Where/how do you store your feed?

[Henry&Friends]

That wouldn't work for me I would have rats everywhere and we already have enough as it is to keep the cat busy. We pretty much lift all food at night and secure it save 1 chicken feeder and we leave our cats cat food out. Those little buggers are attracted to his food/ambush zone.

You might want to raise the chicken feeder at night as well, so instead of going to the chicken feeder they all head on down to the cats food/ambush zone.

 

[Lawrence Lovestock]

Mines in a plastic tote on the back porch. Two bags in the tote, layer crumbles and chick starter, normally scratch. Cooler with bread, mealworms or whatever chicken snacks on top. If I accidentally leave bread out (I did the other night ) raccoons take it, but if everything is put in the tote or cooler, nothing touches it.

What kind of tote? Can you post a picture?

 

[RaZ]

I keep mine in metal garbage cans inside the coop. Rather than roost on the perches, the hens like to roost on the lids. So the lids get poopy. No big deal, I just scrape the lid in the morning into the compost bucket.

I have heavy duty trash bags in the cans but I like the idea of that 4" PVC as a feeder tube. Luckily I don't have rats so it shouldn't be an issue here.

 

[Lawrence Lovestock]

I use an old freezer that no longer works. It can hold 4- 50lb bags worth of feed dumped out of the bag, still has the gasket on the lid so I feel like it keeps it fairly fresh, and there's no way rats can chew into it... they've tried. I know not everyone has the place to keep a freezer, but if you get the even longer chest freezer you could store the bags still shut in it. Mine only allows for 2 bags with feed in them to sit upright in it since it's the smaller, more square size chest freezer. I love that I can haul down way more than I need at once, and just scoop out as I need it.

The best part about these it you can usually get them free. People are always trying to give away non working freezers.

Great idea! When we build our big henhouse I’m going to do this!

 

[jolenesdad]

Great idea! When we build our big henhouse I’m going to do this!

I do this too, but make sure you seal the drain in a chest freezer on the bottom. I did not and had ants overtake the inside of the freezer from a tiny gap in that drain.

 

[RoyD1949]

I keep mine in the garage which is right next to the coop. I put the feed in plastic totes which have lids that lock down. A lot cheaper that metal cans, you don't have to stretch down in the can when the feed gets low. I even drilled holes in a tote and made a carrier. I got my totes on sale and paid about $3 each, I have 3 that will hold one bag each and another larger tote that will hold 2 bags of feed and a bag of oyster shells, $7

 

[Duck_life]

I keep mine in the garage which is right next to the coop. I put the feed in plastic totes which have lids that lock down. A lot cheaper that metal cans, you don't have to stretch down in the can when the feed gets low. I even drilled holes in a tote and made a carrier. I got my totes on sale and paid about $3 each, I have 3 that will hold one bag each and another larger tote that will hold 2 bags of feed and a bag of oyster shells, $7

The only problem with totes for me is they'll scratch them and try to chew through it (The rats and mice)

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Same here. Plastic totes are nice if you expect to never have a pest problem. As it is, mice get through them with work, and rats like the plastic is butter. And raccoons can get in too.

 

[Old-clucker-55]

I'm going to use metal garbage cans in the coop.

 

[imnukensc]

Store it right next to the coop in a metal garbage can inside another metal garbage can. A 20 gal can will hold a 50 lb sack of pellets. The 20 gal can with lid goes inside a 31 gal can. As noted earlier, rain can leak through the handle, but a little caulk takes care of that problem. Can't store in plastic here because the squirrels will chew right through it.