Storing food

[cmom]

I go through around 300 to 400 pounds of feed every week. I keep it in the bags until I feed the birds. I have 40 pound feeders in each coop. I empty the bags into 5 gallon buckets and if I have any left I put a lid on the buckets. The next feeding I use any feed that is in the buckets. My scratch goes into a garbage can with a lid.

 

[kmom08]

With my last flock I stored the feed in a metal trash can, totes held a new unopened bag until my can was empty.

We since moved and my can was left behind, so I'm now using two 5 gallon food grade safe buckets with gamma lids. The lids are around $7 at Lowes, but we'll worth it. I also use some to store flour, sugar, rice, dog treats etc. In my garage.

The 2 I'm currently using fit a 40 lb bag of chick feed with room to spare. I'll know in about a month or so of I can fit a 50lb between the two. Because of how hot it's been I have been keeping one in the house, and one in the storage side of my chicken house then swap them out as needed.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I bought my containers from OSH, but I am sure most hardware stores have them.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I go through around 300 to 400 pounds of feed every week. I keep it in the bags until I feed the birds. I have 40 pound feeders in each coop. I empty the bags into 5 gallon buckets and if I have any left I put a lid on the buckets. The next feeding I use any feed that is in the buckets. My scratch goes into a garbage can with a lid.
View attachment 1429321 View attachment 1429341

Wow, quite a setup!

 

[kmom08]

Oops as far as when to buy I don't usually buy a new bag until I'm 3/4 through the feed I have on hand. I only had 6 girls in my last flock so depending on the time of the year and how often I was able to let them roam and range my fenced in back yard (half acre) my 50 lb bag of feed lasted 6 weeks at times.

As far as scratch goes I usually don't give much during the warm months a 50 lb bag of scratch lasted us the entire winter and then some. I store it in the original bag in a rubbermaid bear proof trash can in my shed. I can fit a bag of scratch and my bag of black oil sunflower seeds in the same can. Never had any issues with bugs or mice getting into it.

 

[PirateGirl]

I believe it is @aart that has a good post/article about deciphering mill dates on different brands of feed.

 

[kmom08]

What are you using on the floor of your run? I need to figure out what to do in mine once the chicks clear it. Our last run was a dog kennel we attatched wheels to so I moved it around the yard, but the new one is stationary and larger.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

What are you using on the floor of your run? I need to figure out what to do in mine once the chicks clear it. Our last run was a dog kennel we attatched wheels to so I moved it around the yard, but the new one is stationary and larger.

I use construction sand in my run and also put it on top of the linoleum floor over plywood in my coop. I have 8 chickens.

 

[aart]

I believe it is @aart that has a good post/article about deciphering mill dates on different brands of feed.

Nope, not me.
Most are fairly clear, if not call the manufacturer.

Thing to remember is, those dates are the date it was bagged, and I don't believe any chicken feed has an expiration date.

TSC tells me they can leave it on the shelf for 6 months. Some folks claim you absolutely should not use any feed older than 2-3 weeks from bagging date, that the nutrients will degrade, which has some merit but we don't know what the longevity of the efficacy is because the MFG doesn't test it, or they would put an expiry date on the bags. It's not like drugs or dairy products. The fresher the better, of course, but around here I'm lucky to get less than a month 'old'.

I store my feed in a metal garbage can out in the coop shed, scratch and flock raiser.
Yep, it gets hot(90+°F) and cold(-15°F) out there, but at least it's protected from rodents and humidity. I scoop to refill the bags in can, laborious but the new bags won't just slide in and I can't pick up a 50 lb bag(without paying for it for day afterwards).

 

[PirateGirl]

Nope, not me.
Most are fairly clear, if not call the manufacturer.

Thing to remember is, those dates are the date it was bagged, and I don't believe any chicken feed has an expiration date.

TSC tells me they can leave it on the shelf for 6 months. Some folks claim you absolutely should not use any feed older than 2-3 weeks from bagging date, that the nutrients will degrade, which has some merit but we don't know what the longevity of the efficacy is because the MFG doesn't test it, or they would put an expiry date on the bags. It's not like drugs or dairy products. The fresher the better, of course, but around here I'm lucky to get less than a month 'old'.

I store my feed in a metal garbage can out in the coop shed, scratch and flock raiser.
Yep, it gets hot(90+°F) and cold(-15°F) out there, but at least it's protected from rodents and humidity. I scoop to refill the bags in can, laborious but the new bags won't just slide in and I can't pick up a 50 lb bag(without paying for it for day afterwards).

hmm.... I will have to search around for it, it was a good article/post. I second the idea of buying the freshest, whatever that date may be. I will look at the stack of feed when I'm at the store and find the one with the most recent date. If they employees rotated feed as they are supposed to, this often means getting the bag from the bottom of the stack. It pains me to think about it.

In terms of storage, I may not be the greatest example. There is a small closet in my house in my laundry room. This is a safe spot that my dogs cannot get to, or rodents, or bears (here keeping feed or trash or a grill or anything outdoors is big no no). This has essentially become the pet closet and there is a bag of chicken feed, scratch, oyster shells, cat litter, cat food, dog food, dog treats. All of these are in their factory bags with the top torn open sitting on a shelf or the floor. I do not roll the bags. I do not reseal or repackage anything. I really don't do anything special with the feed itself beyond keeping it in a spot where it won't get eaten while I'm away at work.