Recent content by Barred Rock Caf

  1. Barred Rock Caf

    KEFIR - who makes it, drinks it, and/or feeds it to their chickens?

    Although kefir (pronouced ke-fear) grains that are bred in raw milk are in a better environment than those that are placed in pasteurized milk, it's the lactose, or milk sugar present that they feed and reproduce from. The raw milk, depending on the source of the milk (goat's milk, for instance...
  2. Barred Rock Caf

    KEFIR - who makes it, drinks it, and/or feeds it to their chickens?

    I make kefir (milk) regularly. I also use the whey produced to ferment chicken feed and other grains. The whey can be used for many diffrent lacto-fermented products for you and your chickens. Barred Rock Cafe
  3. Barred Rock Caf

    My Jersey Giant rooster SAVED MY R.I.R PULLET!!!!

    My, he IS one GIANT!!! lol
  4. Barred Rock Caf

    Condensation from increased ventilation?

    The dripping water may be the result of ice damming occurring from the sunlight now striking the roof and increasing the snow melt. At night, the water refreezes and creeps under the shingles (I'm betting the roof has a low pitch to it) where it then thaws once again during the day and drips...
  5. Barred Rock Caf

    A different sort of fermented food...

    I believe that the history of kefir grains is that it was actually derived from goats' intestines by tribes-people of the Caucausus Mountain regions many, many years ago. Goat milk is primo as a probiotic supplement- better than even cow's milk, I believe. Makes delicious cheese, too! Barred...
  6. Barred Rock Caf

    A different sort of fermented food...

    I'm networking to find a source locally for raw milk, which technically is illegal to sell in Wisconsin, but there are loopholes to be exploited, like purchase for pet cats as food. My pride of pet cats has feathers and have the oddest "meows" imaginable!! I guess they are hybridized...
  7. Barred Rock Caf

    A different sort of fermented food...

    As you've suggested, the Buffs only needed a little time and they,too, soon realized the delicious taste of the milk kefir. Not only probiotic, but the calcium in the milk doesn't change, so as a supplemental source of it, the kefir can only aid in the overall health of the hens as they live out...
  8. Barred Rock Caf

    Winter water?

    aoxa/All: I just made one of the cookie tin waterer heaters from stuff I had around the house! I had the 12' diameter tin, and I cannabalized an old broken lamp with working socket parts and cord, plus I already had low wattage incandescent bulbs in the cupboard. I thought of using a 40-watt...
  9. Barred Rock Caf

    What treat did your chickies get today?

    So far, milk kefir with crumbles and cracked corn mixed in.
  10. Barred Rock Caf

    Minnesota Cold -- Help Our Hens!

    x4 to what Bluemuse and Bobbi-j recommend. I remind myself how ridiculous my grandparents would think it to try to heat a chicken coop here in North central Wisconsin! With that thought in mind, all I do are the basics- some winter ventilation so as to minimize humidity build up; plenty of...
  11. Barred Rock Caf

    Low Laying/Nesting boxes vs higher ones...opinions

    I built my girls' nesting boxes 18" off the floor. I got this dimension from some coop plans that I saw online. No problems so far with the layers. They alternate which of the five available boxes they will lay eggs in. YMMV Barred Rock Cafe
  12. Barred Rock Caf

    How Many Eggs Did You Get Today?

    I got (4);at least that I've found. Seems somebody is laying other than in the prescribed nest boxes that their master has provided for them. They need schoolin' !
  13. Barred Rock Caf

    How Many Eggs Did You Get Today?

    Oh well, maybe it's because the weekend is here? lol
  14. Barred Rock Caf

    Someone doesn't quite get the drill!

    Yesterday, I found the first egg laid by my Buff Orpington hens in the nest boxes that I built for them! Nice. But today, I found four eggs in a clutch in the corner of the coop in a nest created by the layer(s). I picked them up and place two each in two separate nest boxes. I'm hoping that the...
  15. Barred Rock Caf

    How to get rust off of a galvanized steel waterer?

    The surest way to prevent corrosion of any dispenser is to use plastic, if possible. If the rust on the metal waterer is actually caused by corrosive conditions, then the galvanization coating is missing from that location and bare steel is evident, which WILL oxidize when subject to moisture...
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