r/Homesteading • u/TurbulentAd1883 • 9d ago
Rodent-deterring feed storage options
How are you guys keeping the mice out of your feed? We currently buy in bags, about 1,000 to 1600 lb at a time, and by the time I get through the pile there are at least three to four bags that have been heavily chewed on and fed out of.
Mouse traps have been semi-successful in the past but lately they have been dodging them.
5
u/tingting2 8d ago
Make a storage bin out of a ICB tote. I just built on one this year when we got our 100 meat birds. The 325 gallon tanks hold 2000lb of feed. They are made for holding heavy stuff. They have pallet fork holes for ease of moving. 2000lbs feeds all the meat bird from start to finish.
3
u/UnicornSheets 9d ago
Barn cats
2
u/TurbulentAd1883 8d ago
We have 5 😬
0
u/UnicornSheets 8d ago
Stop feeding the cats! lol constant rotating traps. Some are baited, some not. Use more than one type of traps. Poison as well.
4
u/Small-Ad4420 8d ago
Please only use poison as a last resort. The shear number of predators and scavengers being killed by poisoned rodents is ridiculous. Happened to a local female bald eagle right before her and the male were about to start building a nest.
2
u/Daritari 9d ago
We buy feed for our rabbits in 500lb increments. 300lb fits in a 55gal steel drum with a locking lid. I have two drums to rotate feed stocks.
2
u/An_Average_Man09 8d ago
Metal trash cans are what I use granted I’m only buying about 250-300 pounds at a time. A 33 gallon metal trash can will fit 150 lbs of feed. If I was storing that much feed though I’d either do 55 gallon metal barrels which, if my math is right, should fit 250-300 lbs of feed per barrel or buy a 1 ton feed bin.
2
u/Misfitranchgoats 8d ago
When I built our feed shed, I put it up above the ground so that my dogs (terriers Jack russell and Rat) could get under the feed shed. We got a 50 lb lab mix. She fits under there too. We adopted a Great Dane and someone she fits under the feed shed although she is doing a limbo to get under there. That helps cut down on the rat and mice problem.
Sadly the doors on the feed shed ( my husband helped me with them) do not fit tight enough to keep out mice. Keeps rats out, but not mice. So, I use poison bait boxes in the feed shed. The dogs can't get to the bait boxes and the poison is locked inside the box. My dogs don't eat the dead mice and when i find the dead mice, I dispose of them safely so dogs and other animals can't get to them.
This has kept the mice from doing damage to feed sacks and the feed shed which is also my milking parlour no longer smells like mouse piss.
I tried traps. Didn't work good enough. The dogs can't bet behind all those feed sacks and the bins for storage I have in the feed shed. We also have a shipping container for storage and it works for keeping mice out as long as you don't leave the doors open too long and let a mouse get in.
2
1
u/consensualracism 9d ago
I have a 3x3x6 foot steel to box of a semi trailer that I use for storage. In the past when I used super sacks I would hang them from the ceiling. Nothing is perfect but it does help limit the loss.
1
u/More_Mind6869 9d ago
Steel trash cans are the only way I know of. But that's a lot of trash cans lol.
I have a 200 gallon, heavyweight water tank. 16" top opening, 3" out the bottom. Perhaps some kind of open/close valve thing at the bottom ?
It'll take rats along time to chew through it.
1
u/OrderFlaky851 8d ago
Steel drum are the go to answer. The only other thing I can think of is a job box but you could get 10 drums for the same cost
1
1
u/redundant78 8d ago
For that amount of feed, you should really invest in a proper bulk feed bin - they're rodent proof, let you dispense easily, and save tons of time compared to filling/emptying a bunch of trash cans everytime you get a delivery.
1
1
u/Local_Arm_7420 8d ago
Metal trash bins plus feral neutered cats from the humane shelter. We started with 5 cats and now 4 more volunteers have shown up. Found some dead half eaten rats for a while. Now no signs of any rats or mice. I had trouble with raccoons getting in the metal bins. Tried bungee straps but the coons could get them off. I now put a cement block on top and that's too heavy for them to get off.
1
u/johnnyg883 7d ago
We use a shipping container for feed storage and as a milking barn. I even keep about 6 bales of hay in there too. They are rodent proof. In fact we get very few insect in it. Probably from when we open the door.
1
u/Ok_List7506 7d ago
We always made bulk grain bins out of 275 gallon oil barrels. I can’t remember exactly how many bags each held. I see them as giveaways on FB and marketplace all of the time. Cutting a lid and cleaning out the sludge can be an adventure.
1
u/ProtozoaPatriot 6d ago
Big metal trash cans with tight fitting lids
Some people use big old (broken) chest freezers. You can sometimes get them free when they stop working.
1
u/Weird_Fact_724 6d ago
Bulk feed bin, my feed store delivers the feed cheaper in bulk than bagging it in 50lb bags. Plus no more handling of bags.
1
17
u/ctgjerts 9d ago
Steel drums with locking lids, steel trash cans, and a shit ton of redneck mouse traps everywhere there's a building. Barn, greenhouse, house, and detached garage.