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| Author |
Message |
    
Tammy Fox
| | Posted on Monday, Jun 26, 2000 - 10:26 am: |   |
I need suggestions on what would be good to use as a feed bin. I am moving my horse home and I am trying to prepare for this move by getting the supplies I need. I have asked several people from feed stores and people who keep thei horses at home about what they use. So far, I have heard that metal trash cans are good, others say they are bad and some say plastic trash cans are good while others say don't use them. I am only keeping one horse so I don't need a large container. I plan to keep one to two 50lb bags of feed on hand for feeding. The barn is an outside type shed row barn so I know mice, other small creatures, and bugs(including ants) could get to the feed if they wanted to in the tack/feed room. So, I want something to keep all these unwanted guests out of the feed.
Also, I am only feeding my mare a little over a pound of feed a day so would I be better just buying one bag at a time so that the feed does not spoil. Thanks ahead of time for your advice and suggestions. |
James R. Hughes
| | Posted on Monday, Jun 26, 2000 - 10:44 am: | |
I have always used plastic containers with locking type lids. I use them for horse feed, dog food, cat food and also store certain extra tack items in them. I've never had a problem using them.
Jim |
Nada J. Woodworth
| | Posted on Monday, Jun 26, 2000 - 11:07 am: | |
Hello Tammy: I have always used the metal trash cans with lids and had no problems. They keep all the critters out of my feed. If you are only feeding the 1 pound--you might want to do as you suggested and by just a bag at a time. The feed will stay fresher especially if it is a sweet feed. Good Luck. Dr. Woodworth |
claire sidebottom
| | Posted on Monday, Jun 26, 2000 - 11:25 am: | |
At present I use black plastic dustbins but in the past where rodents or people stealing feed have been a problem I used an old deep freeze, not working, that somebody gave me and I divided up into one sack of feed sized compartments with plywood. The part of the freezer that didn't hold feed I used for grooming kit etc. I would try to just use one bag if possible to keep it fresh. |
Dawn Friesen
| | Posted on Tuesday, Jun 27, 2000 - 11:51 am: | |
Just to add to the recommendations above, I also have rat/mice problems. Although the metal bins work just fine, I tended to like the locking top type of plastic (heavy duty - not thin so it dries out), and then to make them a little less accessible to critters who would infiltrate, I place them on a small wood palette. It has been terrific for keeping the feed dry, free of dust, easily accessible. Hope this helps! |
Imogen Bertin
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 28, 2000 - 9:31 am: | |
I find that ordinary (slightly flexible) plastic dustbins can be eaten through by determined rats. Thick rigid plastic bins (eg barrels from feed ingredients) seem OK but metal is safe...
Imogen |
Helen Weedon
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 28, 2000 - 9:39 am: | |
I use plastic bins but a few weeks ago when I'd put a couple of loaves of bread inside a rat chewed his way in overnight - I found him the next day when I took the lid of - yuk!! I'd expected a forced entry from ground level but this one had obviously draped himself over the lid and chewed a hole just below the lid rim. So I'd recommend metal bins if you have the money and choice. Also square ones fit together better and don't waste space. If you lift them up on blocks or whatever sweep out underneath VERY regularly or you will soon have a problem. And yes, only buy one sack of feed at a time, it will go off and you will waste your money in the long run if you bulk-buy. |
Jackie Aldrich
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 28, 2000 - 1:36 pm: | |
Old refrigerator and freezers work great too. If you really look hard, you can even find small ones. Garage sales, classifieds etc... |
Liselotte F. Bradford
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 28, 2000 - 1:40 pm: | |
If there are young kids around the barn, would you not worry about old refrigerators or freezers? I would be concerned that kids might climb in and get trapped.
Lilo |
Jackie Aldrich
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 28, 2000 - 1:51 pm: | |
A latch with a paddlock works great. Also I don't allow kids that young in the barn unattended because of the many things that can happen.
I just like the frig because they keep things dry in the summer and in winter the feed doesn't freeze into clumps. And it keeps the bugs and the critters out. |
claire sidebottom
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 28, 2000 - 4:51 pm: | |
To Lilo - when we had a freezer as a feed bin it was divided up into smallsections to fit just one sack and i also took out the motor bit so that it did have air going into it in case some one fell in. but i would agree with jackie about unatended kids in a feed shed - i think they would be more likely to eat sugarbeet or cut themselves on the carot knives, scald with the kettle etc. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 29, 2000 - 8:28 am: | |
Hello All,
Metal cans are the only insurance against rodents, though I have used plastic for years without trouble, must be those 12 cats and a few mixed terriers.
I have heard that the latching mechanisim on old appliances can and should be removed to prevent accidents.
Concerning safety for the horses: I always recommend there be at least two doors between the horses and the feed bins. Preferably one that is spring closed. For instance the stall door and the feed room door. When I see folks who line up feed bins in the barn isle and the horses just doing nothing all day but thinking: how do I get to that feed bag...it is always just a matter of time.
DrO |
Jordana Meisner
| | Posted on Friday, Jun 30, 2000 - 12:45 pm: | |
I have had rats chew through the thick plastic of rubbermaid-type trash cans, the heavy duty street kind. Blasted critters. They also chewed a hole in the MIDDLE of a rubbermaid lid, smack dab in the middle. So, metal seems to be the way to go. We have quite a few metal ones at our barn, and the worst that happens is that every so often the bottoms start to rust.
Additionally, consider having 2 cans, even though you'll only be using one at a time. If you are feeding sweet feed, it would be a good idea to rinse out the can when you're done, so you'd need the other one to store the food until the first one dries. As extra insurance, you can keep the food right in the bag (in the can) if the bag is paper, but not if it's plastic. Go for the metal. |
Gay M. Walker
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 10, 2000 - 10:31 pm: | |
You might check with your local hospital and see if they will sell you shipping containers--we got ours there for about $15 each. (They look kind of like plastic oil drums). We have trash-can sized white, double walled ones that have lids that latch on in four places that we keep our feed in and no barn cats. The rodents are around, but not in our feed. We also like the fact that even were one of our horses to get into the feed room, they couldn't pilfer because they'd never get the lids off. |
Z
Member
Username: Zoe
Post Number: 14
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 8:28 pm: | |
Tammy: I usually use tall thick rubber trash cans so that the mice and rats don't get in but its easy to get food out, and th ones Im using now have wheels so if you were on the move it would be easy to take them around. And they aren't that excpensive either because they are just trash cans.
MUCH LOVE!
Z |
Imogen Bertin
Member
Username: Imogen
Post Number: 679
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 7:58 am: | |
Most farming communities have lots of heavy duty blue plastic containers with black lids in which various chemicals and drugs come. Obviously read the label, check out what was in them, wash them out well. These are impervious to rats! They are fantastic. They make good jumps too.
Imogen |
Little King Ranch
Member
Username: Eoeo
Post Number: 183
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 9:26 am: | |
If there is a fruit juice producing facility in the area, their plastic barrels make excellent containers and you don't have to worry about toxicity. EO |
cp
Member
Username: Cpacer
Post Number: 38
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 10:18 am: | |
wow, you have a lot of suggestions here. I keep the same amount of food that you do handy--I keep the spare bag in a locked rubber bin, and the stuff in use in one of those air-tight containers with the screwdown lid that sucks the air out, and keep that inside a metal trash can with another lid (where supplements can be accessed too). May be overkill but nothing gets in or out, not even dust or moisture. |
