Home Feeding Ideas and Solutions Discussion Thread

[twisted troy]

I just generally free range, unless I have some salad scraps or the cickens get to leftovers before the dog or cats. I generally end up with an abundence of eggs so every once in a while i'm scramble them some. The dog gets an omelet also when I have extra eggs.

I just got a new flock yesterday, I ended up having a soft spot for a stray weiner dog and he was hell on chickens. He showed up old and half starved and I felt sorry for him. He stayed for a couple months with food and warmth and then past on. But I think he had a taste for chicken.

Anyway this flock is pretty wild so i'm thinking of buying some layer pelletsand scratch to help get them to return to the coop. I have them locked in the coop and will for a week or so, maybe longer depending on how they are.

I'm also planning on going back to get some more, this flock is 8 birds and I generally keep 20 or so. Nothing like catching wild chickens for some excersize!

 

[Kassaundra]

Galanie, or anyone else that has made the calcium from eggshells and vinegar, what vinegar did you use? Did your eggshells move around in your vinegar after you started it? I saw another video that showed making it and he said the eggs would move around until it was finished, but my egg shells never moved.

 

[galanie]

I used some of the apple cider vinegar I've been making. My eggshells didn't move either but after a few minutes there were bubbles all over them. Could be because I didn't bother to roast off all the organic material. I just microwaved them for 20 seconds or so and used a lot more than they recommend to make up for it.

 

[Kassaundra]

I used some of the apple cider vinegar I've been making. My eggshells didn't move either but after a few minutes there were bubbles all over them. Could be because I didn't bother to roast off all the organic material. I just microwaved them for 20 seconds or so and used a lot more than they recommend to make up for it.

I used store bought apple cider vinegar b/c that is what I had on hand. I didn't know about the 10:1 ratio, I did roast my shells but have no idea if I roasted them long enough they were completely dry. I did not get shell movement or even bubbles. The video did say the shell will be rubbery when they are finished, so I guess I'll see if they get rubbery or not. The video I watched used rice wine vingegar they said to try and get the kind that is "brewed" not "distilled". So I guess my next trip to Tulsa I will go by the Oriental food store and poke around a bit. (Maybe even find some bulk brown sugar)

 

[galanie]

I've used regular white vinegar to dissolve quail egg shells and it worked great. I can't understand why the type of vinegar matters but maybe there is something to that.

 

[Kassaundra]

The only thing I can think of to make the difference would seem to be strength of the vinegar. I haven't looked at the labels to see if the regular white vinegar is stronger or not.

 

[hereorthere]

Well, I've got some Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ) in the spare bathroom cooking away. I'm making it with comfrey. So I'm cheating, killing two birds with one stone. I wanted to make that anyway for fertilizer. Also in there is IMO-2, but it's such a tiny amount I don't know if it will really work or if I'll end up with a very homeopathic something. Done is the Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and the Water Soluble Calcium (WSC). Now for the Put My Feet Up (PMFU - hmm or PMPU?).
For those interested in Korean Natural Farming (KNF - why can't everyone just spell all this out?) I've put together a short version of how to make the stuff. This was really done only as a reminder to me so I wouldnt have to keep looking this stuff up. Before this will make total sense to you, you really should read up on it at Naturalfarmingway.org and/or watch the videos starting with this one on youtube:

I'm just distilling it down to make it look like the simple thing it really is.
I'm including no details and very little in the way of actual measurements, those are easily found at both the places I've given the URL's of above.
So here you go, How to make IMO4

• IMO 1
  Cook some rice then let it sit somewhere and get nice and moldy. You need the white mold, not those other pretty colors.
• IMO 2
  Mix that moldy rice 1:1 by weight with brown sugar. Koreans must have a lot of brown sugar on those poor farmsteads, they use tons of it for all these things!
• IMO3
  Now take that stuff and mix it with a ton of rice hulls or wheat bran. Now you're going to end up "composting" it. Outside and on the ground.
• IMO4
  Mix your finished mess 1:1 with plain old dirt. Tra la! Done.

Water Soluble Calcium:
Ok this one is really complicated.
Put a bunch of eggshells in vinegar and let it sit a week. Filter it. Done.
Lactic Acid Bacteria:
Wash some rice with water. Use that water. Let it sit covered with a paper towel for a few days.
Then use it 1:10 with milk. Let that milk sit for a week and separate the cheese off (oh yummie! - NOT)
That liquid left is your LAB.
Fermented Plant Juice
Use 1:1 plant and brown sugar by weight
Layer sugar and plant in container, cover with a weight. When material is covered by liquid, remove weight. Let ferment at around 70 degrees for a week.
Best not to have a large amount of headspace and smaller opening. Though how you get a brick in a container with a small opening is beyond me. Recommended is to fill container 3/4 full. Just use paper towel for lid.

LOL! Thx galanie for the cliff notes! I'm hoping to get a flock of chicks this coming spring so all this info is totally amazing for a newbie.

 

[hereorthere]

Thats pretty much right from what I can figure. All those 1:100 and 1:1000's give me a headache.
Oh and you don't have to stabilize it if you are putting it in the fridge.

Think of it in whatever measurements you are using - for example, if using cups, then 1 cup : 100 cup; or if using mililiters then 1 mL to 100mL; or if using buckets, then 1 bucket to 100 buckets - does that make sense?

 

[galanie]

Thats pretty much right from what I can figure. All those 1:100 and 1:1000's give me a headache.

Oh and you don't have to stabilize it if you are putting it in the fridge.

Think of it in whatever measurements you are using - for example, if using cups, then 1 cup : 100 cup; or if using mililiters then 1 mL to 100mL; or if using buckets, then 1 bucket to 100 buckets - does that make sense? 

Oh yes. I think of it as (1 oz= 2 Tbsp) and (128 oz to the gallon) 1oz:100oz is a bit over 2 Tbsp to the gallon. But then when you have 1:1000 you have to split that into halves and fourths and so on to get it down to an amount you'll use. That's where the thinking comes in. I can do it, it just frustrates me.

From my personal notes on using FPJ:

Most applications:
1:500 = approx 1/2 tsp to 3/4 gallon

During flowering :
1:2000 = Hell just dilute above 4 times. Mix that mess with enough to total 3 gallons.

When fruit is ripening:
1:5000 = either dilute above like crazy or don't bother. I vote don't bother as it's likely to discolor the fruit or cause crud to grow on it.

And the page on Water Soluble Calcium:

Use it 1:1000 (don’t get me started on the dilutions, just look at FPJ page!)

 

[400constantne]

I haven't read all of the comments, but I have a few useful "ideas" for feeding chickens... off the grid... or just for less.

The Pine tree is edible. The inner tree bark has saved people from starvation, there is even an indian tribe know as "tree eaters"
The pine needles are also edible. They have very high vitamin C. In fact, if you put a pine tree branch in your chicken coop, your chickens will eat the pine needles off of the branch... and their breath will smell spectacular
The pinions, or little seeds, are extremely nutritious. Even the young cones, people have been known to roast and eat.

Weeds, chickweed, comfrey, dandilion, etc. In theory, you could dry them out and store them for winter.

Use a deep litter, that is also a compost bin.

Sprout your whole grains.

Take a 5 gallon bucket, drill a bunch of 3/8 inch holes in it. Suspend it. Put deer skin, guts, or unedible meats in there. Flies will lay eggs, the eggs will hatch into maggots, the maggots will fall out the bottom, and your chickens will snatch them up! Or put another bucket below, and store the maggots for winter protein, or to wash them (if you are worried about disease).

Feed the chickens goat milk.

Grow wheat, or corn, or potatoes, whatever you can grow in mass quantaties, and is most likely to grow.