How much feed do you buy at a time?

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

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.

I feel your pain, i had been getting it no problem, then suddenly they were always sold out and would only get a couple bags every couple weeks. I have switched to a much more reliable, feed store but it is inconveniently far away. It is a bad feeling when we cant get the feed for them we need.

 

[MissE]

I buy 200 lbs at a time. I have three metal garbage cans that hold 100 each. When I crack into the last can, I fill the other two. Gives me just over two months of feed when all are full.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I have metal cans as well, big enough to hold 3 bags without opening them if you're careful about putting them in. I have little reusable silica packets in them in case of rapid temperature changes. We buy enough for 2-3 months at a time because our TSC is so far away. That usually looks like 8 bags between the chickens and rabbits.

 

[21hens-incharge]

A few links about shelf life of chicken feed.

https://www.nutrenaworld.com/poultry-feed-faqs

https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/feed-health/how-to-avoid-chicken-feed-storage-mistakes/

This thread has a Purina representative responding and contains important information about HOW feed is stored and the shelf life.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-the-shelf-life-of-purina-products.936605/

 

[21hens-incharge]

It literally says "best before" and gives a date. I wouldn't throw out a bag of flour or cornmeal because its a year old. I dont see why properly stored feed is different. I store my feed in my house. Most people seem to store it outside unheated, in the humidity ect. In that case maybe it will spoil in 6 months but i have never had an issue.

I literally have never seen a best by date on any feed. I am a date checker so definitely would have seen it on the feeds here.
What brand are you feeding? Curiosity has me wondering.

I am glad you have not had any issues.
I have however seen threads with birds not growing properly and finding out their bag of feed is over a year old.

 

[Mimi13]

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.
View attachment 2497481

Ahhhhhh, finally someone who deals with my very problem! ANTS!!!!! I HATE them and they are my nemesis! And more specifically, FIRE ANTS! Everyone talks about PESTS, but no one ever lists ants as one of them.

I have a brand new, large Grandpas Feeder (the expensive treadle feeder) sitting in its box. It took all of FIVE minutes for the ants to find the feed. All my chicken feeders are hanging, just because of the ants. Of course they gather on the ground under the feeders, but I dust underneath them once a week with Garden and Poultry Dust which kills the ants in minutes...and keeps working.

Now to the containers you mentioned. I have never seen nor heard of them. They look like very sturdy, hard plastic. Ants can chew through most anything, but these look like it’d be dang near impossible for them to chew through. And the plastic looks opaque which would keep light out. Awesome! Thanks for posting about these little storage solutions.

 

[NatJ]

I wouldn't throw out a bag of flour or cornmeal because its a year old. I dont see why properly stored feed is different. I store my feed in my house. Most people seem to store it outside unheated, in the humidity ect. In that case maybe it will spoil in 6 months but i have never had an issue.

The feed doesn't usually rot or otherwise seem to go bad (unless it gets moldy.)
Like the flour or cornmeal, the calories will still be there and safe to eat.

The problem is the vitamins that are added to the feed. They do change somehow (probably similar to how iron rusts and copper turns green outdoors and wood weathers to gray color.) The vitamins do break down into something that is not useful to chickens, so then the chickens have various health problems.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

mine use up one bag of feed a month but i also give them daily vegetables and bugs and fruits so that’s why it lasts longer even tho they have unlimited feed

 

[D0PEY]

I feel the same way about freshness I keep my kids food in my 30ft closet and seal it after every use. I keep their brewer's yeast and addition probiotic supplement powder all together in one area. I also breed mealworms and have a large colony of beetles that I store in a storage container on the opposite side of the closet. Luckily I live about 5 mins away from TSC so I just get one 50 lb baggie at a time, and it last for quite awhile. I spoil the kids with fresh cut veggies like kale, spring mix, also grow foraging rye grass, brassica, lettuce, and clovers throughout my kids enclosure. My babies also have access to unlimited feed. Happy kids equal happy me

 

[21hens-incharge]

The duck book says .3 lbs/day for a runner up to .6 lbs/day for heavy weight duck. If they free range it will be less but you can use these numbers to estimate.

Metal trashcan is a good plan. I bought about 2 years worth of feed at once. (It was dirt cheap at the time)

Nutrients degrade over time. Feed should be used within 6 months of the mill date to avoid malnutrition.

That said, I have 7 ducks and 19 chickens all eating the same feed. I go through around 3-4 of the 50# bags a month.
My ducks DEFINITELY eat a lot more than my laying hens.