Corn Cribs

JEH · Nov 16, 2011

I'm looking at putting up ear corn next year. I have found a round crib in very good shape. My question is if the crib is not full wont snow and rain get in on top of the corn and rot it? What about covering the sides down to about 2 feet from bottom, would this still allow the corn to dry?
I would like to hear the different ways you are storing corn.

Mike Aylward · Nov 16, 2011

JEH, it will all depend on where you are and how much you feed out at a time. When we used to pick corn here (northeast Missouri) we often would fill all the cribs and have excess corn. We then put up rings of snow fence and made cribs out of them but fed that out first. It would keep for quite some time. I would imagine it would do fine until it started to warm up in the spring. On a wire crib there is always some corn exposed but as long as air can circulate around it you will still be ok. Corn can stand quite a bit but if it STAYS wet then you have problems. Just remember, unless you plan on NEVER feeding any corn it will be "not full" most of the time! Mike

Anonymous-0 · Nov 16, 2011

When I was growing up in NW Kansas, we used open top cribs and never had any moisture problems; it has been over 50 years (I think 1958 was the last year dad had ear corn.) since we shelled corn from a crib. I'm one of the last two people present that day and I'm 64 years old; the other guy is 87 or 88.

Josh in Pa · Nov 16, 2011

I've been thinking of picking some corn next year too. I was wondering about mice and rats in the round cribs. My Dads old crib had loads of both in it, and considerable effort had been made to keep them out and they still got in.
Josh

Anonymous-0 · Nov 16, 2011

some years back I shelled corn out of half full crib with a roof that had been put in 10 years before, I thought it would be a rotten rat infested mess, actually it was still in pretty good shape

Brendon-KS · Nov 16, 2011

One neat trick I saw at a "living history farm"
was to have inverted metal pails on top of the
posts that the crib was setting on. These posts
came out of the ground a few feet and the entire
crib was elevated that high. The pails were maybe
6 or 8 inches larger in diameter than the posts.
My guess is that rodents would have a hard time
getting down the inside of the pails in order to
make it back up to the crib. Don't know that it
works or if this was even the intention but I
don't know why else it would have been done this
way.

JEH · Nov 16, 2011

Thanks for the replies, I live in Northern In. I'm thinking a crib full of corn will last me 2 years. That is why I was concerned about it spoiling

Anonymous-0 · Nov 16, 2011

I put up about 1000 bushel of ear corn every year, into a round wire crib. Mine has a slatted wooden chimney up the center to allow air to the inside of the crib. I feed about 60 to 75 bushel a month to the animals we raise. I don't see alot of rotten corn in the crib except around the outside and bottom of the crib and that is only an ear or two in. The ears that are not in contact with the floor are always as good as the day they went in. As far as mice and rats you'll have them but we feed a few stray cats to keep them around to keep them in check. We had one that would follow me to the crib every time I would make a batch of feed. It would catch and kill any thing that would leave the crib. She'd tear the head off one while holding another one down as fast as she could catch em.

JMS/.MN · Nov 16, 2011

Some cribs were made with a steel band at the top, maybe 2 feet wide- corn always settles with age, and snow could blow in without that band. Just get some roof flashing and attach it.

Greyhorse · Nov 16, 2011

Sorry to hijack this...... why don"t beetles eat up all the corn? Down here in TX a bag of corn will be eaten up if it sits more than a month or two.

Charlie M · Nov 16, 2011

I have ear corn in cribs with mesh wire sides and a roof over it for a couple of years. If rain hits the sides it doesn't penetrate much and dries out easy when the wind blows. Snow will settle on top but it isn't much moisture in the overall picture and it will dry out quickly also. Main thing is the roof to keep the corn from getting wet way inside and stayin that way - it will rot if it stays wet for a long time. I've been doing corn like this for 20 years and never had any spoil. It does however draw rats like a magnet.I keep an eye around my cribs for signs of rats burrowing in the ground and treat them as soon as you find the evidence. You won't have zero rats but you won't have a million either if you stay on top of it.

paul · Nov 16, 2011

In general it works out pretty good, you would _not_ want it covered down to near the ground, corn needs to breathe a lot to get the moisture out.

Covering the top where no corn is would have a little value, but it generally works out without doing that, corn doesn't really absorb much water, it will run through & out the bottom & dry away again. Have the base elevated, and that center trough with the wood planks covering it help the water get out, the air get in.

That center tube that allows air to move through the middle will be real important if you want to fo 2 year storage, as all the fines and kernals drop down the center of the bin, and don't allow air to flow through. that center tube allows air to get through here.

--->Paul

Doug Wi · Nov 16, 2011

I've had very poor luck with my round crib mostly with spoilage at the bottom. Our old fashioned wood crib keeps corn a lot better. Our round one sets on a cement pad and has a curved angle iron right at the bottom which combined with the shelled kernals that always settle to the bottom acts as a dam that holds the water in.Not all brands are designed that way. usually loose close to a pickup load.Haven't use it for several years, but if I would use it again I would put a plank floor over the cement.I would recomend putting yours on some type of a wood floor or platform.

Bleeding Orange SW Iowa · Nov 16, 2011

Check to see if the crib seller still has the corn tunneling. They would be made of the same heavy welded rod material as the side of the crib, approximately two feet long and bent into an inverted u shape. Before filling, line them up in a row down the center of the crib from the back to the door. Run a couple of old boards or poles under them to keep them straight when the first ears start to drop on top of them. After you fill the crib, pull out the boards and clean out the tunnel (looooong handled rake or shovel). This tunnel allows air circulation and also allows a corn drag to be installed, which will make unloading your bin a LOT easier. If you are pouring a new concrete slab for the crib, you might want to design a trough, making a tunnel below the floor instead of above it. (Cover the trough with boards before filling.) Easier to push corn than lift it. You might find helpful information on the corn picker forum on activeboard.com.

Nebraska Cowman · Nov 17, 2011

I leave mine in the wagons and either cover them or
park them inside. But the corn has to be dry when
you pick it to do that. We used to do that some in
PA when I was a kid too but if the pile in the wagon
was very deep it would mold some.

Rollie NE PA · Nov 17, 2011

Cowman, Where did you live in PA?

Farmallb · Nov 17, 2011

You want to try to husk it out as much as possible in order to keep it good and not cause it to rot much. Itall rot more in the husk than not. Does your crib have a roof? If it does, You might run a tarp on the N side, a cheap WM tarp will do to keep the snow out. I never knew of either my uncle or grandad haveing any trouble. Uncle Milt made his with snow fence, and no top, But he fed a couple doz hogs and their litters, so it didnt stay round all that long, And the hogs would eat the bad if there was any along with the good. Grandpa Adolph made his a regular crib, butr with snow fence sideing. He fed hogs also and I never heard he had a problem. We had a regular crib with a shed on one side for hogs or calves, and another shed on the other side for a wagon.

If yours dont have a roof, Just run 4 posts at the quarters. The front 2 higher than the back and frame in a roof. Wont keep squirrels, possums, or coons out. Invest in a 1/2doz cats for the mice and rats. Id rather keep a 1/2 doz cats that I can see than 1/2 hundred mice and rats that I cant always.

Nebraska Cowman · Nov 18, 2011

Erie / Warren County line on the Brokenstraw creek.
My sister still lives there.

Mark W. · Nov 18, 2011

You got a real nice fair there in Warren. Fished Brokenstraw many times. Real good buddy lives in Spring Creek. I live in Edinboro.

Corn Cribs

JEH

Member

Mike Aylward

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Josh in Pa

Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Brendon-KS

Well-known Member

JEH

Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

JMS/.MN

Well-known Member

Greyhorse

Member

Charlie M

Well-known Member

paul

Well-known Member

Doug Wi

Member

Bleeding Orange SW Iowa

Member

Nebraska Cowman

Well-known Member

Rollie NE PA

Well-known Member

Farmallb

Well-known Member

Nebraska Cowman

Well-known Member

Mark W.

Member

Similar threads