would you pre buy a bags of feed and store???

[Rebmik]

Elderly farm owner(who is like adopted grandparents) where I rent is purchasing 10 bags of Nutrena senior that he has delivered for 1 horse....needless to say it takes month for him to go through this....just recently I opened his grain tub and it was covered with what coth'ers said was probably grain mites. I dumped, bleached and he put last bag of his last delivery(like from April?) in tub. This am I saw tons of white covering outside of tub, opened they were all inside....you honestly have to take out in the light to even see and they barely move.
I pick up only what I can put in my closed container...but he set on having Nutrena rep deliver.
Is there a "shelf life" for feed...??? I couldn't find a "use by" date on the feed.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..

[JB]

3 months tops is about what feed like that can survive. That life is shortened in humid weather, ie Summers in Va ;)

*I* wouldn't buy more than 4 weeks worth of a feed that has any sort of molasses in it, and even that's pushing it in this area in the Summer.

The storage container makes a difference too. Metal can easily sweat, adding moisture, and therefore mildew/mold, on the inside of it (ie where the feed is).

[Zu Zu]

Keep it fresh - purchase a few bags at a time - from a grain dealer who moves product regularly.

[Jeannette, formerly ponygyrl]

Any chance there is another farm nearby which might share Nutrena deliveries with your BO? I bet the feed store has a 10 bag minimum, but they might be willing to bend that to prevent spoilage and keep a customer happy - if 2 or three farms each got 4 bags twice as often it could work out. Or sometimes stores are willing to make the minimum with other supplies - deliver some gardening things along with a half load of feed, so they aren't running all over delivering a bag or two of feed and burning any profit in deisel costs...

Which is to say, no, I wouldn't expect feed to stay fresh 4 months, so I've moved on to brainstorming. :)

[pnalley]

We used to buy in bulk like that for just a few horses. We picked up a used chest style freezer to store the bags in. I think the difference in th electric bill was about $5 per month and the feed stayed fresh & bug free. Easiest option is to buy less feed at a time.

[dsedler]

No matter how fresh the feed is, if the storage container is not airtight and bug-proof, you run the risk of getting bugs in it. My current grain box is a large plywood container with a tight fitting lid that is kept in a cool dark feed room in the barn. It holds about 2 months worth of grain and I've never had bugs in it. Before that I used a Rubbermaid garbage can with a lid and never got bugs there either.

Now, my grain does not have molasses. I don't think that you should store more than a months worth at a time of grain that has molasses. Not so much about that bugs as it is the molasses going rancid in the heat.

[kookicat]

I order enough for two months in one delivery. I've found that after being stored that long, the quality and condition of the feed can really start to drop off. My feed is stored in a cool, dark feed room, and if it gets too warm or humid, I have a fan that I can run.

[shakeytails]

In the summer humidity, I don't like to keep grain longer than 2 weeks. In the winter, I don't mind buying enough for about a month, 6 weeks at most.

[talloaks]

I have a window AC unit in my feed room but prefer to buy every 2 weeks in the summer. I also use the rubbermaid trash cans and have never had any porblems. Now as long as the neighborhood bear doesn't get into my barn and feedroom!!:eek:

[Seven-up]

I live in an extremely humid area, (LA) and I can't keep feed for more than 2 weeks without it going moldy. There is no WAY I would feed something from April! Mainly because it would have already grown legs and walked away by itself.:winkgrin:

[findeight]

Keep it fresh - purchase a few bags at a time - from a grain dealer who moves product regularly.

In a perfect world. of course.

OP asked about an elderly man who can't do this.

I imagine splitting with another owner nearby to meet that 10 bag minimum for delivery is the best way to go. But somebody may need to transport and unload the 5 bags for him...amybe have it delivered to his place then the other person can come get theirs?

[Seven-up]

Rebmik-

Is it that this gentleman can't purchase less more often, or he just won't?

If he has no means of transportation to the feed store, and/or is physically incapable of lifting a feed bag himself, then that makes a lot more sense than he just isn't concerned or doesn't understand that feed spoils.


Clarification, please?

[ttldr1]

I buy my feed as needed. Mini & Mini Donk get Seminole Safe and Sound. A 50# bag last them about 6 weeks (they don;t get much but do have hay all the time) for the two of them. Dwarf gets Purina Equine Senior - 50# every 2-3 weeks. QH gelding gets stragedy - goes through about 150# a month. In the summer months I keep the feed for the mini's and the gelding in the spare bedroom in the air conditioned house and the senior always stays in the house (it freezes hard as a rock if left in the shed). Once the temps are regularly in the high 60's as the highs the feed goes out to the barn. I don't buy more than 1 bag of the safe and sound or a month's worth of stragedy at a time. Anymore than that and I am not comfortable that it is not souring.

[jcotton]

I buy my feed as needed, especially in the summer.
Is there anyway you can pick up a bag when you purchase your feed.

I travel alot at times. I always leave the feed cans full so my mom does not have to lift a bag of feed to dump in the can. My mom is 76 yrs old. She doesn't mind feeding but can't sling fifty pound bags of feed around. So I have everything set up and have a good friend who will refill feed cans as needed.

You may need to take a more active part in the care of his horse but don't be too pushy or controlling about because he may take offense to your guidance. Let it be his idea by a suggestion here or there.

[pricestory]

I buy feed as needed. I bring it home in a mini cooper and can haul 3 bags easily. The pain is not getting it home but loading it in the cans once home. Exactly what is his issue, getting it home or dealing with it there? Surely the feed store doesn't put it in his containers? That is the hard part for me.