ALUMINUM TRASH CANS FOR FEED STORAGE

[Jerry Dog Man]

Thanks for your quick reply!
Yes, we never had rats here before and there’s no evidence or them getting into the chicken feed. They cannot get into the chicken runs since they are completely covered in hardware cloth. Not sure why they all of a sudden showed up. My tough as nails 14 year old daughter is not squeamish at all and has no problem dealing with the traps, for a price of course!
The cans will be under an overhang of the house and are protected from the elements for the most part. Just wondering if it will be harmful to the chickens to pour the feed directly into the cans.
I pour the 50 pound bag that I’m currently using into a big covered plastic tub that I take from to feed the birds, I was hoping to pour the extra feed into these aluminum cans if it isn’t harmful.

I would line the cans with heavy duty trash bags. straight in the can I would think there would be a chance of mildew.

 

[Icie]

After recently discovering rats in our attic, went and got some metal trash cans to keep the extra chicken feed in. These have been lying on pallets covered with a tarp. Thankfully there have been no sign of the rats getting into these bags, but hey it’s just a matter of time. I bought two 31 gallon aluminum trash cans and was thinking to pour the feed right in. These cans are made in the US and 100% aluminum but I’m wondering if this is safe for the chickens to put the feed directly in the cans or should I line them with a plastic garbage bag first? Anyone out there use aluminum cans to store their chicken feed? Worried the plastic may make the feed heat up or retain moisture and get moldy.
I usually buy six weeks of feed at a time due to shipping issues in my location.
I can’t really put the unopened feed bags directly in the cans, as there isn’t much room to do so. If I take the feed out and pour into the cans I can fit three bags in each can.

We set traps last night for the rats and already caught two of them. Paying my teen-age daughter to set the traps and then retrieve the dead bodies from the attic…

I store my unopened and partially opened bags in one of those huge recycle type bins on wheels that our city provides for our trash pickup (we burn out stuff instead) AND I use a 31 gal aluminum can to mix my feed in and store what hasn't been taken to the coop. I've never had a mouse or rat chew their way through either of those containers yet and it's been about a year so far. I live in the rural (country) part of eastern NC and have all kinds of wildlife and predators. As for the feed staying fresh in either, it most certainly does as long as the lids are kept on tight so rain can't get in. It's VERY humid here in the summer. Now with all that being said, I'm preparing to make one of those DIY garbage can chicken feeders with 8 holes around the bottom. It should hold about 100 lbs easily of the mix I make and will be elevated on cinder blocks and the lid bungee corded. The coop is lined inside and out with hardware cloth and I've never seen any rodents. I suspect if one gets in my 17 ladies may make it a thing of the past, lol.

 

[Jstaz]

After recently discovering rats in our attic, went and got some metal trash cans to keep the extra chicken feed in. These have been lying on pallets covered with a tarp. Thankfully there have been no sign of the rats getting into these bags, but hey it’s just a matter of time. I bought two 31 gallon aluminum trash cans and was thinking to pour the feed right in. These cans are made in the US and 100% aluminum but I’m wondering if this is safe for the chickens to put the feed directly in the cans or should I line them with a plastic garbage bag first? Anyone out there use aluminum cans to store their chicken feed? Worried the plastic may make the feed heat up or retain moisture and get moldy.
I usually buy six weeks of feed at a time due to shipping issues in my location.
I can’t really put the unopened feed bags directly in the cans, as there isn’t much room to do so. If I take the feed out and pour into the cans I can fit three bags in each can.

We set traps last night for the rats and already caught two of them. Paying my teen-age daughter to set the traps and then retrieve the dead bodies from the attic…

I have done this twice before... first metal cans I used I kept them outside and the rain did get in as mentioned below by someone. got the feed soaked and moldy... however, I built a new coop and store my feed in another new alum can as you are describing and love it and had not issues even with humid hot south Alabama summers. So I think long as you have it out of direct rain you should be good friend.

 

[Mr Spot]

I keep my feed in the metal trash cans, I don't dump it in the cans, I just open the bags and set the bags in the cans, plus the cans with feed stay inside our house and not outside.

 

[MiMito3]

I have used an aluminum can once, hated it and am never going back. That thing sweats like crazy!!! The inside was almost always damp with condensation. Lucky I had my feed in its original bags, closed tight with clips, so the feed didn't get ruined, but it was a matter of time. I got tired of wiping the inside and retired the metal bin. Now I store my feed in the basement of the house, where the temperature is stable, so no temperature swings and sweating. I keep the feed in 5-gallon buckets (food grade plastic). I buy one bag at a time and it lasts me about a month. Haven't had rodent issues yet, though we do occasionally see them around the house (the cat helps with that when it happens). Plastic isn't rodent-proof, but being inside the house lowers the risk dramatically. This may not work with a larger flock and larger quantities of feed, but with my one bag at a time for a small 8-chicken flock, it works fine.

Yes it depends where you live. I live in the dry west. No problem with metal here.

 

[fuzzi]

I store my feed in a large metal trash can, still in the bag. It's in my shed, no issues yet.

However, I was keeping wildbird seed in a similar can but under the roof overhang, and for a couple years it worked great. Then earlier this year I discovered an ant colony had made a new home inside the seed bag. I had to throw out most of a 20# bag of black oil sunflower seeds. I keep the wildbird seed in the shed now, inside a metal can.

 

[Stephine]

Only bait in bait stations will take care of a rat colony. Sad, but true.
Mary

or cats? I find cats invaluable around the farm. They even keep away the pesky ground squirrels.

 

[Stephine]

An open feed bag in a metal trash can will not do much for condensation or feed safety. The feed bags are not waterproof and can gather condensation on the inside themselves if they are plastic, or will get soaked if they are paper. It’s fine to dump chicken feed directly into the cans, there is nothing in there that would react with the metal. In fact many chicken feeders are made from galvanized metal. And if you have no problem using PVC or other plastic feeders, no need to worry about metal cans. I am in CA where hot weather is dry and cold weather is dry, and wet weather is lukewarm. Not once have I had an issue with condensation. The cans are in the barn. In a more humid climate it’s probably best to store the feed in a climatized storage room/garage etc. I don’t trust plastic containers outside, rats will chew through them.

 

[Folly's place]

Two reasons to keep feed in it's original bag, first, so there's never that 'little bit' of left over feed in the bottom of the can, and so that if there's a problem with a bag of feed, it can be returned, and the mill date and manufacturer's codes are present.
Mary

 

[Stephine]

Two reasons to keep feed in it's original bag, first, so there's never that 'little bit' of left over feed in the bottom of the can, and so that if there's a problem with a bag of feed, it can be returned, and the mill date and manufacturer's codes are present.
Mary

Ah, I see. I always dump out my can at the end of the batch and have learned to keep the bag tags for dates, lot# and ingredients…