ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: [endurance] Ricebran

Re: [endurance] Ricebran

Stasia Hurley (Stasia_Hurley@cypressres.com)
19 Apr 1996 11:00:05 U

Reply to: RE>>[endurance] Ricebran
What kind of hay are you feeding? I would like to switch over to a non- alfalfa
hay but oat hay is not an option due to storage problems. (Many people have
tried it but, the groundsquirrels get into the oat hay, eat the oats and foul
the rest with their droppings. All the hay at my "barn" is stored outside on
pallets with a good tarp tightly over it) Are you able to get good quality grass
hay in this area ? (northern CA) The places I have checked either did not have
it or it was $15.00/bale. Are oat hay pellets a good solution, or are the
benefits outweighed by the disadvantages? Thank you for any advice.
Stasia Hurley
Palo Alto CA
stasia @cypressres.com

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Date: 4/19/96 10:38 AM
Reply:
1. 3 years ago when I started using rice brain (I used Satin Finish - it is
a very powdery form). Now I use Vita-Bran which is in pelleted form.
2. The "dusty" type I found took at least a gallon of water to soak down and
mix in with the other feeds I used (oats, corn, corn oil, etc.)
3&4. When I first started I gave Monte a couple of handfuls with his regular
grain mix with water. Over a couple of weeks we had increased to 1.5 lbs.
and he loved it. But that's when it also took a minimum of 1 gallon of water
so it wasn't dusty. Now using the pelleted form, I feed it with cracked corn
plain and he virtually inhales it.
5. It took about 6-7 weeks before I could see a really noticable difference
in the amount of weight he'd put on. He's NOT an easy keeper and can be a
bit of a finicky eater.
Hope that gives you a bit of a different perspective on the rice bran. Oh
BTW, I've switche from wheat bran to rice bran. So now Monte is on a very
minimal choice of hay and grains.

Good Luck,
Mary Thompson-Moore & Monte
Sunnyvale, CA