# What is the storage life of chicken feed?



## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

Just trying to finialize some preps, since i have chicks now (they are on starter feed right now) but I need to stock up growth feed and layer feed too but before I do, how long can it be stored and keep it's quality?


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Do you have any land? Have you thought about growing your own corn for feed?


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## bourbonred (Feb 27, 2008)

Are chickens new animals for you? If so, congrats! I love my birds. I don't know the storage length of chick/chicken food, but my long-term plans for feed for my birds include them free-ranging most of the year and growing mangel beets, corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, & squash. The beets and pumpkins should store well when we get the root-cellar built. Newly hatched chicks can be fed crumbled boiled egg yolks to get a good start. For layers, protein is always the issue, so I plan to use hunting to keep meat in front of my birds every so often. Getting my great pyr was instrumental in the birds being able to free-range. If I had to keep them locked up, I wouldn't be able to afford to keep them.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

I don't really have much land for growing feed....doing my best to use what space I have for people food. though I will do my best to let them "graze" through the year. Winter will be when they will need the most feed, as we get lots of snow.


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## anniew (Dec 12, 2002)

I put several bags of feed into seven 55 gallon barrels in November, and am still using it, but down to my last barrel. Of course, it is cold/frozen in winter, so keeps a longer time, but I usually have several bags on reserve at any one time, even in the summer...now I am just waiting for the mud to leave so I can drive down to the coop with some fresh feed. Six of the barrels were filled with laying pellets, and one held cracked corn which is like candy to them but I only give it to them on the coldest days as it supplies more energy to keep them warm.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

you would be better off keeping whole grains and process into feed as necessary.

of course you could always plant those if need be also.

if you include soy in you mix remember it needs to be cooked before birds can have it (roasted) beans have a chemical that needs heat to render it harmless to birds.

by the way I'm considering amaranth as a potential feed source.

Im not sure on length of storage on processed and even whole grains depending on storage conditions will be at a disadvantage.

the whole thing is moisture,temp,and oxidization. processed will not store as long.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

I'm wondering if dock would be a good feed? There is plenty of that in the vacent places round here.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Commercial chicken feed will stay good for a very long time as long as it's kept dry. Any moisture in it and it'll mold. 

Chickens can eat almost anything. Mine go nuts over table scraps, potato peals, greens, even rabbit feed and weeds. Chickens are easy to keep & easy to feed.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

Are there any poisonous things that chickens should not eat? If I forage weeds and seeds for them, what should I avoid?


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

even if the chicken feed gets buggy, you can still use it (free protein)...hardest problem is keepig mice out. You can use a metal trash can with a tight fitting lid.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I can't think of anything that would hurt a chicken, they simply won't eat it. Pretty much mine just love their grass. These are not free range,because they tear up the gardens, so I pick them grass and when finding worms or bugs they get them. They actually see me doing it and run to the side of the wire,waiting.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Corn ( cracked is best ) is fine as a supplement, but doesn't have enough protein ( it's usually about 10-12% ) for what laying hens need. You need 16% for that for the best egg production.

We feed ours commercial laying mash, but also all manner of table/garden scraps. I also built a worm bed just outside the chicken pen and several times a week, dump a bucket of the bedding material with lots of red wigglers out in the chicken yard for them. They go nuts for it.
The bed is right outside the chicken house, I fill it with the chicken cleanout ( plus manure from cows/pigs) and then the worms go right back to the chickens. Nice cycle.










I'm looking at raising quinoa, as it is a high protein grain ( 16-20% ) and is supposed to be able to raise on marginal land. Did a test sprouting of some I bought for us to try eating last week, and had very good results with the % of sprouts, so I plan to sow a test plot of 25x100 in the next couple weeks.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

What about buckwheat? How much protien is in that? I've grown that before as cover crop, if I let it go to seed can I use that to supplement in the winter?

I'm jsut considering options here should TSHTF.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I forgot to mention Nickie...I feed my eggshells back to the chickens...some folks give oyster shell or other types of calcium, but my ladies seem to do fine with the shells and the varied diet they get


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## RebelDigger (Aug 5, 2010)

beaglebiz said:


> I forgot to mention Nickie...I feed my eggshells back to the chickens...some folks give oyster shell or other types of calcium, but my ladies seem to do fine with the shells and the varied diet they get


Ditto. All the extra calcium mine get as well. Just praying TS don't HTF until the puppy grows up so they can free range. We are also planting field corn and purple hulls for them in the garden this year as I want to wean off store bought feed.


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## julieq (Oct 12, 2008)

We just purchased a few bags of layer crumble and cracked grains ahead last week as the prices are getting so high. But our chickens really prefer leftovers from our kitchen and don't go through too much crumble or scratch in a month (thankfully)! We have whole corn and other grains in long term storage for them.


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## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

Processed feeds should not be kept stored for long periods of time before use. They rapidly lose their nutritional value afte the milling process. If you are very concerned about this, you should familiarize yourself with feeding chickens on whole grain diets (supplemented by free ranging and other protein, minerals and vitamins.) And I do mean WHOLE grains. Whole oats, wheat, barley, etc. Not COB, not cracked corn, not any kind of milling process that will break the hull.

Grinding before use or sprouting may be necessary to allow the chickens to get the most nutritional value from the feed, but these things can be done the night before feeding and would therefore offer max nutrition without sacrificing the storability of whole grains.


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