Can you refrigerate Sav-A-Chick probiotics?

[BCollie]

I want to put some probiotics in my chicks water, however I only have 4 and I water them with a standard size mason jar screwed into a chick-sized watering base. Can I mix up a gallon of the probiotics like the package says, and then refrigerate the rest? If so, how long would it stay good in the fridge?
Or, does anyone know how much I should put into a mason jar full of water?(ex. 1/8tsp?)

Thanks!!

 

[pdirt]

If the probiotic bacteria have a food source, they can last a long time and even populate themselves. Is any sort of sugar or even protein source listed on the package ingredients? If not, you could add 1/4c of molasses per gallon (mix with warm water first to dissolve). Refrigerated, it should last perhaps a week or two. The molasses will feed the bacteria. It will likely last far longer than 2 weeks, but I'm just saying that to be conservative. I wouldn't worry about it going bad unless you end up with a very foul odor. You could even try to populate the probiotics by leaving the gallon container out at room temp for 2-3 days before using. If you try this last step, just be sure to use a plastic container with a tight lid and shake daily...gasses may be released and a glass container could explode.

For your second question...measure the contents of a full packet, either weight or volume, and divide by 4, to get the amount needed for a quart.

Want to make your own liquid probiotic for pennies? Try this:

Chop finely 1 head of green cabbage (regular or napa but not savoy)
Smash them in a metal pot with your fist or a rugged potato masher to release juices
Stuff the cabbage into a quart jar so that it's about half full, packed tightly
Fill the rest of the jar with chlorine free water
Cover with a rubberbanded cloth to keep flies out
Ferment at room temp for about a week at 70-80F or longer at cooler temps
Pick and toss any mold off from the top, the ferment underneath is fine
Strain and use the liquid in your chicken water
You can eat the solids or feed them to your chickens, it's full of probiotics too

Yep, the above recipe is one for sauerkraut, sans the salt. Chickens don't need that much salt, so regular kraut would be too salty for them. You could add 1/2tsp sea salt if you really wanted.

 

[Becky1956]

my chicks arrived today with a package of probotic.......I was wondering the same thing....how long will the remaining stay good as it makes a gallon and I only have 3 chicks.......is it ok to refrigerate? Thanks!

 

[rosiesgirls]

I wanted to make 1/2 gallon at a time for my chicks (I have 16 that are a week old now) so only wanted to use 1/2 of the packet of the Electrolyte powder. If you have one of those test-tube-shaped medicine spoons (usually used for children), a 1/2 packet of the electrolyte powder equals 4ml on the medicine spoon. (You can buy those spoons at almost any pharmacy or department store that sells baby stuff.

I don't know if the probiotic powder is the same amount by volume, but you could simply pour all of it into the medicine spoon to see what the full amount is, then use 1/2.

In the same way, you could figure out how much 1/4 of a packet is and then measure out enough make only a quart at a time.

 

[ChandraM]

I'm giving my new chicks (4 weeks old) the probiotic and the electrolyte as they arrived in the mail yesterday. So what I did was measure the amount in each package and divide by 4 and mix one quart at a time. If you combine 1 package of electrolyte and 1 package of probiotic, then you would use 3/4 teaspoon of the mixture per quart of water. I remember 1 had (10) 1/8 tsp and one had 14, but I don't remember which was which.

 

[wrawls]

Wonderful suggestion on the medicine spoon! I reduced the amount by following the graduated lines on the tube spoon in order to make 1 pint of solution for my 1 chick.

Thank you!