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Howdy friends! I practice good feed grain "hygiene" here on the homestead...I buy from a good quality mill, always know the "born-on" date of the feed, practice good feed grain rotation, use feed up rapidly, employ JIT "Just-In-Time" practices so we don't have too much sitting around....
Despite all this, occasionally, and during certain times of the year, I used to a detect a faint "alcohol" smell from the feed bins...worrisome indeed! This was a result of condensation and moisture building up in the feed. I go through A LOT of pelletized feed, and these are like little sponges and paper towels to moisture.
NOT GOOD! You know what happens when grains becomes moist...IT FERMENTS. Without getting too deep in the weeds about the chemical process, fermenting grain + additional H2O = ALCOHOL!!!
I need healthy feed on the homestead, NOT sour mash!!!
Not to mention mold and mildew.....
I discovered a quick hack to remedy this and greatly decrease the ambient moisture. This cheap little $1 moisture absorber that I discovered when I was an RV full-timer for 4 years does the trick!!! Available individually or in case lots online from Dollar Tree. Walmart has them too...but they are about $4 each. I've tried both the blue banded top and the black banded top with charcoal, and the black banded top absorber seems to work much better..jpg)
Here's one that's done it's job, replacing with a new one...you can see just how much water it absorbed...water that DIDN'T get absorbed by the feed!.jpg)
The dessicant and charcoal are fully enclosed in the plastic tub, covered by a paper membrane and plastic cover. It never contacts the grain. Before I cover the feed tub, I just place the absorber back into the grain and let it keep working!
And keep lids sealed tightly...
Hope this helps y'all with feed grains!
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Good tip, why do you need to feed so often all seasons or just in the winter?
or not enough pasture?
We keep a consistent grain/hay/graze schedule for the horses year round....the other livestock varies according to the grasses available to graze per the season... Thanks @shalomacres !
Great news, thanks for sharing. Currently we do not have horses so good information!
Thanks for your comment @shalomacres !