Bulk feed! Man they eat a lot!

[TaylorGlade]

I’m on a quest—an epic journey, if you will—seeking the holy grail of chicken feed! My flock devours about 1 ton of food every six months, and I’m looking for sources that provide bulk non-GMO feed, ideally corn and soy free. Bonus points if the company delivers because my chickens have taken on the role of little feathered vacuum cleaners, and I’d prefer not to haul the feed myself (they already think I’m their personal servant)!

If you know where I can find this magical feed, please share! Thanks for your help! May your hens lay eggs of gold and your roosters never crow at 3 AM!

 

[Al Gerhart]

You have around 45 chickens I would guess?

 

[TaylorGlade]

You have around 45 chickens I would guess?

We have 50. It's a flock of roos and hens, so we are looking for non-layer feed and offer oyster shell and grit on the side.

 

[Logar]

flock devours about 1 ton of food every six months

Are you looking for 1 ton of feed at a time? I would try and find 1/2 ton options as I would worry about the nutritional loss after 3-4 months

 

[TaylorGlade]

Are you looking for 1 ton of feed at a time? I would try and find 1/2 ton options as I would worry about the nutritional loss after 3-4 months

We are looking for 1 ton at a time. It's our understanding that it will last up to 6 months if properly stored in a cool dry place. Is that incorrect?

 

[Al Gerhart]

We have 50. It's a flock of roos and hens, so we are looking for non-layer feed and offer oyster shell and grit on the side.

Okay, so you probably do not have something else eating the feed. Anything under 45 birds with a ton lasting six months would have indicated vermin stealing feed..

 

[Al Gerhart]

We are looking for 1 ton at a time. It's our understanding that it will last up to 6 months if properly stored in a cool dry place. Is that incorrect?

I have some small catfish aquaculture tanks set up. One thing I learned is to NOT buy too much feed at a time. My first thought was to lock in the cost of feed by purchasing all of the feed needed for a six month feed out schedule. Nope, it gets rancid, the fish don't like eating it and will eat just enough to survive.

Any product with oil or soybean products or fish/animal protein added will go rancid.

 

[TaylorGlade]

Okay, so you probably do not have something else eating the feed. Anything under 45 birds with a ton lasting six months would have indicated vermin stealing feed..

Yeah. My husband and I were actually just looking at your feeders yesterday. Lol. We actually do have a few mice and David has been going hunting every night. We can't figure out how they are getting in and I wanted to protect the feed before it started to become a problem.

 

[TaylorGlade]

I have some small catfish aquaculture tanks set up. One thing I learned is to NOT buy too much feed at a time. My first thought was to lock in the cost of feed by purchasing all of the feed needed for a six month feed out schedule. Nope, it gets rancid, the fish don't like eating it and will eat just enough to survive.

Any product with oil or soybean products or fish/animal protein added will go rancid.

The food that we are feeding them currently has no soybean or corn. It's Tucker milling from a local place. The problem is they don't sell directly to the public, and the store that we get it from doesn't like to have to place orders for us and always gets snide. I've been very happy with their feed and the price. If I can't find anything though, I guess we'll just have to keep dealing with a snotty people at the feed store.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Yeah. My husband and I were actually just looking at your feeders yesterday. Lol. We actually do have a few mice and David has been going hunting every night. We can't figure out how they are getting in and I wanted to protect the feed before it started to become a problem.

I did the math a week or two ago on another thread where someone asked what harm a couple of mice could be. Two mice can become 10 pups plus the parents, six weeks later the five females plus the original parents can become 72, then six weeks later they become 442, six weeks later they become 2600 plus... From the feed use you reported you are in the very early stages of a rodent problem but they aren't stealing much yet.