Moldy feed???

[farmerinKC]

I have 3/4 of a fifty pound bag of Dumor grower/finisher and today it looks moldy. How can that be? We have kept it stored in our house and clothes-pinned the top shut after getting out what we need to feed the chickens daily. We have had it nine weeks-I am off to buy new feed right now. I removed from the coop what I gave them this morning. Has this happened to anyone else? Doesn't seem right.

 

[NYRIR]

Have you had a lot of rain? Humidity is bad for feed...I keep mine in a plastic garbage can and it's generally used up within 2 weeks.Metal cans tend to "sweat" so I would recommend getting a plastic garbage can and trying to buy only enough for 4 weeks at a time.

 

[Chicken Boo]

I also put some DE in the bottom of the storage container and mix it into the feed. I haven't had a mold problem since I started doing that. It also helps with worm prevention (I'm told).

 

[debid]

Where in the house did you store it?

I had a bag of dog feed go bad in the bottom and it was only later when I went into the basement after a heavy rain that I realized we had a wall leaking and the bag had been standing next to the leak and where I could see a puddle forming. It spoiled from the bottom up because it had gotten wet on the bottom.

It really is worth it to get a storage container for the feed. I'm using a Vittles Vault and LOVE it.

 

[gale65]

We were planning to get a metal can to put feed in. I'm afraid critters might chew through the plastic. I'll have to use the DE trick I guess.

 

[farmerinKC]

Thanks for all the replies. I had the feed in our dining room-because the screened-in porch is right off the dining room and that is where we keep all the rest of the chicken supplies. So I know it did not get wet. The reason I had so much left after nine weeks is that when we first got our chicks we bought this bag of grower/finisher, after a few days we realized we had picked up the wrong bag-we intended to buy the starter feed. Went back to buy the starter which they have been on for eight weeks. I hope they do not get sick from the feed that I fed to them before I realized it had turned moldy.