Home Feeding Ideas and Solutions Discussion Thread

[Deerfield Acres]

Sky the chicken man: Excuse my ignorance but is the brown rice that's fed to the chicks cooked or just as is? Thanks for your help! Karen S

 

[poularde]

I am not Sky the chickenman, but I can tell you from watching the video. The rice is given raw. Not cooked.

 

[poularde]

I watched this youtube video a while back though of a presentation she gave, which has some more good info:

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Watched the video -- great info, thanks!

 

[Kassaundra]

Finally finished watching the video (or at least one of them) I watched the lady in Hawaii explaining in someones backyard. I can't figure out what exactly imo4 is or how it's made. I know it's fermented chicken poop, but no one actually explains how to make it, or use it.

 

[Kassaundra]

Here is a site that talks about how to make lactic acid.
http://www.kalapanaorganics.com/nat...isms/raising-chickens-the-natural-farming-way

 

[Kassaundra]

Okay so I've been doing a lot of research on the Korean natural farming idea. I have to say I am intrigued, and I have finally found recipes for the different solutions they use, but it sound so complicated, and there are so many solutions they make that require long term cold storage you would need a refrigerator dedicated just to the solutions. ( or a root cellar which we don't have) Also all the recipes I found are using materials I would not have easy or inexpensive access to being in rural Oklahoma. Has anyone found any info that simplifies it or uses materials that are more accessible in non tropical locations?

 

[poularde]

I am very interested in this also. I am curious what kind of substitutes we can use in a non tropical environment, Is anyone practicing this type of feeding in a colder environment?

 

[Tallulah Chicklet]

To me, a big part of KNF is that they are working with local organisms and plants. I am not sure how these things relate for me because we sure don't grow rice and bamboo in Connecticut. That being said, it seems like the latest information is about growing microorganisms to enrich the soil (as opposed to trying to sterilize them out), so I've been doing that. I've been making AACT (actively aerated compost tea) from my compost, my own kefir (which sounds like the same thing as the lactic acid brew) which the chickens get a couple times a week, and I'd been growing worms until I realized I had such a large population in the garden that I did not feel the need anymore. One of the BYC people mentioned EM (effective microorganisms), and I am going to try using them, but they are mostly the same organisms that are in my kefir grains.

It seems to me that if there is the appropriate complement of microorganisms, there is a buffering effect, and the plants get what they need. The worms carry nutrients throughout the soil layers. I'm not sure a person would need all those different preparations. What I do like, and want to emulate, is the idea of harvesting organisms from the richest, most undisturbed local areas, but again, I don't think growing them on rice works for me, so I'll probable make aerated compost tea with them.

Based on the ideas of BYCers, I am going to try collecting duckweed from local ponds, and seaweed and maybe fish from the shore. And for substrate, what we have the most of in Connecticut: leaves.

Thanks to BYCers for enriching my life and property!

 

[galanie]

To me, a big part of KNF is that they are working with local organisms and plants. I am not sure how these things relate for me because we sure don't grow rice and bamboo in Connecticut. That being said, it seems like the latest information is about  growing microorganisms to enrich the soil (as opposed to trying to sterilize them out), so I've been doing that. I've been making AACT (actively aerated compost tea) from my compost, my own kefir (which sounds like the same thing as the lactic acid brew) which the chickens get a couple times a week, and I'd been growing worms until I realized I had such a large population in the garden that I did not feel the need anymore. One of the BYC people mentioned EM (effective microorganisms), and I am going to try using them, but they are mostly the same organisms that are in my kefir grains. 

It seems to me that if there is the appropriate complement of microorganisms, there is a buffering effect, and the plants get what they need. The worms carry nutrients throughout the soil layers. I'm not sure a person would need all those different preparations. What I do like, and want to emulate, is the idea of harvesting organisms from the richest, most undisturbed local areas, but again, I don't  think growing them on rice works for me, so I'll probable make aerated compost tea with them.

Based on the ideas of BYCers, I am going to try collecting duckweed from local ponds, and seaweed and maybe fish from the shore. And for substrate, what we have the most of in Connecticut: leaves.

Thanks to BYCers for enriching my life and property!

My thoughts exactly. I was thinking that the kefir "whey" I get when I let it "brew" so long that it separates or strain it for kefir cheese would be perfect.

I'm thinking the perfect companion to this thread would be https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/430905/probiotics-for-you-and-your-chickens

Edit to add: This guy explains making IMO4 and the other stuff really well. He shows how we can do it with what we have here. It's really pretty simple the way he tells and shows it: