storage containers - what is the best?

[cboriskin]

Thanks everyone.
I think we will try out the galvanized trah cans. Any tricks for keeping the lid secure? I was thinking a few bricks.

Use bungee cords. Hook it on the can handle and then through the lid handle and then to the other can handle.

 

[lolita117]

I keep mine in my coop so I don't have to worry about keeping the lids tight, but whenever I do put my lids on on the way, they are very tight. I couldn't imagine a small child being about to pull them off, so I doubt a coon or small animal could.

 

[CarolJ]

Use bungee cords. Hook it on the can handle and then through the lid handle and then to the other can handle.

X2. We keep all the animal foods/supplies in galvanized trash cans. When a raccoon kept taking the lid off to get into the dog food, we secured the lid with bungee cords - and that solved the problem. I put the lid on and then looped the bungee cord from one handle of the trash can, through the handle on top of the lid to the handle on the other side of the trash can. We already had some really long bungee cords - so we doubled it back again. Works great.

 

[Judy]

I also use galvanized cans, having had critters chew through plastic when camping. Would use bungee cords to secure if they weren't in the coop and safe from that kind of problems. The larger one will hold 100 lbs. of feed. The other hold the BOSS, scratch, oyster shell and grit.

 

[KDK1]

X2. We keep all the animal foods/supplies in galvanized trash cans. When a raccoon kept taking the lid off to get into the dog food, we secured the lid with bungee cords - and that solved the problem. I put the lid on and then looped the bungee cord from one handle of the trash can, through the handle on top of the lid to the handle on the other side of the trash can. We already had some really long bungee cords - so we doubled it back again. Works great.

We used to keep our catfish feed in a metal can with bungee cords in this same manner. We had one crafty coon that would undo the bungee every night and get to the food. I ended up having to use the screw type chain links on the end of the cord to stop him.

 

[1muttsfan]

Bungee cord across the top holds galvanized metal cans closed nicely.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

I use plastic bins with hinge lids for feed - they fit two 50 lb bags and can stack on top of each other - $8 each on sale at Wilco. Portland has a big rat problem and I've trapped a few in the run, and so far, there have been no chews through either the plastic bin or the plastic home depot buckets I use for BOSS, Flax seed, etc. No issues with galvanized metal when using plastic, totally waterproof/rustproof, and they're cheaper, too.

The rats did eat through a paper bag of treat parrot feed, which is when I started storing everything in plastic.

Both Portland and Seattle have serious rat problems; on the wharves in Seattle I swear there were rats that seemed almost as big as possums.
NO, they were definitely NOT possums.

Get a good rat terrier. Both cities suffer from an pseudo-environmental complex that prevents them from taking the needed steps against rats. Both allow people
to set up feral cat colonies to save an invasive, dangerous species. It is NOT true that if colonies are removed other feral cats will move into the
area - colonies permit them to survive in concentrations 10 - 100 times as dense as normal conditions.

Why do I single out feral cat colonies? If you stay in an area where there are feral colonies, the rats tend to swarm the feed after dark. They will
literally drive the cats off of it. There used to be one near the marina in Redwood City, CA, and the concentration of rats seeking that feed was
like something out of a horror movie if you had to pass it after dark. We had a little Catalina 22, and we weren't comfortable sleeping on it
after dark because of the abundant rat supply. Most cats will not take on rats, you can spot the ones that do because when hunting, they
make moves like a boxer.

 

[lizco]

I bought a red plastic trashcan from ace hardware. It holds 150 lbs. of layer feed. I've had no problems with rodents, etc getting into the feed.