Arizona Chickens

[flower]

With that many chicks ordered, you'll probably end up with at least one rooster.

i agree 100%

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Hey Demosthine, how hard/easy/involved is the cheese making? I've always been curious about that.

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

Hey Demosthine, how hard/easy/involved is the cheese making? I've always been curious about that.

Yeah, me too. I've made yogurt and kefir, but not cheese.

 

[kpgoldstar]

I would love to learn about cheesemaking too! I would probably have to order the rennet as I am sure I can't buy that here.

 

[Mikey D]

Quote:
I usually spend too much time with them - just ask the control tower.

I was planning on contacting Ideal and asking for a couple of buff orp roos. Maybe I should just wait it out?

 

[Demosthine]

The mozzarella and ricotta were ridiculously easy. For the mozzarella, add the citric acid and milk to a stock pot, then bring it to 90*F. Add the rennet and stir thoroughly. Allow it to sit 15 minutes (initial recipe called for 5 minutes, but the majority I found after say 15) until it's the consistency of a soft pudding. Then use a spatula or skewer to slice in to one-inch squares and bring to 105*F, stirring gentle. Separate the curds from the whey into a colander and strain off the excess whey. Put it in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 35 seconds, then kneed to remove more whey. Put in a cold water bath until cold through and through. Enjoy!

From the left-over whey, heat it to 200*F and then poor through a fine mesh cheese or muslin cloth. Make a sack shape from the muslin cloth and hang for 3 to 4 hours. The result is ricotta cheese, but it is a very small amount, since you removed so much for the mozzarella. I'm trying the ricotta cheese straight from the milk next time for a far better yield, hopefully.

Overall, it was really fun and easy! Oh, and I used the cheap pasturized whole milk from WalMart to do it and it came out perfectly fine. It would be absolutely divine with raw milk, but that would be nearly $12 per pound since I don't have my own milk source!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
For many years one of my BFFs was the head cheese maker at Jumpin' Good Goat Dairy in Buena Vista, CO. With several hundreds of goats, it was a huge operation and absolutely fascinating to watch. The best part was the box of cheese that would show up in the mail every couple of months.

I miss those deliveries. Thankfully, I can still get it here locally.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

So I have a couple more questions. I have a tub of dried mealworms. How soon can I start giving them treats? When can they begin to have scraps from the kitchen, like carrot peels?
Kristine

They can have it right away as long as they have access to grit. Congratulations on the new chicks!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Yeah, they have that reputation, but my Orloffs fared no worse than any of the other birds this summer. Unfortunately, I don't know if Desertmarcy is hatching at this time of year though.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote: Maybe it's time for a LGD!

Yeah, if my dog weren't so old, I'd make her stay outside all day and that would take care of it.