Feed storage questions

[Mortimer]

Hello all, been awhile since I posted on here.

We bought ten Cornish X as our first crack at raising meat birds last year. They were SOOOO delicious we decided this year we're getting a bunch more -- maybe like 30-40. Will probably keep 15 or so in the freezer for ourselves and sell the rest, hopefully with enough profit that it covers the cost of the birds we're keeping.

After much searching I found a feed mill nearby that sells feed by the 1/2 ton, much cheaper than 50# bags at TSC. Problem is I don't really have a way to store or transport it. I'd like to build a few feed bins out of 2x4's and plywood but need to keep the weight on each bin down to around 800lbs, I don't think my tractor front-end loader will lift much more than 800 or maybe 1,000lbs. I have an 18' car trailer I can load the bins onto, take to the mill, fill up and drive back to my place.

Does anyone know what one cubic foot of your average chicken food weighs? Made out of 2x4's and 3/4" plywood I figure the bins will weigh around 150lbs empty, so about how big do I need to make them to hold roughly 600 lbs of feed?

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

I don't know any of that.....but I do have a question for you.......

are you going to be able to store the feed so it is kept dry and mold free if you build out of wood? Maybe in a larger barn or such? What about pest control to keep mice & such from the feed?

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

You may be able to find other storage options if wood is not viable for you.......via CraigsList ( I saw a 1/2 ton storage silo on CL about 2 months ago..don't remember what state), or even from other BYCers or farmhands/ranchers/homesteaders.

 

[DenverBird]

one cubic foot is about 7.5 gallons,
the grain feed I get is about 25 lbs in a 5-gal bucket to about 3 - 4 inches from the top, so 25 lbs is about 4.5 gal.
So 25 lbs x 7.5gal /4.5 gal = ~41 lbs.

Check my math - it was my minor but a LONG time ago...

By this calculation a 3x3x3 high box would hold ~1100 lbs. This seems like a lot to me. Someone please check my math.

make sure that's 1-inch plywood.

-DB

 

[dirtsaver]

Mortimer how about this...search craigslist or check the local appliance stores for a broken chest type deep-freezer. Plenty of those around and they seal up airtight and are mouseproof.

Larry.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

I get a ton at a time, the feed mill puts it in bags, I just stack it on a 2x4, plywood and concrete block 'table' , works great, keep it out of the sun, away from the wall or tight against the wall, what I do to keep the mice off is have an overhang with the plywood top, just don't stack it on the floor, if you want to see it I can take a pic in the morning

 

[Mortimer]

Quote:
Your math is right, and coincides with some other numbers I looked up on corn weight (easy to find the weight of 1ft^2 of corn, chicken feed probably isn't too far off)

1.25 cubic feet = 1 bushel of corn = 56 pounds
56 / 1.25 = 44 lbs per cubic foot of corn

3x3x3ft box = 27 cubic feet = 44lbs * 27 or ~1188 lbs of corn

Wow you're right, that's alot heavier than I expected, glad I asked! I was going to build them 4x4x4 since I could just use a 1/2 sheet of plywood for each side. Using your numbers above that would be around 2500lbs!

I'll ask, but I got the impression this feed mill doesn't bag it, they load from a hopper into your truck, or deliver for $2.00 per loaded mile.

I was thinking that a chest freezer would be way too small, but now that I know I only need around 35 cubic feet of storage, I may go that route. Should be able to pick up a couple small non-working freezers on Craigslist pretty cheap.

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Quote:
I cannot believe I did not think of this..

We use 2 at the barn in the feed room....Goat feed in one and horse feed in the other.

 

[rickerra]

Another important question... that you probably already considered.

Can you use-up a full ton of feed in 4 weeks? Salatin advises getting enough feed for 4 weeks, even if that means getting smaller batches.

How many 50# bags make up a ton?

Cheers!

 

[BarefootMom]

Quote:
40 bags is a ton...a ton is 2000# 2000# divided by 50 is 40.