grains

[breezy]

I have a chance to purchase a bunch of 5 gallon pails of a variety of grain that I can use for feed. The grains available are white wheat,red wheat, barley,blue corn,regular corn possibly spelt and oats. All of them are whole.
My questions are can I feed these grains whole or will I need to grind them and at $ 12.00 per bucket is this a good deal? I know that if I were purchasing these same buckets for human consumption I would be paying a great deal more than what he is asking but I dont know if this would be considored spendy for chicken feed
The grains have been stored for emergency food for humans for 8 years but the emergency preparedness sites say the grains are good for longer than that if unopened and properly stored as these are.
Any advice greatly appreciated thanks

 

[sheps4her]

I mix my own feed following a recipe of whole grains. I do not grind them at all and everyone does great. What you have to make sure of is that you are feeding a balanced mixture so that it is nutritionally sound. Good luck!

 

[Wifezilla]

Breezy, where are you getting them?

Sheps, do you have a recipe?

 

[Teach97]

That is very expensive! I can get a 50 gal barrel of milo, corn or wheat for $25...that is from an elevator. Consider the price of scratch which is a mixture o cracked corn, milo, wheat, and maybe another grain...50 lbs for about $10...typically you could put a couple 5 gal buckets into one bag so that would be $24 for a bag...not real good

 

[sheps4her]

Wifezilla,
I will look up the site I found the recipe on. I only have 5 chickens and I only feed them organic grains so I don't have to buy a lot. For me it works. I was looking into buying prepared organic feed but no one sells it near me and to ship it costs so much...

 

[Teach97]

I mix this way using coffee can measurements...2 milo, 1 wheat, 3/4 corn, 1/4 catfood...waiting fo sunflower seed for next year and will add that at about 1/4...if I could find some bean or other stuff local I would be happier

 

[digitS']

Quote:
There are 8 gallons to the bushel. A bushel of wheat weighs 60 pounds. A 5 gallon bucket is .625 bushel; 37.5 pounds of wheat. The wheat is costing you 32¢ per pound.

If the wheat was in a 50 pound bag, that bag would cost $16.

A 50 pound bag of layer feed costs you . . . ?

Whole grain can be fed to chickens but it must be considered of lower value than a milled product. The bird must use some of the energy in the feed to grind it in the gizzard. Less feed would be required by the chicken if the grain was already ground.

Steve

 

[Smoky73]

I think that is expensive, considering 4 of the items you listed 2 are corn and one is barley and the other oats.
Here, I can get a 50lb bag of oats for $12.00 and about the same for Barley- both common feed for the feed store to carry as its used for horses a lot. Corn, I never buy corn but cracked corn is cheap here.

I purchase the barley (12.00), oats(12.00), safflower (37.00), sunflower hearts (50.00) and flax (33.00)- all 50lb bags. I mix all that together (bought on 1-5) still have 1/2 bag of flax left in the house and about 75lbs of the mixed stuff in the barrel outside. I mix it 1/2 & 1/2 with game bird feed. I have not had to buy the seeds since, should last me another month at least- just a few bags of game bird feed and I am feeding about 75 birds. I do not grind any of the seeds, I just provide grit.

 

[breezy]

Thanks everybody! I am going to be feeding just 2 or 3 birds. I know that purchasing those super pails of grains for human use would run me about 60 per pail. The 12 he is asking is a huge bargin for these particular products. I saw them on craigslist. The grains are packed in such a way as to be pest proof and are designed for long term storage with oxygen absorbing containers. I was thinking that buying smaller containers for just a couple of birds and storing them long term would save me money in the long run. After reading what people had to say I think Im gonna skip it.
You guys have been such a wealth of info for me and I really appreciate it.