Storing chicken feed outside?

[SusanD]

HI,

My parents moved our chicken feed outside (we have it in a galvanized container which so far doesn't seem to have attracted any psets). Will the heat affect the fresshness? If so, I will talk to my parents about moving it back into our garage.

Thanks,

Susan

 

[Judy]

Mine has been in this sort of container in my coop which has a dirt floor for years. I would not store it in the sun, though, because the heat buildup inside would spoil or sour it faster, I would think.

 

[pdirt]

Yes, keep it out of the heat and sun. I'd keep it in the coolest place reasonably possible, if I were you. Heat, light and oxygen will quickly break down nutrients in the feed, rendering it less nutritious (ie, tell your parents they are wasting their $$) or worst case scenario it can go rancid and be mildly toxic to consume.

Outside, it should be stored under shade so that the sun never directly shines on your galvanized container. This is most important in summer, because it's hot. During winter, the galvanized can will block out light (as it will in summer), but the temps are so much cooler, that the heat issue isn't a problem.

Also, consider how quickly you go through the feed that is stored in the container. If it takes you 2 months or longer to go through it, IMO, you are storing too much feed in there, at least during summer months. Even a garage is going to get pretty warm. Buy/store just enough feed that you will use it all up within 2 months, assuming it's being stored properly as mentioned above.

Something I do since my stored feed is further from the coop than I'd like in terms of convenience of refilling their feeder is to keep a bucket by the can of feed. I keep a scooper (a quart yogurt container) in the can of feed and scoop out enough feed into the bucket to fill the feeder. Then I can tote the bucket of feed to their feeder and refill it easily.

 

[Mims]

I have a question. It gets to be about 110 here in the summer, on a regular basis. My coop/run will be in the shade, but it's still going to be hot. The garage and barn (metal barn) will be hot. If I store it in a rubbermaid tub, is the heat going to be a problem?

 

[hollilynn]

"I have a question. It gets to be about 110 here in the summer, on a regular basis. My coop/run will be in the shade, but it's still going to be hot. The garage and barn (metal barn) will be hot. If I store it in a rubbermaid tub, is the heat going to be a problem?"



Wondering the same thing! I keep my food in metal trash can inside a little storage area by the coop. Gets pretty hot in there.

 

[WCHomestead]

We get in the 90s in the summer and we keep our feed in the run in food grade 55 gallon barrels. It is in the shade but it still is in the heat. Haven't had any issues with it. We generally fill two 5 gallon buckets each week with the feed for them to eat!

www.whitecollarhomestead.com

 

[pdirt]

I have a question. It gets to be about 110 here in the summer, on a regular basis. My coop/run will be in the shade, but it's still going to be hot. The garage and barn (metal barn) will be hot. If I store it in a rubbermaid tub, is the heat going to be a problem?

I say do the best that you can. If you have space to store your extra feed indoors where the AC is on, that would be ideal, but it might not be practical for you. Another idea is to dig a hole to fit the shape of your tub (assuming your barn is dirt floored) in your barn to partially bury your rubbermaid tub. The ground will help keep your feed cooler. This also assumes your ground is good and dry, if you ground is moist/damp, you wouldn't want to do this as it would increase humidity in your feed, potentially leading to mold growth. Keep the lid secured tightly shut to keep out critters and insects.

That being said, I am not entirely sure how long under what conditions feed is still good for and how quickly what nutrients break down. I have heard "6 months" as the catch-all answer to how long is bought feed good for. But 6 months under what conditions? Best case scenario conditions or worst case? I have had freshly milled flour stored in a cool, dark, dry pantry smell rancid (the oils go rancid first) after about a year. But my nose isn't a very scientific (accurate) measurement, so I imagine it started to go rancid long before I could smell it. I generally try to use up any of our flours within 2-3 months, since we can just mill fresh stuff anytime we want.

Heat, humidity and direct sun will all cause food to spoil more quickly. It depends upon your local situation and you try to limit all three of those the best you can. At top priority would be direct sun, then it would be a toss-up between humidity and heat. You don't want too much of either and if you have more humidity than heat, do what you can to reduce it.

 

[SusanD]

Thanks all for your replies. We did end up moving the food back into the garage, so hopefully it should be ok. As far as planning how big a sack of layer feed to buy them (I think they should hit 20 weeks in July), I saw something saying 1.5 lbs per bird per week for laying hens. So, at 6 lbs per month * 3 hens * 2 months, it looks like I should plan on buying no more that 36 lbs at a time. Does that sound right?

Thanks,

Susan

 

[SClaire]

HI,

My parents moved our chicken feed outside (we have it in a galvanized container which so far doesn't seem to have attracted any psets). Will the heat affect the fresshness? If so, I will talk to my parents about moving it back into our garage.

Thanks,

Susan

I would only worry that during the day the container will warm up when the sun hits it and this might take away the 'freshness'...

Oh by the way, is it pellets your storing on there?

 

[SusanD]

Yes, grower pellets/