Tip On Storing your Feed!

As we all know, chickens aren’t the only animals that love chicken feed! Mice, raccoons, opossums, birds and squirrels are among the many wild animals that enjoy dining on nutritious chicken rations. Don’t let them. A great tip is to store feed in metal containers with tight-fitting lids to keep the feed fresh and freeloaders out. Metal garbage cans make ideal feed storage containers. A lightweight scoop makes filling feeders simple. At night, you can cover your feeders and make sure the coop is secure to help limit critters coming in for a midnight snack!

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It would be useful to include how large of a container is needed for a 50# sack of feed.

It's like 20 gallons. That's what we use for our goat feed.

I get up to 160 lbs to last 3 months in the winter. My storage in the coop holds 80lbs. of mash & is an old blue food grade mushroom container. It is made of real thick plastic. The rest I keep in 5-6 gallon pails with gamma lids. My mash takes about 4 pails for an 80 lb bag & 3 for 80 lbs. of my scratch. The pails are airtight and keep really well.

Cindy in PA said:

I get up to 160 lbs to last 3 months in the winter. My storage in the coop holds 80lbs. of mash & is an old blue food grade mushroom container. It is made of real thick plastic. The rest I keep in 5-6 gallon pails with gamma lids. My mash takes about 4 pails for an 80 lb bag & 3 for 80 lbs. of my scratch. The pails are airtight and keep really well.

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I use a pet food container with a Gamma lid for the feed as well and have no desire to change that since we don't have rodent issues where I'm storing it. I was asking more because I see this question come up often when someone recommends metal trash cans for feed storage. TSC carries 10 gallon pails (too small!) and the hardware store carries regular trash cans (too big!). I'd love to know where people find these elusive "just right" cans because my folks need a couple of them.

I store the feed in a rubber garbage can with lid. When this is empty I may switch to a metal. The scratch is in a metal can with lid. I did put rat poison out for mice already last week. It was gone in one week. I put another one in yesterday. No other animals can get in to this area unless I let the door open.

debid said:

I use a pet food container with a Gamma lid for the feed as well and have no desire to change that since we don't have rodent issues where I'm storing it. I was asking more because I see this question come up often when someone recommends metal trash cans for feed storage. TSC carries 10 gallon pails (too small!) and the hardware store carries regular trash cans (too big!). I'd love to know where people find these elusive "just right" cans because my folks need a couple of them.

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I bought my 20 gallon galvanized trash can at Menard's just last week. Not sure where you are--I'm in Ohio.

old 100 lb clorine bucket with a screw on lid, keeps bugs out, but I don't have coons.

Be careful storing feed in metal cans in the hot summer. The metal will get hot, can cause feed to ruin, or cause condensation and let feed mold. That is the problem I had this past summer so I switched to 'critter proof' plastic trash cans that are round with screw on lids. The downside is they are BIG. But they hold 2 - 3 bags of feed at a time. I have 60+ chickens so that's good, but if you only have a few chickens the cans might be too big.

Mfg website and suggested dealer locations. I noted on the below link from Amazon that Amazon has shipped some folks other than a Behren manufactured item so best maybe to go to a real store front to ensure you get the name brand and the lid! http://www.behrensmfg.com/products/by-use/farm-agriculture-containers/


http://www.amazon.com/Behrens-6110-10-Gallon-Locking-Lid/dp/B000AS3OW8


I used two metal pails with locking lids and keep them inside my house under the kitchen table in the corner. It takes both of them filled to full for a 50 pound bag of layer crumbles. I use one up before I open the other. They are in AC in summer and heat in winter, and no sun or moisture, and no critters or insects. I only have three chickens so it take a couple months to go through the 50 pounds of feed. Treats I only buy in small quantities and I have a jumbo basket with all my 'chicken stuff' in it and I cover that with a pretty beach towel, but that is also in the kitchen. My outdoor feeder I never fill up even though it holds 8 lbs. I just put two big scoops per day and they eat it down.

A link to the same pails I have although I bought mine at Lowe's. When you press the lid down you can hear the air escape out when the pails start to empty, which I like, as I think removing most of the air in the void keeps it fresher longer. I think the pails look nice also.