method


2. Do you know of any Feed Store pitfalls? Things not to buy?

Make sure you get steam rolled oats and not plain rolled oats

Range cubes, sacks of maize, calf manna, crushed oyster shell for my boilies, calf and kid milk replacers, sweet feed, chicken crumble, the list goes on. Will be looking for sacks of hemp seed at the feed store soon too. The local TSC doesn't do 'em but maybe Callahans will...

Wrote this entry for my Carpers Dictionary to be published online soon:
F is for Feed Store. At the feed store, you'll find almost all the ingredients needed to make for a successful fishing trip, and let's face it, it will need to be successful because after spending $250 on calf manna pellets, calf-milk replacer, cracked corn, chicken mash, 50lb bags of maize, dried molasses, cattle cubes, and sweet-feed, and a new camo baseball hat, you'll probably be spending the next month at the lake at the express invitation of the wife. Sometimes the wife will come along to see what you are spending your money on. Here's a tip for you: When the checkout clerk sees your purchase, and asks where your farm is, don't, whatever happens, admit you don't have a farm. Just excuse yourself for a few moments, gently guide your suddenly hysterical wife back out to the truck, and return to pay for your goods while muttering something about her being upset about Gertie, the prize heifer, contracting scrapie or tonsillitis or something. And leave. Quickly.

yeah, i forgot calf milk replacer.

Tony, you'll prolly have to ask them to order it for you. And be prepared for some strange looks.

Yeah, already got a few odd looks at TSC, LOL. No worries, they already reckon I'm insane at TSC, don't suppose it'll hurt my image any if I ask for a 50lb bag of hemp at Callahans too!

Pitfalls of feed stores: There's too much good stuff at the feed store not to bring at least 50 lbs of something back every time you go.

By the way, slightly off topic, but anyone who owns dogs may be interested in a brand of dogfood at TSC. It's called 4Health and it is far better for your dog than Science Diet, Purina, Iams Eukanuna, Nutro etc and it's two-thirds of the price. It is all natural and the first ingredients aren't "meals" etc. 30lb bag of Nutro Ultra at PetSmart costs $51.50. 35-lb bag of 4Health at Tractor Supply is $30.

(And no, I don't have anything to do with 4Health other than buying it for the pups.)

Oh, are you getting Tigers at the feed store as well, Scott? I'll have to ask about that too. I soak and grind them to make tiger nut flour for my homemade boilies too but if i can get them in bulk locally it'd be a lot cheaper...

+1,000,000,000

The bag I have is labeled "Steam Rolled Oats", but it still has the husk. I would love to find a bag that does not. Like store bought "Old Fashion Oats".

hansun mueller is the brand I got and it was identical to the old fashion oats but my feed store can't get it anymore for some reason. I think they are just lazy.


Tony, yeah you can get tiger nuts from feed stores. they are called chuffa and is a turkey feed.

Cheers Scott. I've tried asking for Chufas before and got that one-eyed, twitching, squinty look that you usually get from people who think you're crazy but it's against their employer's policy to point that out. I'm obviously asking in the wrong places.

1/ Once you start understanding the possibilities of buying in bulk -- your local feed store will love you
As for favourite items, I'm like a kid in a candy store !!
Whole corn (deer corn), cracked corn (scratch), Calf Manna, Hemp, Wild Bird food, Senior Equine pellets, TSC's 'soft' range cubes (very high in molasses content), layers mash, wheat bran, Senior Delight cubes (for horses with no teeth -- containing Betaine, as a 'left over' product of Sugar Beet prep)and - just about any sweet feeds, and the odd 'impulse buy' that catches my eye -- like most horse 'treats'.
Uses[u][/u]
All these things have their 'moments' - and without getting into a multiple page essay, - a lot of it is good for freebies (if delivered correctly!!), and some of it used for method mix ingredients.
Think outside the box, and take some of the pelleted/cubed items, and either grind them to dust - for use in boilies/PVA stick mixes, or coarse grind for use without having to soak before using.
I use Grits a fair bit (Instant/Quick & Old time) -- and just wish they were available from the feed stores, as they are expensive and often difficult to find in stores.
2/ Other than being in Scouser's unenviable position ( ) Be very careful about buying anything 'pre packaged'(often in smaller bags than the wholesale stuff) that might be medicated. A lot of smaller animal foods are laced with stuff that will do Carp a World of harm. The medicines for rabbits/guinea pigs/caged birds/chickens etc, are VERY harmful to Carp.
PLEASE CHECK ANY LABELS before buying.
If you don't, and catch fish -- they might look fine as you release them -- however, the toxins are not instant - but will 'kick in' later.
Have fun in the feed store

bones for my dogs... and bait!

MasterMade Grapevine feed store knows what we're about and loves it. "Going fishin'?" is the greeting we get. They will special order hemp and chufa but not in stock. Everything else is on the shelves in 25lb or 50lb bags usually. 40% protein cubes are also special order.

Just wanted to point out that this is my favorite weekly topic so far being relatively new to the feed store.

So far, I'm a deer corn at your local Academy kinda guy.

I like the idea of buying tiger nuts,hemp seed, and oats there though. That's good information!