Does anybody buy bulk feed?

[ROUSTABOUT]

We got it last year in super sacks. We got 7,000 gal tank of liquid protein nasty in a tank and left it in a large dump trailer. Dumped sack on concrete in barn. Used a plastic tote to get mineral from dump trailer tank. Then we put a large roll of hay in feed mixer, two loader buckets of feed, 30 gallons of liquid nasty. Feeding 3000 head cows, so did that a few times because they were in different places.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've been thinking about doing this as well. There's a place downstate where I can buy it in 1000 lb totes... first buy the tote, then have it filled. I have plenty of grain bags around and would buy a bag stitcher, to make it easier to store and use.

 

[EddieWalker]

I found two places that sell bulk feed fairly close to me. I need to visit with them and see what they offer. I don't have anyplace to store bulk feed right now, but when I add on to my barn, I want to have a solid plan on how to deal with it.

 

[GeneV]

With the cost of everything increasing, I'm trying to figure out how to spend less on feed. We started out buying 40 pound sacks of Chicken Scratch for $6 each for the last five years. Now it's $10 each, and I believe it will continue to increase. The price has been jumping every other month for the last year!!! Same thing with the 13% that we give to our horses. It want from $6 for a 40 pound sack a year ago, to $11 today.

A friend on FB mentioned that he buys bulk feed for is cattle, but it's gotten so high that he's considering getting out of cattle. It wasn't just the feed, but fertilizer and everything else involved in raising cattle has become so bad that there isn't a way to break even anymore.

I still want to try to raise goats and chickens. I've been paying too much for feed, and the more animals that I get, the more it is costing me. From what I'm seeing online, the savings is there if I buy in bulk. I've never done this. I've never even been to a place that sells in bulk. My only experience is 40 pound sacks.

First, I have no idea what to buy. I'll probably rely on what they recommend to start, and work from there.

Second, I have no idea what the best way is to get it. I've read that they fill barrels, totes and trailers.

How do you get it from what it's loaded in, to the animals? A full barrel will need the tractor to get it off of the trailer or back of my truck. I have pallets, so that's doable. But then what? Same thing with a tote. I'd probably put it on a pallet when getting it filled, but then what?

I've seen some pictures of trailers that have augers, but I never seen one in person. I'm assuming that I would need a grain bin type of thing if I did the trailer method. And that I would need a bin for each type of food. More money.

Has anybody done this? Is it really cheaper to buy in bulk?

I don't have that many ducks, so I just buy 3-4 40# bags of layer feed at TSC when I run low. And yes, prices did go up around $3 per bag over the last couple years.

Hey Eddie, what's the deal with the link to facebook written in russian in your sig line?

 

[EddieWalker]

I don't have that many ducks, so I just buy 3-4 40# bags of layer feed at TSC when I run low. And yes, prices did go up around $3 per bag over the last couple years.

Hey Eddie, what's the deal with the link to facebook written in russian in your sig line?

I have no idea. I noticed it after the last change to TBN. Before that, it was in English.

 

[GeneV]

I have no idea. I noticed it after the last change to TBN. Before that, it was in English.

Farging russian hackers, Putin sends regards yah.

 

[EddieWalker]

It links to my FB page like I want it to. I have family in Ukraine, so I kind of like it. They comment and sent me messages in Russian all the time. Thankfully the FB translator works good enough to understand them.

 

[GeneV]

Gotcha. I'm actually from Ukraine myself. Maybe I hacked your sig line? You never could tell.

 

[EddieWalker]

Can you read it? What does it say? I'm just hoping it's my name.

 

[Jstpssng]

Can you read it? What does it say? I'm just hoping it's my name.

I believe that it says "Log in or register."

 

[EddieWalker]

Guess that's ok. At least it's not something to be worried about.

 

[Jstpssng]

Guess that's ok. At least it's not something to be worried about.

I just plugged it into the search engine, and that's what came up. Hopefully I didn't invoke the curse of some old Welsh witch.

 

[GeneV]

Yup, says sign in or register, comrade.

 

[GeneV]

I just plugged it into the search engine, and that's what came up. Hopefully I didn't invoke the curse of some old Welsh witch.

Nah, Baba Yaga, the bane of all little boys and girls in the eastern lands.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yaga

 

[ponytug]

If you do go the bulk route; I have worked in feed rooms that had the bulk loaded outside and delivered through easily controlled chutes / tubes that made mixing and portioning easy. I would think through the last few inches as it were to make it as easy as possible.

(I am assuming that you aren't thinking of using mechanized feeders to deliver feed out to the animals automatically.)

All the best,

Peter

 

[sea2summit]

Local bulk place just sent out a notice to existing customers to call before you come for a pick up to make sure the feed you want is available. Apparently there are some supply issues for them now. Dang it.

 

[Jstpssng]

Local bulk place just sent out a notice to existing customers to call before you come for a pick up to make sure the feed you want is available. Apparently there are some supply issues for them now. Dang it.

That's my biggest concern about raising livestock this summer; being able to buy feed. Suppliers are understandably going to take care of their big consumers first; the piddling 200 lbs/week customers like me are barely a drop in their radar.

 

[EddieWalker]

If you do go the bulk route; I have worked in feed rooms that had the bulk loaded outside and delivered through easily controlled chutes / tubes that made mixing and portioning easy. I would think through the last few inches as it were to make it as easy as possible.

(I am assuming that you aren't thinking of using mechanized feeders to deliver feed out to the animals automatically.)

All the best,

Peter

I've considered it, but I keep worrying that I'll over complicate it, and come up with something that cost a lot of money, but didn't make life any easier. Especially if I have to work on it to keep it working.

My goal is to have a silo of sorts inside the barn so we can put a bucket under it. Probably one for chickens, and one for goats/horses/cattle. We don't have any steers yet, but we would like to butcher a few every year for ourselves. Horses and goats eat the same feed now, so I know that works well. I'm not sure about cows?

My theory/plan is to build the silos out of plywood, seal them, and have them along the wall so they are out of the way, but easy to access. I want an auger so I can fill the silos from the bulk feed sack.

Currently, I'm buying 40 pound sacks every week and carrying them from the back of my truck to my feed room. Then we open a sack and scoop the feed out of it. This seems very wasteful and time consuming every time I do it. My goal is to save money and create a more efficient, easier, way to feed every day.

 

[Dragonpharm]

I don't have enough animals to buy in bulk but the prices at TSC are getting a bit high. Everywhere else is too. Starting to tire of feeding the wife's "ladys" AKA chickens since they presently haven't laid eggs in quite a while. Not really sure why we need almost 40 chickens and 16 ducks that don't do much other than eat and make a mess. With the birds and equines a TSC feed trip is $150. Make that trip so often I notice if they get a new employee, lol.

 

[ponytug]

+1 on efficiency in daily tasks. If it were me, I would think about lining any bin with either UHMWPE, or sheet metal. You don't want feed to stick, and you want it to be easy to clean. There are just too many ways for feed to get damp, or dusty, or infested, and then you have caking, and big deposits of feed stuck to the sides. If you know that you will be getting feed in bulk AG 1,000lb sacks, many of the ones that I have worked with are designed to be lifted by the corners and emptied out the bottom (dump bottoms). If your feed suppliers uses those, I would think about putting in a winch to lift the sack and dump it in your bin.

All the best,

Peter