How long can you store feed for?

[Bawkbok]

Makes sense. We don't have a car that can handle snow and so we've made our last feed store run for the winter. It's the same as stocking up on people food (mmm beans) when snow is in the forecast.

The varied climates is definitely a factor when storing food. With such a small flock, it takes us a couple of months to deplete a bag of chicken feed so I can see where freezing it here is a value. For you fine folks who live in the deep freeze, you absolutely have to prepare for blizzards and extended lock ins, not to mention power outages when ice freezes the electrical lines. I remember those days. I would certainly take advantage of the natural freezer for winter and store feed outside in air tight containers or aluminum cans, something that doesn't sweat inside from moisture.

 

[gtaus]

The main reason for the question is for winter. My mother really hates driving in the winter.

Nothing wrong with stocking up before the winter months. Feed should last 3-6 months in a bag, probably longer if you transferred the feed into airtight containers like those 5-gallon buckets with lid. Fresher feed would be better, of course. If you plan ahead, no reason why you can't minimize your mother from driving in the winter.

Buying extra on sale would be nice but honestly I can't imagine buying more than 1 month worth.

Post COVID-19, I have not really seen good sales on chicken feed like I used to get before then. There is little incentive for me to buy extra stock of feed if it's not on sale.

Having said that, I just got another 50# "Oops" bag of Layer Crumbles yesterday at 25% off. The top seal was ripped a bit, but it looks like none of the feed was missing. I prefer Layer Pellets, but I'll take Layer Crumbles at that discount. I will transfer that new "Oops" bag into 5-gallon buckets for storage, giving me about 3 months of feed stock at present.

At those discount prices, it's well worth my time and effort to buy feed and store it. Well, that, and being in the winter here, I have lots of free cold storage to take advantage of.

 

[gtaus]

For you fine folks who live in the deep freeze, you absolutely have to prepare for blizzards and extended lock ins, not to mention power outages when ice freezes the electrical lines. I remember those days.

Yes, it's nice not to have to worry about feed for the animals if you get stuck inside for a few days after a bad storm.

Most of those blizzard days are in my past when I was kid. I cannot remember the last time a bad storm had us not driving more than a day. Our snowplows do a great job keeping the roads open. Also, all our electrical lines are buried underground now. That has almost eliminated all power outages where I live. I suspect the coastal people living through a hurricane have more problems than what I face in the winter. I can't complain too much. It's cold outside, but warm in the house.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Makes sense. We don't have a car that can handle snow and so we've made our last feed store run for the winter. It's the same as stocking up on people food (mmm beans) when snow is in the forecast.

Lol My mom's favorite thing to stock up on is soups.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

The varied climates is definitely a factor when storing food. With such a small flock, it takes us a couple of months to deplete a bag of chicken feed so I can see where freezing it here is a value. For you fine folks who live in the deep freeze, you absolutely have to prepare for blizzards and extended lock ins, not to mention power outages when ice freezes the electrical lines. I remember those days. I would certainly take advantage of the natural freezer for winter and store feed outside in air tight containers or aluminum cans, something that doesn't sweat inside from moisture.

My family usually gets fairly lucky on the power outage side of things in winter. Thunderstorms take the power out alot more and longer than snowstorms.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Nothing wrong with stocking up before the winter months. Feed should last 3-6 months in a bag, probably longer if you transferred the feed into airtight containers like those 5-gallon buckets with lid. Fresher feed would be better, of course. If you plan ahead, no reason why you can't minimize your mother from driving in the winter.



Post COVID-19, I have not really seen good sales on chicken feed like I used to get before then. There is little incentive for me to buy extra stock of feed if it's not on sale.

Having said that, I just got another 50# "Oops" bag of Layer Crumbles yesterday at 25% off. The top seal was ripped a bit, but it looks like none of the feed was missing. I prefer Layer Pellets, but I'll take Layer Crumbles at that discount. I will transfer that new "Oops" bag into 5-gallon buckets for storage, giving me about 3 months of feed stock at present.

At those discount prices, it's well worth my time and effort to buy feed and store it. Well, that, and being in the winter here, I have lots of free cold storage to take advantage of.

Right! The store for the feed is farther out than normal grocery trips so potentially only having maybe one middle winter trip would be nice. None would be perfect but we can time a once trip much better than a every 2 weeks-1 month. I'm personally broke right now but I'll look into the 5 gallon buckets when I get paid again. How many pounds of feed do the 5 gallons carry?

I think I've seen maybe buy 1 get half off on our chicken feed once last year. But usually I think the cheapest I've seen is the $12 chicken feed drops to $10 on occasion. Haven't seen much for our goose feed.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Most of those blizzard days are in my past when I was kid. I cannot remember the last time a bad storm had us not driving more than a day. Our snowplows do a great job keeping the roads open. Also, all our electrical lines are buried underground now. That has almost eliminated all power outages where I live. I suspect the coastal people living through a hurricane have more problems than what I face in the winter. I can't complain too much. It's cold outside, but warm in the house.

If bad blizzards were a thing we'd definitely have a vehicle for snow, but thankfully we usually only get a few inches (which is still enough to make my car undriveable). We are lucky to live directly off an essential route, so the county will always clear our road... if I can make it down the long driveway. So rather than risk it I always keep an eye on weather reports so I can stock up when needed.

Downside is our power lines are still above ground so outages take out entire neighborhoods at a time. The last "bomb cyclone" knocked power out for hundreds of thousands of residents, we had no power, heat or internet for 4 days.

 

[gtaus]

I'm personally broke right now but I'll look into the 5 gallon buckets when I get paid again.

I know some people say that they can get 5-gallon buckets for free, or low cost, from restaurants. That might be a possibility. 5-gallon buckets are useful for so many things. I don't live in town, and I don't know any managers at restaurants, so that was not an option for me.

I am an Inside Track Club (ITC) member at Harbor Freight. Yes, you have to pay $30 per year or $45 for a 2-year membership, but for me it has been worth it. I buy lots of consumable items from Harbor Freight and other products that go on sale. ITC members get special deals every month and sometimes that can be a big savings.

About 4 times a year, Harbor Freight has free 5-gallon bucket weekend sales if a non-member purchases $29 worth of goods, or if a member has any purchase, including items that are $1.00 or less. I always have a short list of consumables that I will purchase at the time and pick up a free bucket.

Over the past couple of years, I have about 20 free buckets from Harbor Freight. And I have enough lids to store my feed (lids cost extra, but I already had some lids).

How many pounds of feed do the 5 gallons carry?

Each bucket holds half a 50# bag of feed, about 25# of feed per bucket.

The main reason I transfer all my feed into the buckets is to keep out mice. I keep my stored feed in our attached garage, so I don't want to encourage feeding mice. They got into my feed bags a few years ago, so I had to come up with a better storage option. No mice have ever gotten into my buckets.

The airtight lids are just a bonus for storage because the feed lasts longer in the buckets than in the original feed bags.

Also, I'm at an age where it is so much easier for me to move around a 25# bucket of feed with a handle than trying to wrestle around with a 50# bag of feed with nothing to hold on to.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

I know some people say that they can get 5-gallon buckets for free, or low cost, from restaurants. That might be a possibility. 5-gallon buckets are useful for so many things. I don't live in town, and I don't know any managers at restaurants, so that was not an option for me.

I am an Inside Track Club (ITC) member at Harbor Freight. Yes, you have to pay $30 per year or $45 for a 2-year membership, but for me it has been worth it. I buy lots of consumable items from Harbor Freight and other products that go on sale. ITC members get special deals every month and sometimes that can be a big savings.

About 4 times a year, Harbor Freight has free 5-gallon bucket weekend sales if a non-member purchases $29 worth of goods, or if a member has any purchase, including items that are $1.00 or less. I always have a short list of consumables that I will purchase at the time and pick up a free bucket.

View attachment 4021475

Over the past couple of years, I have about 20 free buckets from Harbor Freight. And I have enough lids to store my feed (lids cost extra, but I already had some lids).



Each bucket holds half a 50# bag of feed, about 25# of feed per bucket.

The main reason I transfer all my feed into the buckets is to keep out mice. I keep my stored feed in our attached garage, so I don't want to encourage feeding mice. They got into my feed bags a few years ago, so I had to come up with a better storage option. No mice have ever gotten into my buckets.

The airtight lids are just a bonus for storage because the feed lasts longer in the buckets than in the original feed bags.

Also, I'm at an age where it is so much easier for me to move around a 25# bucket of feed with a handle than trying to wrestle around with a 50# bag of feed with nothing to hold on to.

Lol Yeah restaurant's aren't an option here either lol. I dont have a stable job it's just some pet sitting for a family member so I get paid in cash and its not frequent enough to set up a bank account. Hopefully I'll have another pet sitting job soon lol. That or our goose starts laying eggs soon.

Buckets sound like it'd make my work easier tbh than fighting bags as well lol

 

[gtaus]

I dont have a stable job...

Buckets sound like it'd make my work easier tbh than fighting bags as well lol

Well, buckets make things easier, and probably better to store feed, but they are not required. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you might be able to find them for free somewhere. If money is tight, I would not suggest going out and buying buckets and lids. Heck, the only reason I have so many buckets is because I got them for free. It's just something to keep in mind in case you have the opportunity to pick some buckets up for free.

I don't know where you buy your feed, but our local Fleet store, where I buy my chicken feed, has bucket sales a few times a year. You buy a 5-gallon bucket on sale for about $3.00, but then everything you can fit into the bucket is discounted 10%. I buy all kinds of screws, nuts and bolts, etc... from Fleet so I just wait for those bucket sales and restock my supplies. Essentially, you get the bucket for free if you buy enough stuff.

Yeah, I will keep a list of consumables to buy if/when those bucket sales happen. I hate to pass up on a free bucket sale! Lots of us old guys are in the store, filling up our buckets with consumables, restocking our supplies and get a free bucket for buying things we would anyways.