Feed Storage: What Container Does It Best?

Storing livestock feed is certainly not the most glamorous topic, but having clean, dry, pest-free feed storage is essential to keeping animals healthy and the farm running smooth. After purchasing the best organic, soy-free feeds we could find, it was important for us to keep it as fresh as possible until feeding time. Because we feed lots of animals every morning and evening, our storage system must also have a decent capacity and be easy to use and maintain.

The old standby feed storage container is the trash can, either metal or plastic. They are cheap and easy to find in stores. However, since I am quite short, I cannot easily reach the bottom of many trash cans. The metal variety tends to be shorter in height, but the lids rarely stay on securely and often bend. For these reasons, trash cans are a no for us.

Stack-n-Stor containers are readily available at most big box pet or farm stores. I loved that they stack to save space! This is especially nice because I need to store feed for pigs, goats, layer chickens, meat chickens, turkeys, and ducks - so anything that reduces the storage footprint is awesome. The primary downside to these containers is that the door configuration allows feed to spill out onto the floor when filled to capacity. That means extra time sweeping the floor or taking a risk of attracting pests. So, again, this type of container is a no.

Vittle Vaults have a tightly locking, screw-on lid, which I love! These are my favorite type of container to store dog food because they are so secure and keep feed fresh. The only complaints I have about these nifty containers is that they barely hold 50 pounds of feed and the opening is too small to comfortably maneuver a feed scoop in and out.

I recently discovered Tuff Stuff Feed & Seed containers, which are the hands-down winner of the storage container comparison. They have a double locking lid, so I can rest assured that the lid will stay secure. Best of all is that the largest Tuff Stuff containers hold 220 pounds of feed, which means I can dump 4+ bags at one time. I found these containers at Country Farm and Home in Pittsboro, NC, which has a plethora of useful tools, supplies, and, of course, feed!