Keeping feed dry

[bjwil]

I'd like to get some thoughts on how to keep moisture out of my chicken feed. Currently I store it in 5 gal. food storage buckets with Gamma screw on lids. During dry weather I can keep the buckets in the coop but once the weather is consistently wet, the feed will often mold soloist year I kept the buckets indoors. However, the coop is in the opposite side of the yard from where I keep the buckets. I've considered building a cabinet in the coop to keep the buckets in so I don't have cover so much distance to feed them. It wouldn't be insulated but it would be dry. Also thinking of putting moisture absorption packets in the buckets, wondering if they would be effective for this purpose.

I'd appreciate hearing some thoughts on this. Thank you.

 

[chickenlittle21]

I just put the chicken feed bag (with the feed in it of course) in metal feed cans I get from tractor supply and other feed stores.

 

[Peppercorngal]

You can get a resin shed like this one for your feed. We put ours right near the free range area. You can put your feed in a metal garbage can with a lid inside this or just use whatever storage units you already have. I wouldn't buy too much feed at a time if it's getting wet and ruined. You don't want to use this type of shed if you have bears however, they will break into it and steal your feed. We only keep straw in ours now because of that reason. We had to build a real shed for the feed.

 

[aart]

During dry weather I can keep the buckets in the coop but once the weather is consistently wet,

How do the buckets get wet in the coop?

 

[RojoMarz]

I have 'extra/unused' nest boxes in the coop. I use them for storage. My main storage of feed is in the garage, but I keep a small 2.5 gallon lidded container, that is full of feed, in the coop storage nest box. Easy to fill the feeder, then I can take the small container back to the garage and fill. Next trip to the coop, I take it with me.

Is it the moisture in the air/humidity that is getting to the feed, or is it actually getting wet? I have a gamma screw on lid container, in the garage, and it seems to work well.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Might be a condensation problem. If you have ever had a metal building with a tin roof you will notice that they usually have thin blanket insulation. Without it the sheet metal might be cooler than the interior air and just like a drink with ice cubes the surrounding air will condense water onto the metal surface or in this case, the gamma lids. See if you can install some sort of styrofoam insulation on the bottom of the lid. Or build a wood box, insulate it including the lid, and that will solve any condensation problem.