Black Friday Chicken layer feed special

[gtaus]

Oh has my life changed. Today, Black Friday, and the only thing I bought was 4 50# bags of layer feed at our local farm store for $3 off per bag. So I got each bag for $8.99, which is a pretty good deal where I live. Not much to crow about, but there it is. Black Friday and all I got was chicken feed.

I hope that feed will get me through the winter. But, I was wondering, does chicken feed go bad if it takes 3-4 months before the last is consumed? It's a little hard for me to judge because I am learning that the chickens are eating a lot more feed now that there is no green grass or other options to forage.

P.S. Dear Wife laughing at me.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I bought was 4 50# bags of layer feed at our local farm store

does chicken feed go bad if it takes 3-4 months before the last is consumed?

Check the mill date on the feed bags. It's usually on the bottom strip or label. Sometimes in code.
The label date is easy January 24, 2019. The strip is October 11, 2019.

Some feeds use Julian dates.

I bought two bags of feed for my first Flock. Five hens.
I kept the feed in my house at room temperature in the original bags.
Before I finished the first bag egg production dropped suddenly to less than half.
I checked the feeder and it wasn't damp or moldy. I sniffed it and it had a strong medicine like smell.
I emptied and washed and dried the feeder. I went to get some feed inside and when I opened the bag it also smelled bad. The feed was only five months old, according to mill date.
I now have seven hens and only buy one 50 lb bag at a time after I open the current bag. When I only had 3 hens, I only bought 25 lb bags of feed, one at a time. Like this, available in 25 lbs. GC
ETA ; Egg production came back up in less than a week of fresh feed.

 

[gtaus]

Check the mill date on the feed bags. It's usually on the bottom strip or label. Sometimes in code.
The label date is easy January 24, 2019. The strip is October 11, 2019. View attachment 1970947 Some feeds use Julian dates.View attachment 1970970
I bought two bags of feed for my first Flock. Five hens.
I kept the feed in my house at room temperature in the original bags.
Before I finished the first bag egg production dropped suddenly to less than half.
I checked the feeder and it wasn't damp or moldy. I sniffed it and it had a strong medicine like smell.
I emptied and washed and dried the feeder. I went to get some feed inside and when I opened the bag it also smelled bad. The feed was only five months old, according to mill date.
I now have seven hens and only buy one 50 lb bag at a time after I open the current bag. When I only had 3 hens, I only bought 25 lb bags of feed, one at a time. Like this, available in 25 lbs.View attachment 1970984 GC
ETA ; Egg production came back up in less than a week of fresh feed.

Thanks. That's a lot of good info. I will be storing my feed in an unheated garage which will be at or below freezing for the next 3 months. I hope that helps keep the feed fresher. But I was wondering if I over bought the feed on sale, maybe end up losing some of it if it goes bad. Hope not.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I will be storing my feed in an unheated garage which will be at or below freezing for the next 3 months.

Keep it in a metal container off the concrete and dry. Rats and mice love chicken feed, especially when food is scarce this time of year.
Humidity will spoil feed quickly too, check the humidity in the garage.
These two read differently. I brought one up from basement to photograph. GC .

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks. That's a lot of good info. I will be storing my feed in an unheated garage which will be at or below freezing for the next 3 months. I hope that helps keep the feed fresher. But I was wondering if I over bought the feed on sale, maybe end up losing some of it if it goes bad. Hope not.

Cold should help extend out the shelf life of the feed. If you anticipate you'll use it up in 4 months, it should still be good as long as the bags are more recently milled.

 

[gtaus]

Cold should help extend out the shelf life of the feed. If you anticipate you'll use it up in 4 months, it should still be good as long as the bags are more recently milled.

Yes, the bags mill date is Nov and I expect to use a bag and a half per month for my chickens. So everything should be used up in less than 4 months.