dog food storage

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Where do you find metal garbage cans? I have several dozen bags of dry dog food to store. The store had a sale 20lbs for $5, so I stocked up for winter. We have Pyrenees and a St Bernard along with the chihuahuas. They go through almost fifty pounds a week, so we bought up a lot of dog food while it was on sale.
All I have found is plastic garbage cans so far. Does anyone sell metal cans anymore?

[ShadowWolf]

Tractor Supply or Orschelins, Mernards, Lowes.

[Anon001]

I skype onto a "plastic" thing on wheels. It's what the garbage company provides for it's customers so they can put their bags of trash in it and wheel it to the curb... I think. Anyway, it holds several 50lb bags of dog food. You may have something like that already. Otherwise, some feed stores carry the metal cans

[jonvee]

I store mine in metal also. Got them from the local Ace Hardware store. I think I've also seen them at Do It Center. Can't recall if Home Depot had them.

[NCLee]

Same thing around here. Ace Hardware, Tractor Supply, Lowes, etc.

Get some bungie cords. Hook one end in one handle, pull through the handle on the lid and hook the other end in the other handle. Good way to keep the lid tight and secure.

Don't set them direction on concrete. Put down a piece of plywood first or a few bricks/blocks of wood. They'll rust out more quickly if in direct contact with cement.

For longer life, also line then with contractor trash bags. Heavy duty trash bags from Lowes. The bags will keep the salts in the dog food from the metal. And, for dog food, the bags are probably safer than having the food in direct contact with the galvanized metal.

Lee

[crunchycon]

As with others, we got ours at Ace. Thank you for the other tips on storage, though! Never thought about lining the can!

[cinok]

The metal cans are not cheap. If you have someplace to store them on a old pallet they might be ok depending upon your critter problems. We also have 1 great pry along with a pyr mix. Then we have out "family" dog. I dont know if the dogs or the kids eat more :lol:. We buy in 50lb bags from our coop. I keep all the food in a shed on pallets covered with a hevay canvas tarp and havent had a problem. We have some cheap plastic cans that we use to put open bags in they dont last long once they are open.
Soory about the rant but my point was buy the time you buy cans the savings on the food might be negated by the cost of the cans.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

I keep all the food in a shed on pallets covered with a hevay canvas tarp and havent had a problem. We have some cheap plastic cans that we use to put open bags in they dont last long once they are open.
Soory about the rant but my point was buy the time you buy cans the savings on the food might be negated by the cost of the cans.

So true on cost. I looked at Menards and WM, KM, but didn't see any metal cans only the black plastic ones for ten to twenty dollars a piece. My son manages an ACE, but said he didn't have a metal one either. I might have to check around some more for one or else have Bubby order me one from ACE.
I have the bags stacked in a small Amish built storage shed. They are supposed to be "rodent proof". We shall see if that is true.

You are all so lucky to have coops. We don't have one close here.

[Anon001]

I guess I would have a different question. Rather than negating the savings of the dog food with the cost of cans....Do you really need to store unopened bags in cans? Do you have somewhere that you can stack them without mice and critters getting to them? A lot of your dog food bags are now lined to protect them from moisture and to help keep them from getting stale. I think if I had to by cans, I'd just store the bagged dog food somewhere that mice and critters can't get to it.

As I was told here not too long ago, "Waste not, want not". lol

[Mom_of_Four]

I got several from Tractor supply, and I've also seen them at Lowe's. TSC had a couple of dented ones on clearance, which I bought. I keep dog and rabbit food in them. For chicken food I just stack the bags in the barn and dump the ones I'm using in a big plastic trash can in the chicken house. Once in a while I find a small hole in the feed bags from a mouse, but the bag seems to protect it pretty well.

I keep the dog food in metal because of the scent attracting raccoons and ants. The rabbit food sometimes gets moisture in it if it's not stored in a can.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

I have the bags stacked under the workbenches in a Schrock Shed. They are supposed to be rodent proof. We bought it last year from the Amish shop in that area when we bought some dogs from the community too.

[AZTimT]

I searched craigslist for a while until I found a guy with $10 food grade 55 gal plastic drums with lids which work great for both dog food and people food. They smelled like tomatoes when I got them, but they cleaned up well and sure are handy. Great for all grains/seeds/sacks etc that you would rather not leave exposed to the surrounding environment.

Plus, in a hurry 2 people or 1 really strong guy that knows how to leverage them can wrestle one or two full ones into a pickup/suv and hit the road. Think BOB in a Barrel for a small family/group and they are rodent/bug proof. ;)

[sonshine]

home depot carries the metal cans and if I remember correctly, the price was not bad.

Judy

[MYellowRose]

We don't have dogs, just a couple of cats. I bought 32#'s of food at the beginning of March and am now just about halfway through it. I store it in two empty oval kitty litter buckets with snap on lids that are stacked atop one another under the bathroom sink counter. The space isn't enclosed so it kolds these buckets along with the litter pan where it's all out of the way. Together they hold about 28#'s so I just roll up what's left in the bag, lay it across the top bucket, and feed out of it first.

[ScrubbieLady]

Our local feed mill sells 55-gallon heavy duty plastic drums with metal locking rings on the tops. They are food grade and they sell them for $15. I keep my dog food in them to keep the various local wildlife from wiping it out. Dog food bags are not made to resist raccoons or mice or rats, etc. Even though they are stored on our deck (under a roof), the varmints would get into it in bags. I store whole corn for feeding the wildlife in one and I store the feed for my ducks in one. Dog food comes in a 40# bag and I think I can get 5 in there. We have two wheeled dollies so if needed, it could get moved. Since it is plastic, I don't have to worry about rust problems.

[BREEZEMOMMY]

i am looking for an old , non working deep freeze to store my animal food . we buy 100 lbs of chicken food and 80 lbs of cat food every month . we are using metal cans right now , but i would like to have the extra storage so i could stock up when things are on sale . be careful putting things in plastic . i stored orange scented candles in a RUBBER MAID tote. the mice chewed through it and chewed up the candles . the mice ignored the tote of rice and beans . MAY JESUS BLESS YOU ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! breezemommy

[ShieldWolf]

I use "duck egg" containers that i get from a local chinese bakery. They look like large Olive shipping containers and have gasketed screw on lids, hold about 30lbs of food each and have two stout handles on each side, these things are thick plastic. Once cleaned out with bleach water and left in the sun to dry they are perfect for food storage or even a little "midnite" gardenenig.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

I use "duck egg" containers that i get from a local chinese bakery. They look like large Olive shipping containers and have gasketed screw on lids, hold about 30lbs of food each and have two stout handles on each side, these things are thick plastic. Once cleaned out with bleach water and left in the sun to dry they are perfect for food storage or even a little "midnite" gardenenig.

They sound wonderful for food storage. We are down to 2bags of that "sale" dogfood now, so I'm hoping the store will have another good sale soon. I just left it stacked in the shed all winter, and it weathered just fine. We go through those 20lb bags fast with the giant dogs.

[ShieldWolf]

They are great. I get my food through an auction at our local fair grounds, the last time I bought a pallet of dog food around 1,000lbs for $50.00 all mix and match bags. Abt 800lbs or so were useable so was a good deal.
being part Wolf I can use alot of local road kill deer in the cooler months.