Livestock Feed Storage in High Humidity conditions

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Hello All,

I've got to find a way to store my goat and chickens feed without letting the high humidity affect it. If I pack the feed into 55 gallon plastic drums with lids, what do I need to put into the containers to reduce the moisture content? Or is there such a product?

I don't want this stuff to mold, and I've got a few hundred pounds of feed that I need to take care of pretty quick. The storms over here have made everything so damp, and I just stocked up before the rain started : ( Thanks in advance,

-- Kristin, in La. (positivekharma@aol.com), June 09, 2001

Answers

If your plastic drums will take an airtight seal (probably have to have rubber gaskets in lid) then this problem is easily solvable.

Make sure the drums are clean and dry, pour in the feed and add a health quantity of desiccant. Can't tell you how much because it'll depend on the humidity in your area and the moisture content of the feed.

What I'd do is go to the grocery store and buy a box of two of "Damp Rid" or similar product. Essentially this stuff is just calcium chloride which is hygroscopic as heck (means it'll pull moisture out of the air). Put some in a quart jar with a lid with holes in it. Nestle the jar into the top of the feed and seal on the lid. This won't work well if the drum won't seal airtight. Check the jar after about forty eight hours to see if you'll need to replace the desiccant (it'll turn into a liquid).

Don't handle the drums roughly or the desiccant will spill into the feed. The stuff isn't poisonous but it's not something you'd want to put into your mouth and your stock probably won't eat anything that has much on it.

I've used this stuff myself to store feed corn and it worked well for me.

={(Oak)-

-- Live Oak (oneliveoak@yahoo.com), June 09, 2001.


Kristin, hi had your same problem several years ago and I went to the co-op and told them of my problem they suggested that I find an old chest freezer one that the seal was still in good shape on, place my feed in the chest freezer with a jar of Damp rid and it worked I have kept my feed from getting mold and it was a cheap way of doing it. You will need to check the Damp Rid every few days depending on the humidity. Good Luck,

-- tracy emily in TN (emilyfarms@tsixroads.com), June 09, 2001.

I don't know if the humidity is the same here as it is there, but my containers weren't quite air tight enough but I couldn't find any seals for them. So, I used those cheapy, scratchy, blankets. I cut it to a size that would barely lap over the edge of the container, then put the lid on. It made a nice tight seal and the blanket absorbed the moisture. I then changed out the blanket every day with a nice dry one. Worked great for me.

Cindy

-- Cindy in Ok (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), June 09, 2001.


Hi Kristen, just like Emily, we use old chest freezers with a Damp Rid at the bottom if it is really humid, have stored feed for over a year this way, and it's critter proof too!!! Wonderful use for all those broken chest freezers!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), June 11, 2001.

Seal material can be purchased at many industrial rubber suppliers. O-rings can be made easily with the right diameter stock and the adhesive... I'm guessing you can make flat rubber seals the same way.

cheers,

-- Max (Maxel@inwindsor.com), June 11, 2001.



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