# storing feed



## Our7Wonders (Jun 23, 2011)

I'm in the midst of re-arranging and re-organizing.  What do you find the best method of storing your feed for your animals?  

My goat grain has been stored in 5 gallon buckets with airtight gamma seal lids.  That size is just not convenient for me to store several hundred pounds at a time.  My chicken feed has been stored in large rubbermaid garbage cans - and it *seems* to be working so far - but I've only been doing it that way for a few months.  I know it's not completely air tight so it's not 100% bug/critter/moisture proof.  What do you find works really well against all of those?

And lastly, how much grain do you buy at time?  I know whole grains will keep for a very long time - but those of you that buy a pre-mix commercial feed how much do you buy at a time?  I guess that's subjective to how many critters your feeding - but what I mean is how many months worth of feed do you buy at a time?


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## 20kidsonhill (Jun 23, 2011)

Depends on the tempurature, but in the summer months we don't purchase more than a month a head, normally around every 2 weeks.  In the winter you can go a little longer. We leave our feeds in the bag until we need them if we buy way ahead. We put some of the feed that we will be using that week in a trash can, for ease of scooping it out. Our feed has a one month expiration date on the bag.


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## Our7Wonders (Jun 23, 2011)

We have mice that manage to find the feed if we leave it in a bag.  Which is why I'm at  my current need to re-arrange and re-organize.  I've been storing feed bags in the house since there are no mice issues inside - but I'm going crazy having valuable living space taken up by feed bags - with a family of nine we need every bit of living space we can manage - I don't want to have to share my pantry with the animals anymore.

We get very hot in the summer but the humidity stays low, so moisture/mold is usually not an issue for us - but the bugs and rodents can be.  I need a good barn cat - but I need to KNOW it's a good barn cat and that's hit and miss with a kitten.


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## RPC (Jun 23, 2011)

I always only buy 2-3 weeks of feed at a time that way if something happens to the feed I don't loose a bunch of money. The unopened bags are kept in the garage so the raccoons don't get into them and then the open bags are kept in garbage cans.


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## Mossy Stone Farm (Jun 23, 2011)

I have an old chest frezer i use for my whole grains it has a nice divider so i can have oats on one side and barley/peas/ boss mix on the other side. I also have a few metal cans for turkey and chicken feeds and a metal can in the milking room that hold 50 lbs of milking ration, that is mixed from the frezer. All together it is about 3 or 4 mos worth..so far this has worked well to keep mice/rats or what ever might come around.. OUT!!! And i hate those long tailed critters...


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## Our7Wonders (Jun 23, 2011)

I like the idea of an old chest freezer!  That would make a great bug/mouse free seal.  I bet I can pick up one for free seeings that people often have to pay to get rid of them.    Then a garbage can for the current working supply.

Great idea - thank you!


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Jun 24, 2011)

I second using an old chest freezer.  Or turn an upright fridge on it's side and you can store feed in the fridge part and supplements in the freezer part.


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## Chirpy (Jun 24, 2011)

I, too, have an old chest freezer.  I keep mine in the barn and it holds a lot of feed bags... not even the raccoons can get into it!  You may be able to find one on Craigslist for free since people don't think they have any value if they don't work!  

I keep the feed that I'm currently using in a garbage can and/or a 5 gallon pail with the screw on lids.


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## Renegade (Jun 24, 2011)

We use 55 gallon drums for storage and have a creep feeder in our pasture as well. Usually 5 bags of pelleted feed fits in each drum. The creep feeder holds far more feed then I'll ever put in it. We buy a 1/2 ton of feed at a time.

Donna Finley
Finley Boers


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## babsbag (Jun 24, 2011)

I buy about a month worth of feed at a time and store the opened bags in garbage cans. It is in a shed and I do have mice, but if I keep the lids on the cans they can't get in. But they sure do without the lid. Amazing what those little critters can climb.

It get really hot here, but almost no humidity so we never get mold. I could probably buy more, but I don't have enough room to store it or money to buy it. I have never looked for a date stamp on the bag, I should do that.


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## Roll farms (Jun 25, 2011)

We have 2 chest freezers, one for chicken feed, one for goat feed.
I open the bags and mix the feed into the freezer (a bag o' this, half bag o' that, swizzle some mineral on, another bag o' this, some of that, etc.)
It's right beside the main pen so I just scoop right out of the freezer.
In the other barns / pens, we keep it in metal cans, out of the bag.


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## MissDanni (Jun 25, 2011)

Just a note about the freezer. 

We did that last year and stupid me thought "Perfect I can just keep it outside and make more room around here!" Ya that was a bad idea because the rain got into it and well, that was bad. I should have had a tarp over it to keep the rain out, but for whatever reason I never even thought of it.

However, all in all the freezer worked out really well once I got my brain working properly.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 25, 2011)

I prefer to buy my just a few bags at a time, so I go to the feed mill every two weeks or so.  I live close to the mill, and I like having fresh feed.  I store it in metal and/or plastic trashcans.


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## elevan (Jun 25, 2011)

I use metal trash cans.  But I like the freezer idea


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## Roll farms (Jun 26, 2011)

I'd prefer to buy 2 or 3 bags at a time, too....but I'd have to go back every day.


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## Mossy Stone Farm (Jun 26, 2011)

x's 2 ......


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## redtailgal (Jun 26, 2011)

.


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## Mossy Stone Farm (Jun 26, 2011)

gonna go look for a thingamabob


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## Nikki (Jun 27, 2011)

I put my animal feed on metal trashcans, it's easy! . Then I just have a cup.


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