Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[Sweetpea3829]

My dogs pick through and eat chicken poop...lol. So gross!!!!

 

[Tomtommom]

Where was that?

Had to search, but I found it. It was posted on Facebook in September, didn't realize they had the workshop yesterday *laugh*

 

[Lillahimed]

Had to search, but I found it. It was posted on Facebook in September, didn't realize they had the workshop yesterday *laugh*

Neat! Too bad there isn't one of these in california. I know plenty of people who would gladly take this class!

 

[Tomtommom]

Oh, and on the subject of chicken poop used as food. Apparently one can raise chickens on wire over a big tank with Tilapia. The poop can be eaten by the fish and it will cause algae to grow in the water, offering a second source of food for the fish. You can even run the fish water through an aquaponic system and grow some amazing veggies, the roots would filter the water and it can be pumped back to the fish. Veggies and fish which could feed people as well as the chickens. Circle of life, dude.

I am really interested in permaculture, which really is what Oz is trying to accomplish. Sustainable farming, renewing your own sources of food etc. etc.

 

[perchie.girl]

Oh, and on the subject of chicken poop used as food. Apparently one can raise chickens on wire over a big tank with Tilapia. The poop can be eaten by the fish and it will cause algae to grow in the water, offering a second source of food for the fish. You can even run the fish water through an aquaponic system and grow some amazing veggies, the roots would filter the water and it can be pumped back to the fish. Veggies and fish which could feed people as well as the chickens. Circle of life, dude.

I am really interested in permaculture, which really is what Oz is trying to accomplish. Sustainable farming, renewing your own sources of food etc. etc.

YOud have to have alot of fish..... LOL. I used to have over three hundred gallons worth of Aquariums.... Varying from One BIG tank in the living room to Vivariums, Turtle tanks, Kids room tanks. Then there was the small pond I built in the front driveway.... (dont ask lol) out of Cinder block and a pond liner... So when I discovered the topic of Tilapia ...... and Aquaponics..... I thought.... Wow no brainer.... My head spun around... I could do this.

Even though my house is in the desert it gets too cold for Tilapia in the winter without heating the water 75-85 optimum temps.... Could work around that too. Maintaining the proper ph levels in a big tank is easier.... but you have to be certain you arent adding something that will change that.

Though Tilapia are very very tough and will live in a WIDE variety of ph and salt levels, Fluctuation within that system would not be good.

People here are using those three hundred gallon totes and slicing off the top eight inches for a filtration bed. that drains back into the tank then the fish waste is drawn off and circulated through grow beds whereupon it returns to that final filtration spot. THAT in its self is an ecology.

Actually each Aquarium Tub pond bucket..... you raise fish in has an ecology with many many different contributors, from micro organisms to insects to even molds and fungi. The food that goes in..... also feeds the other critters that live with the fish....

Sorry I am not making sense... I was up very late last night.

deb

 

[Sweetpea3829]

YOud have to have alot of fish..... LOL. I used to have over three hundred gallons worth of Aquariums.... Varying from One BIG tank in the living room to Vivariums, Turtle tanks, Kids room tanks. Then there was the small pond I built in the front driveway.... (dont ask lol) out of Cinder block and a pond liner... So when I discovered the topic of Tilapia ...... and Aquaponics..... I thought.... Wow no brainer.... My head spun around... I could do this.

Even though my house is in the desert it gets too cold for Tilapia in the winter without heating the water 75-85 optimum temps.... Could work around that too. Maintaining the proper ph levels in a big tank is easier.... but you have to be certain you arent adding something that will change that.

Though Tilapia are very very tough and will live in a WIDE variety of ph and salt levels, Fluctuation within that system would not be good.

People here are using those three hundred gallon totes and slicing off the top eight inches for a filtration bed. that drains back into the tank then the fish waste is drawn off and circulated through grow beds whereupon it returns to that final filtration spot. THAT in its self is an ecology.

Actually each Aquarium Tub pond bucket..... you raise fish in has an ecology with many many different contributors, from micro organisms to insects to even molds and fungi. The food that goes in..... also feeds the other critters that live with the fish....

Sorry I am not making sense... I was up very late last night.

deb

Hubby and I bought a 55 gallon aquarium for our first wedding anniversary. We LOVED that thing and had some awesome fish in there. But when we added four kids in 3 1/2 years, we quickly outgrew our 700 sq ft apartment and had to downsize quite a few things, including the tank. We would like to get another one, now that we have over 3500 sq ft of house. But this time, I think we'd like to size up the tank.

In the meantime, DS is asking for a snake for his birthday in December, and DD wants a turtle. She had one over the summer, but we only had a 20 gallon tank and I didn't feel it was big enough for "Strawberry" the turtle and I talked her into letting him go. He was wild born anyways, so it seemed right.

I'm still on the fence with getting her a pet turtle. They really need a good bit of space.

I do have a friend in San Diego...she has a giant tortoise named Kobae. I'm SO jealous of her tortoise...lol. He is awesome! If we didn't live in a cold region, I would love to get one. That and...they eat A LOT.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: The one tank I chose to keep when I moved to my house in the desert is the 110 gallon. For what its worth its got the same foot print as a standard 75 gallon but its Much taller. It is stunning when it is set up.... 48 w by 30 tall by 18 deep.... Its like a picture window.... http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_sizes.php For what its worth the larger the tank the easier it is to manage.

I had Red Eared Sliders.... Found em at a garage sale as hatclings.... or under three weeks old. Started out with a ten until I found a forty used at a pet store that was going out of business. I set up a vivarium for them.... When they got to be the size of Saucers it was time to move them outside because maintaining the tank was becoming an issue..... Hence the pond... I wont have aquatic turtles again.

As a young adult still living at home I had a twenty gallon aquarium that I kept a Garter snake in. I set that up as half water half land in the form of Aquarium gravel. I took half of the undergravel filter out leaving the other half under the "dry" land. The water side I kept stocked with feeder fish and the aquarium filter worked to circulate their water and filter it. I had Gravel about three inches deep on one side held back by petrified wood and water three inches deep on the other side. I shortened the lift tube for the filter so it would be able to pump the water up through with just an air stone. Worked great.... couple of branches for shedding and to get away from the water submersible water heater to keep the water 75 to 80 degrees Which kept the whole vivarium around the same temp. Cost me nothing because I already had the "parts". exept the submersible heater. That was before they came out with "Kits" or special habitats.... The snake at the fish so I didnt need to by any Pinkies or stuff like that. I used a standard hood too and covered any holes with screen material.

Tortises are a special committment.... BTW we had them native in Roswell. Which gets about a month worth of snow.... All you have to do is Put them into a Hibernation box for the winter..... But Tortises live a very very very long time.

deb

 

[Lillahimed]

Ok and now I'm wondering.. what happened to the red eared sliders? and also why did you put the pond in your driveway?

 

[Lillahimed]

Also as far as the permaculture goes, I find the poop thing very interesting, but also nasty. I guess its one of the things that I shouldn't think too hard about, such as fertile eggs

 

[ozexpat]

I told my wife I wanted to build a 1000 gallon Tilapia tank and use hydroponics to grow lettuce.

I got the look that made me decide to buy a few goats. LOL

Seriously, I would love to do it. Its not something that can be set up remotely. It takes several months to balance the project before you buy the fish.

In the Philippines there are huge aquafarms raising milkfish, tilapia and shrimp/prawns. My father in law had a 40HA pond for a while. The fry are cheap. It could work.