The new grain dumped on top of old grain is something I haven’t thought about, probably because I haven’t had any issues.
Would this be more of an issue for someone not going through bags of grain quickly?
I go through quite a few bags per week but I always dump the fresh bags on the ones already in the bins.
I use plastic storage bins first off. Makes removing/dumping/cleaning easier. A couple time of year, I pull the bins and shop-vac the whole thing out.
I also use an old chest freezer. I keep my feed in the bags and simply scoop as I go. The whole flax is also kept in there. Roomy, mouse-proof and we picked it up free from the local dump’s metal pile.
Perhaps three times a year I use a small broom and dustpan or a shop vac to get the crumbs and bits that inevitably land on the freezer’s floor. I live in a dry desert climate…I don’t worry much about mold. A Smartpak bin on a bookshelf holds the mare’s one supplement and de-wormers are in another plastic bin. There are saddles, stray tack items and overflow stuff from my husband’s woodworking shop, which adjoins in the large part of the barn. The feed/tack room is about 10x10 or so? The space could be reconfigured better, but it works fine for us. We also live in a place where dust cannot be avoided or battled; you just learn to live with it.
i needed more storage and couldn’t find another old chest freezer (i only have one) so this spring i bought two of these guys: https://www.unionjacktools.com/macx48-solid-harvest-bin-bulk-container/ I got blue to match my steel gates as i have them under a shed…unfortunately they are not rodent/insect proof. Though i did ask before i purchased, and was told
“yes, they’re rodent-proof” The lids just do not fit well enough. Soooo…company comp’d me the two lids (appx 100$ each) and i still use the boxes to get stuff up off the ground. I can only put beetpulp bags and alfalfa pellet bags. Grain has to go in chest freezer, because it is the only safe container i have (so far) So …i advise anyone, don’t think outside the box (pun intended) too much!
I don’t put new feed on top of old, either. When the level of feed gets low in a can, I scoop out the remainder, refill the can with the fresh feed, and put the small amount of the older feed on top of the new (so that it’s fed first at the next meal). It’s no trouble.
The feeds that I don’t feed as much of – so go through it more slowly – I keep in their original bags, inside of the can. I find that I can fit two standard bags of feed side by side in one of the trash cans I use, so I can keep two different feeds in one, if need be.
I am thankful to have a sizable feed/ tack room in my barn. My only wish is that it was at ground level. Lugging feed bags and saddles up 4 big steps isn’t as easy as it was when I was younger. At first we just had 2 cement blocks and a huge step up into the room. After I finally fell out the door ( my clumsiness) my husband had my son build me 3 big wide permanent steps into my room. Very much improved:D
I should clarify my horse barn is an old grainary building here on the farm. We work with what we have.
Could you add a dock you can pull up close or back to with your vehicle?
That is what we did in one barn when we started using the old oat bin for feed sacks.
Very handy to unload directly into the feed room.
Sadly no, due to the configuration of the building. I can back my truck in, but still have to go up the stairs. Maybe it helps keep me in shape??
Definitively, always look for that silver lining.
We used to have a cowcake storage building made out of two WWII wood granaries.
It had two big concrete steps, that I tottered along carrying 100 lbs towsacks (burlap).
They used to tell me all they could see was a big sack walking along on two boots, like a cartoon character.:lol:
Those sacks didn’t seem that heavy then … 
:lol:
Where do you get the dollies from?
I would expect it might be a problem for anyone because however fast the vast majority of the feed is used, the bits in the bottom corners will sit there through multiple bags of feed, molding if the weather supports it, unless it’s actually cleaned out between bags. And that would give the mold a “home base” to grow out into the bottom of the new grain.
I watch out for that with my feed that’s in galvanized cans because the crimped bottom seams really hold the crumbs. But we still dump the bags in because we can fit 3 bags per can if dumped but not if kept in the bag, and getting our choice of feed is a pain and we don’t want to restock more often than we have to.
I have cheap wood-framed dollies that I got from Harbor Freight and modified - lengthened the short sides to make them square, put blocks in the corners to keep the cans centered and a block under the center of the can to keep that from sagging. All quick and dirty with scrap wood and deck screws, no fine carpentry!
Yeah I’ve never not swapped the old grain to the top so I have no idea how big of an issue it may or may not be, but I have no intention of giving it a try. I did have a boarder bring her own can with her horse’s feed in it, and she obviously did not use this practice, as I had to throw out the bottom 1/4 of the can. It was a feed with molasses and was packed hard as a rock and mold in the middle.
I absolutely will not ever leave the feed in the bag in the can. Such a huge PIA to scoop it out, IMO, especially for sticky feeds.
I agree! I keep my cat food in the bags (two different dry foods) in a trash can. As I was fighting to get the scoop out of the bag with out spilling all I could think of was this thread and how I would be screaming every day if I kept the horse feed in the bag too. Clearly the people who keep the feed in the bag are more coordinated than I am because I agree, it would be a huge PIA.
I ordered from Amazon. They’re not here yet… something like this, though the ones I got are silver. https://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-Swivel-Capacity-Tipping/dp/B01LZC9MDN/
And I use thin liners in the galvanized cans to avoid feed getting stuck in the crease at the bottom. I usually get two or three uses out of the bag before it gets demoted to a regular trash bag.
I can’t remember when I bought this box of 320, it will last for years yet… https://www.samsclub.com/p/proforce-commercial-can-liners-33-gal-320-ct/154811
Ew. Mine go to pretty much empty before I dump more in. Will definitely be starting the practice of dumping all the crumbs from the bottom.
I agree with leaving it in the bag. I’ve done this at horse shows before and after the first few feedings it gets annoying!
I would 100% recommend having a separate tack room and feed room. The mice will find the least little dropped bit of grain, and then they will want to set up house in your adjacent blankets.
Separate tack room preferably a bit aways from the grain, and don’t let anyone keep human or animal treats in the tack room.
My barn is self board, and set up so each boarder has an 11 by 11 foot loft (same size as the stall) above their stall. In there we keep up to 2 tons of hay, our tack, and our grain, and our winter tires and our broken pitchforks and etc etc :).
Mice become a real challenge because they are running the length of the entire loft in and out of individual lofts, getting any spilled grain, and the Timothy seed heads, and of course looking to settle down and raise multiple families in anything they can get their teeth into. Dust also is a huge problem. Anyhow we probably have the worst setup possible in terms of dispersed rodent attractants!
I use the IKEA stacking recycle bins for grain, they take a 50 lb bag of anything quite nicely. So far they are rodent proof. But I’m only feeding one horse out of them, so I don’t go through more than one sack of anything per month. If you had ten horses you would want bigger bins of some kind.
I can’t let unopened bags of oats or flax sit on the floor because the mice will find them. They don’t bother the beet pulp or alfalfa cubes.
I was at a barn with visible rats last winter but because the feed room was away from the tack room, they really didn’t bother us there.
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I leave it in the bag until about half down, then put it in rubber tubs up on a five gallon can so they are easy to dip from.
When finished feeding that I clean tubs, starting again to feed out of the next bag.
By half bag we know it all should be ok, no need to keep track of each bag any more.
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