How do you store your poultry feed?

[Tin Flamingo]

Well I am now going to have to go out tomorrow and look at the bottoms of my bins for holes. I have it stored outside between my garage and the neighbors garage, which has little burrows from mice.

 

[kbgh]

We use 30 gall heavy duty plastic milk replacer barrels with tight fittin lids. Then sit inside the center aisle of our coop. Only time we had problems was when we kept them in a shed and the flying squirrels found them. Luckily they found one very low on food and were somewhat stupid. Over a two week period I caught atleast 7 in that one barrel. Once they got in and it was about 36" deep, the sides are so slick they couldn't get out.

 

[cheeka]

my house is an old colonial farmhouse with an addition, a dining / laundry room (laundry machines are hidden in a nice big closet) the kitchen is large enough to be considered an eat-in kitchen, so I've never used it as a dining room... I used it as a bedroom a couple of times....when my little bro found himself jobless and in need of a roof over his head...
what's nice about this addition is that it has it's own heat register, and I can keep it much cooler than the rest of the house, without worrying about burst pipes. the cats like that room for the cool, so as long as I'm diligent about putting away the clean clothes, they don't lie all over them and get em hairy...
since the chickens came, they brooded in the addition with the little oil filled radiators to give the warmth they needed, and I kept the feed and bedding in there for convenience. since the birds moved outside, I've kept the feed in that room, in 5 gallon "paint" buckets with lids. since there is at least one cat in there at all times, I don't worry about rodents. nothing gets inside and stays alive for long. it's been 7 months and I've had only one issue... I have a slick BR who has slipped inside behind me when I go in to get seeds... but since she's so darned amusing, I usually open the lid on the BOSS container and let her have at it. I have about a dozen buckets with a nice variety of different things, layer crumbles, boss, safflower seeds, millet, cracked corn, peanut hearts... I also use the quart size plastic "to go" containers from the local chinese restaurant soups. I have way too many of those (egg drop soup addiction...) so whatever doesn't fit in the 5 gallon pail gets put in quarts, and I use those first. even tho' they are super thin plastic and could rapidly get destroyed by a mouse... I've not had a mark of a nibble thanks to my vicious killer kitties!

 

[Green Lantern]

I use galvanized trash cans with nice tight fitting lids. I had plastic bins in the past that the mice ate through in one night. I was afraid that the mouse poop might carry some exotic chicken-harming disease so I had to pitch the entire new 50 lb bag of (expensive) organic feed.

I haven't had an issue with the metal cans but I do keep them inside the barn up on a pallet so they don't get rusty.

 

[Chicken Lover 1]

metal cans.

Rodents can and do chew through plastic.

always have

 

[cochins1088]

I just keep my 50 lb bags in plastic garbage cans with lids. We have plenty of mice around our barn, but surprisingly I have never had a mouse get into the trash cans for the 3 years we've been using them.

 

[Gifa]

Being in the city, I only have 7 hens... so, I don't have a need to keep a mountain of feed around at any given time... however, I do like to buy 2 bags at a time.

This bin holds a little more than a bag and a half. I fill the feeders with the rest of the second bag, and it lasts a good while.






We have too many clever wild animals around here that I wouldn't even trust a metal can outside. So, I keep mine in the house next to where I keep the bin for the dogs' food.

The dogs don't bother it, the cats don't bother it, and there are no mice or any other rodents of unusual sizes in the house who bother it. Also, I can maintain a nice low humidity level to keep it from crumbling to dust before I get to the bottom of the bin and need a refill.

 

[markandcindy]

I used to store our feed in those big square kitty litter buckets that are sturdy, space efficient, and have great lids. Then the mice started to chew through them so we switched to metal trash cans.

 

[aoxa]

Being in the city, I only have 7 hens... so, I don't have a need to keep a mountain of feed around at any given time... however, I do like to buy 2 bags at a time.  


This bin holds a little more than a bag and a half.  I fill the feeders with the rest of the second bag, and it lasts a good while.

 





We have too many clever wild animals around here that I wouldn't even trust a metal can outside.  So, I keep mine in the house next to where I keep the bin for the dogs' food.

The dogs don't bother it, the cats don't bother it, and there are no mice or any other rodents of unusual sizes in the house who bother it.  Also, I can maintain a nice low humidity level to keep it from crumbling to dust before I get to the bottom of the bin and need a refill.

 

How many lbs in a bag do you get? Seems like a small container for nearly 100 lbs of feed. :/

Also, for 7 hens - the feed would go bad far before they consumed it all if it is indeed 100 lbs. Shelf life is 2 months I believe.. 7 hens may go through a bag every 1.5 months... Depending on the time of year and the size of those hens.

 

[LaPetiteFarmer]

We store our feed, scratch, etc... in Vittles vaults air tight plastic containers on top of some plywood and covered by a tarp. Until now, nothing happen. Knock on wood lol.