Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[drstratton]

Surely the full chickening uniform is PJs and gumboots, with optional dressing gown?

Yes...this is what

Yes I do make it myself.
I make it in a mason jar on the counter-top - or in the fridge if I need it to slow down. I am quite a fan because I like those sorts of sour flavors but I know not everyone likes it.
Before I figured out the ladies liked it I was wasting a lot of milk because the little kefir grains are rather productive and were way outpacing my ability to eat it but you have to keep feeding them anyway.
Turns out the chickens love it and if I freeze it before giving it to them then they make less of a mess than if it is liquid. It is also a good way to slip in extra calcium (I add some powdered calcium to the pot before putting it in the freezer) and I often throw in kitchen scraps as well.

Would you mind sharing more of your process or a link with information on how to get started? I've made homemade yogurt & if I remember correctly I can use the left over whey for kefir. I haven't researched it for a while!

 

[featherhead007]

It’s me and my Rhode Island Red Dakota at the moment, listening to Billy Joel maybe this may be the first day this crazy redhead lays her first egg? I never know

 

[featherhead007]

Had Dakota with me, but now I have Xzit in . Poor little girl has possible stuck egg . I don’t want my Xzit to feel discomfort, so I will do my best (as any good chicken daddy would do) she seems comfortable at the moment.

 

[rural mouse]

Page 2000! 3604 pages to go! My math: making progress!

 

[fuentemoon]

I have been busy with my chickens this morning, but I need to go now, and check out my SkyHawk. It’s a beautiful flight around my mountain, New Mexico is my destination. I so much want to take my roo Jaffar with me, but he stays with the tribe (he’s my air force buddy on the ground )

Its prime chili season, I am jealous!

 

[fuentemoon]

I just got a triple digits warning on my phone. I hope it stays cooler there.

It is so interesting how our temps seem to mirror each other when they hit these highs

 

[RoyalChick]

Yes...this is what

Would you mind sharing more of your process or a link with information on how to get started? I've made homemade yogurt & if I remember correctly I can use the left over whey for kefir. I haven't researched it for a while!

It is absurdly simple:
- Source some Kefir grains - Craig's List, Amazon, specialty Kefir sites, neighbors, friends
- Place grains in a jar and fill jar with milk
- Cover jar to keep dust off (I use a coffee filter secured with a rubber band)
- Every couple of days scoop them out of the jar and put in a clean jar with fresh milk
- The milk left over has miraculously turned to Kefir

There are a few 'tricks' to keep in mind:
- Wash hands and keep things clean so you don't contaminate the culture
- When they start getting too active divide the grain population in half - you can eat the discarded grains or feed them to the chickens - I rather like them so I tend to eat them myself
- If your grains are traumatized - like when you first get them, or if you neglect them, you can revive them by putting them in milk until they perk up again
- I find it easier to fish them out if they are in a container - I use little bamboo baskets from Thailand because Kefir doesn't love metal and you need big holes so the milk flows over them - I just find it a lot easier to fish out a basket than it is to skim for the grains

Over time you will learn what consistency and degree of sourness you like - the longer you leave them the more it will turn into cheese and the more sour it will taste.

Here is a link to a Kefir site that explains it - and really it is even simpler than they say here:
https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/milk-kefir/how-to-make-milk-kefir/

And here is a link to Amazon site for Kefir grains - you can get them cheaper for sure - if you check Craig's list people even give them away because they multiply so fast (it is a bit like us with eggs in spring!) - but this one comes with an e-book on how to do it if you never have
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GGRJTG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I find the grains are pretty tough - they freeze well (I have used grains that were frozen for 3 years), and even when I neglect them badly they can always be nursed back to life. The only time I have thrown any away is once I got black mold on the Kefir and that felt like something I wasn't comfortable dealing with!

 

[featherhead007]

It is so interesting how our temps seem to mirror each other when they hit these highs

Only 100f here now FYI

 

[featherhead007]

It is absurdly simple:
- Source some Kefir grains - Craig's List, Amazon, specialty Kefir sites, neighbors, friends
- Place grains in a jar and fill jar with milk
- Cover jar to keep dust off (I use a coffee filter secured with a rubber band)
- Every couple of days scoop them out of the jar and put in a clean jar with fresh milk
- The milk left over has miraculously turned to Kefir

There are a few 'tricks' to keep in mind:
- Wash hands and keep things clean so you don't contaminate the culture
- When they start getting too active divide the grain population in half - you can eat the discarded grains or feed them to the chickens - I rather like them so I tend to eat them myself
- If your grains are traumatized - like when you first get them, or if you neglect them, you can revive them by putting them in milk until they perk up again
- I find it easier to fish them out if they are in a container - I use little bamboo baskets from Thailand because Kefir doesn't love metal and you need big holes so the milk flows over them - I just find it a lot easier to fish out a basket than it is to skim for the grains

Over time you will learn what consistency and degree of sourness you like - the longer you leave them the more it will turn into cheese and the more sour it will taste.

Here is a link to a Kefir site that explains it - and really it is even simpler than they say here:
https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/milk-kefir/how-to-make-milk-kefir/

And here is a link to Amazon site for Kefir grains - you can get them cheaper for sure - if you check Craig's list people even give them away because they multiply so fast (it is a bit like us with eggs in spring!) - but this one comes with an e-book on how to do it if you never have
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GGRJTG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I find the grains are pretty tough - they freeze well (I have used grains that were frozen for 3 years), and even when I neglect them badly they can always be nursed back to life. The only time I have thrown any away is once I got black mold on the Kefir and that felt like something I wasn't comfortable dealing with!

Good information

 

[featherhead007]

Had Dakota with me, but now I have Xzit in . Poor little girl has possible stuck egg . I don’t want my Xzit to feel discomfort, so I will do my best (as any good chicken daddy would do) she seems comfortable at the moment.

She (after a little rubbing her belly, laid it in my hand.) now we are good