How much feed do you buy at a time?

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

for reasons of freshness and of pests, I hate having too much feed around, between the cats an my bucket traps we keep, the mice down to a dull roar, but there are other peas associated with feed storage, not the least of which weevils, and probably some I don’t know about. It’s about 45 mins in a direction I have no reason to go where I buy feed, so I have been getting 6 bags at a time for my 8 ducks. I was going through a bag a week, seems like a lot but I had no basis for comparison, this pas year I’ve trapped over 60 mice and re-homed a dozen chipmunk. They seem to have gone to sleep, now I am own to a bag every 2 ish weeks, not completely sure, the ducks seem healthy, no noticeable weight loss, and they have access 24/7. Today I happened to be nearby so I grabbed 6 more bags and 2 lbs of mealworms... eww. I had a couple left, but seemed foolish to drive by.
so 2 part question, how much do your ducks eat, and how much do you keep on hand?

 

[deidreg]

Chewy sure is convenient, but yikes! I have never seen or heard of Kalmbach, maybe it is a regional thing? Or is that the Chewy brand? I suppose you are paying shipping with them one way or another. The batch I just picked up of Nutrina Country Feeds Flock Raiser was 15.25/50 lb bag. Their flock maintainer is 25.64 if you auto ship, 6 bags at a time that is over 60 bucks difference or almost 4 more bags of feed. Tough math there fir a little convenience.

Kalmbach is a national brand and, yes, I am paying a bit more for convenience. I only have five hens. And with the pandemic, I'm minimizing my in-person shopping.

 

[BReeder!]

for reasons of freshness and of pests, I hate having too much feed around, between the cats an my bucket traps we keep, the mice down to a dull roar, but there are other peas associated with feed storage, not the least of which weevils, and probably some I don’t know about. It’s about 45 mins in a direction I have no reason to go where I buy feed, so I have been getting 6 bags at a time for my 8 ducks. I was going through a bag a week, seems like a lot but I had no basis for comparison, this pas year I’ve trapped over 60 mice and re-homed a dozen chipmunk. They seem to have gone to sleep, now I am own to a bag every 2 ish weeks, not completely sure, the ducks seem healthy, no noticeable weight loss, and they have access 24/7. Today I happened to be nearby so I grabbed 6 more bags and 2 lbs of mealworms... eww. I had a couple left, but seemed foolish to drive by.
so 2 part question, how much do your ducks eat, and how much do you keep on hand?

I have two 35 gallon (I believe that's the size at least) metal trash cans with snug fitting lids. I purchased them from Blain's Farm and Fleet. I've seen them at Walmart, Menards and Home Depot also. I image TSC would carry them too. I keep these inside the storage area of our coop. The only threats to feed in there are rodents or insects that find their way in. The trash cans keep the feed safe. I did try a heavy duty tote, which worked for a long time, but eventually I mouse managed to chew through it. For that reason I recommend the metal containers.
As for the amount of feed, each can I have can hold three bags (50lb) of feed. I keep one can full and use the other until it runs out. When a can is empty, I buy three bags of feed to refill it while using the feed in the other can. This way I always have a reserve and don't need to worry anymore about stockpiling before a storm or another COVID shut down. The feed keeps fresh in the trash cans for quite a while since the lids fit quite snug.

 

[deidreg]

I used to buy just 100 lbs at a time, but the closest retailer of the Kalmbach feed I use used to run out for a week or so at a time, forcing me to have to switch back to Purina until they restocked, which isn’t good for the birds. So now, I will buy between 200-250 lbs and keep a check on the availability of the feed at the store so I can buy more before I run out, usually at about 100 lbs. I’m just paranoid now of running out.

I keep the bags of feed, unopened, inside my house and fill two TSC buckets with one bag (each holds 25 lbs) and keep those buckets up at my coops. I have 38 chickens and 5 ducks.

FYI, I also use Kalmbach and order it via chewy.com. It gets delivered and I don't worry about running out.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

FYI, I also use Kalmbach and order it via chewy.com. It gets delivered and I don't worry about running out.

Chewy sure is convenient, but yikes! I have never seen or heard of Kalmbach, maybe it is a regional thing? Or is that the Chewy brand? I suppose you are paying shipping with them one way or another. The batch I just picked up of Nutrina Country Feeds Flock Raiser was 15.25/50 lb bag. Their flock maintainer is 25.64 if you auto ship, 6 bags at a time that is over 60 bucks difference or almost 4 more bags of feed. Tough math there fir a little convenience.

 

[deidreg]

You could keep bags unopened in a metal can until you're ready to use it.

 

[NatJ]

how much do your ducks eat

I don't have ducks, but google tells me a grown duck "should" eat about 6-7 ounces of feed per day.

6 ounces per day for 8 ducks would be 3 pounds per day. Or if I round up to half a pound per duck, it would make 4 pounds a day.

3 pounds a day is 21 pounds a week, 4 pounds a day is 35 pounds a week.

So there's a number to check whether the amount you are using is reasonable. (You don't say how many pounds per bag. Feed often comes in 50 pound bags, but not always.)

 

[janiedoe]

I want to recommend the Vittles Vaults. I usually buy and store two 50lb bags at a time in 2 large (50lb size) vittles vaults.
I tried metal trash cans but our humidity here is high and the ants here are holy terrors. I store my feed under a two sided carport by the chicken yard.
I have 2 large (50lb) for feed, one medium (30lb) for overflow, and 2 smaller ones (15lb) for mealworms, calcium, etc.
They are a little expensive but they keep the feed fresher and I haven't had any pest problems so I feel like they were one of my better investments.
I'm scared to death of rats so they've probably saved me from a heart attack as well.

 

[janiedoe]

Fyi, Tractor Supply now has a auto reorder now so that you can save and have your feed delivered. I haven't used it so I can't say it's great. I usually use curb side service. I hate going into town so I only go about once every week and a half. I'm afraid if I used delivery, I'd end up with dust instead of crumble.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I have two 35 gallon (I believe that's the size at least) metal trash cans with snug fitting lids. I purchased them from Blain's Farm and Fleet. I've seen them at Walmart, Menards and Home Depot also. I image TSC would carry them too. I keep these inside the storage area of our coop. The only threats to feed in there are rodents or insects that find their way in. The trash cans keep the feed safe. I did try a heavy duty tote, which worked for a long time, but eventually I mouse managed to chew through it. For that reason I recommend the metal containers.
As for the amount of feed, each can I have can hold three bags (50lb) of feed. I keep one can full and use the other until it runs out. When a can is empty, I buy three bags of feed to refill it while using the feed in the other can. This way I always have a reserve and don't need to worry anymore about stockpiling before a storm or another COVID shut down. The feed keeps fresh in the trash cans for quite a while since the lids fit quite snug.

I also use a metal can for a couple bags at a time, I suppose I could get a couple more, something bothers me about opening excess hags, but I guess they would keep fairly well and probably arent that airtight to begin with