Yes. BP sold Purina in '93. They went through 2 other owners, then were bought by Land O’Lakes in 2001 or thereabouts.
Ha, we used the same thing for our 2 horses/2 different feeds back in the late '70s to mid '90s! They were just the right shape as well as size for the 100-lb sacks of feed that were normal then. Stored in the garage and I’m not sure if we got one mouse hole over the years (or was that a different barrel?) but it certainly wasn’t a regular thing.
After I moved away and those horses reached the ends of their lives, the bins were used for trash & general storage, and several of them are still around, though missing lids and very dirty. So if the material is the same, I can certainly speak to their longevity.
I’m back in the same home now, with new horses (and llamas), storing feed in a new barn rather than a garage, and using a dead chest freezer and galvanized barrels for that extra margin of chew-through safety. But I have nothing bad to say about those Rubbermaid barrels and they are a nicer, more efficient shape than the round barrels.
They are certainly pretty tough! I worked at a barn that used these in the feed room, and owners supplied grain for their horses, so there were A LOT of cans. Every now and then the mice would get into a corner and chew a hole, but for the most part, they held up really well. And you just can’t beat their footprint.
Best price when I bought last was Ace Hardware. I’ve not had any incursion by rodents ever, but I also take measures to limit that possibility.
I find that I can fit 100# for most grain, and 150# of alfalfa pellets.
Used to use plastic trash cans until the mice chewed through one. Metal containers only for us.
1 Like
I do use the Stack n Store bins, but I stand them on the back so the door is on top rather than the angled front. Since I don’t stack them, it’s easier to scoop without bending as far. I’d think more feed fits this way and less chance of spilling while filling.
I had one mice family who figured out how to get in, otherwise they have kept varmints out of the feed. I’ve never locked them shut with the available loops.
I have had good luck with an old 3-bay commercial type sink. It is free standing with space under the sink bays for storing other things. We made a hinged lid for each compartment (wood). Easy to clean, no bending over to prepare grain. The sink I have is large enough that each compartment easily holds two bags of feed.
@Bluey I give you lots of credit. I find scooping out of the bag to be so frustrating. I just can’t do it. I keep the feed bag tags until the bin is empty. I make sure I empty before adding the next bag (and then save that tag).
2 Likes
Some 50 years ago, I dislocated my thumb reaching way down into a large, deep wood grain box, trying to get the last dregs out of there and falling into it thumb first.
Not fond of deep grain bins since then.
I have three of these big ones and they are excellent! I also have one of the 20# one for Ultimate Finish and one of the little 5# ones for the goat balancer. In the house, I have two 20# for dog food and the travel size ones for trips with the dogs.
My only complaint is that I manage to break a nail spinning off the tops almost every time which is undoubtedly only a me problem. 
Tsk tsk tsk! No one has mentioned this! Old broken deep freezers! I can fit 4 bags of grain in mine and they come in several sizes and are freeeeeeee if you pick them up from people wanting to get rid of them. They’re insulated with magnetic sealing just like a regular fridge. They last for years and keep the pests out excellently and clean up nice and easy to clean.
PS - I know you said 3 different bags of grain, one at a time, you can put all 3 bags inside side by side and keep everything sealed and fresh in here.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“alt”:“Click image for larger version Name: unnamed.jpg Views: 1 Size: 6.5 KB ID: 10489274”,“data-align”:“none”,“data-attachmentid”:“10489274”,“data-size”:“medium”}[/ATTACH]
1 Like
Post #22
4 Likes
Forgot that I’ve also used these, too: https://www.sparrbuilding.com/produc…-food-bin-50lb
Not as secure as the Vittles Vault, but holds a 40-50# bag of pellets and has wheels!
(Didn’t buy mine there, just first hit I found on Google.)
I have seen these from Chewy and wondered how they worked for horse feed, in places mice won’t chew on them:
This is what we use for our dog and cat food. Got them at PetSmart I believe. Love them.
The largest size I have would not hold an entire bag of horse feed/pellets, I don’t think. They are measuring the height including the wheels it looks like.
I don’t know about the Iris brand ones, but the larger Van Ness will definitely hold a 50# bag of alfalfa pellets.
Have to disagree with Vittles Vaults. I hate mine. I went back to metal trash cans. I found them hard to fill and when stacked very unstable. They need to be supported on either side. If you have room for them on the ground or on a shelf in a single row they would be useful.
I am cheap-- I use plain old Rubbermaid 25 gallon Roughneck plastic storage containers. 50lbs of grain will fit in them. Mice here can’t chew through them, but ground squirrels can. (GRRRR!!). They are in a separate room from the horses, so plenty secure. I can scrub them out, they stack neatly on a low table and are portable.
Another large storage option is a Rubbermaid Deck Box type-- you can insert dividers and they hold lots of grain as well.
Awww, man. Now I am so mad I didn’t buy square cans instead of round ones. ROFL. Not a huge deal as I’m not really space limited with what I have, but the part of me that likes efficiency is just annoyed, but not annoyed enough to spend more money since I already own containers.
I will give a hearty thumbs up to my rubbermaid trash cans – my old feed shed literally exploded in a freak storm & I was stunned to discover that the can lids had stayed on securely & I didn’t lose any feed. They were just snapped in place, I didn’t have any extra bungees or anything on them. And when I say the shed exploded, the roof & walls were ripped apart, lag screws pulled out & pieces scattered over about an acre. The feed cans were left sitting there neatly on the pad, lids intact, & I was very VERY grateful because I’d just bought 200 lbs of it!
I never had rodents chew through them, either. Happily, new feed shed is elevated off the ground so mice are no longer able to get in until they learn how to construct siege machinery.
I’d say something about your opportunity to buy the square ones when your round ones die…but you’ve already seen first hand that it’ll be a looooooooong time 😂
They are really stellar if you find a way to repurpose your others! Best price I found (it’s been awhile) was a case of six from Ace Hardware.
Stahhhhhppp – enabler!!! 
Hmmm, I do need another blanket storage container, a trash can could do that just fine…
1 Like
As two others said, I will always stick with dead chest freezers… from the simple cube up to the size of… well… a human body 
:lol:
They’re out there on Craig’s List, FB Marketplace etc etc. Acquire one, air it out in the sun, disinfect with Simple Green Pro 3 and have at it. My late husband built me a wooden frame that set inside, with channels to slide in a piece of plywood to make 3 compartments. Easily removable for shop-vac’ing out when needed.
