Oh no.... so sorry to hear. Condolences on your loss.They are already so much more active. I like to think its the FF.
My little buff didn't make it today. I thought she was doing better but took a turn for the worst today. Bummer.![]()
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Oh no.... so sorry to hear. Condolences on your loss.They are already so much more active. I like to think its the FF.
My little buff didn't make it today. I thought she was doing better but took a turn for the worst today. Bummer.![]()
I don't live where it freezes, but if I did I love the idea of using rice hulls or cracked corn as a warmer base. My friend makes those fabric covered (bean) bags, but uses corn. Heat in the microwave for a natural heating pad for sore muscles and you can even freeze them for the opposite affect. They stay warm for a very long time. You could use rice or beans for the same results. Set your ff feeder on one of those and I would bet it wouldn't freeze for well over an hour. Or multiple feeders like others have mentioned so the lower girls can eat separately from the bossy hens.
I try really hard to keep mine from freezing. The chickens will eat it after it's thawed but does it still have favorable bacteria and yeasts? In which case it wouldn't help to ferment other than the less waste from being moist.
I don't have a microscope to determine that but I know many of the bacteria and yeasts will die below 32F.
My FF isn't freezing up within an hour, even in temps of below zero in the coop, so not sure what your temps are or why yours if freezing so quickly but I can go up there a couple of hours later and still see FF residue that has not been eaten and then the next morning it is gone...every speck of it. No freezing even on the small amounts. Maybe because mine is not so fluid filled and most of the moisture is inside the individual granules of grain.
I thought that freezing yeast would kill it. Good to know. After throwing out several batches of FF, I discovered that refrigeration would slow it down so it didn't get too strong. Now, I'm a very happy camper and able to control the ferment process so much better.