Homemade V.S. Store Bought

[Diannastarr]

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Hubs made a grass frame with some pvc we had laying around and some leftover stucco netting. There are 2, will be planting grass tomorrow.

wonderful, great idea.....!!!!! i tried that with growing oats, so the hens can eat the tips of the oat grass but cant kill it, then next i grew some purselane is spreads like weeds , its one of the best green live foods for us all, its great in salads .
Power-Packed Purslane - Organic Gardening - Mother Earth News

 

[jvls1942]

some pictures of my chicken nests.
there are 10 nests along a 16 foot wall.
above the nests is a 4" space and above the space are the brooder coops.
they can be partitioned off to make four 4ft sections or left open as a 16ft section.
there is a heat lamp with each 4ft section.
above the whole shebang I made a 45 degree cover. . the lights are recessed up into this hood. there are 4 light switches mounted on the hood. I made the hood so that the chickens would not roost on top of it..
the whole shebang is mounted on the wall.
no legs to the floor to get in the way of cleaning. the coop is 16ft x 12ft. concrete floor and two courses of concrete block.
the walls and ceiling are fully insulated.

the roosts are mounted to the wall at each end. they are removable for cleaning.
the lower roost is closest to the window
the higher roost is set farther back from the window. this way there are no shaded spots on the roosts.

 

[venymae]

Hmmmm....well I've made a coolerbator, scrap wood chicken coop, pallet garden fence, frosting bucket no-mess feeder, frosting bucket w/ horizontal nipple watering system, craigslist free chicken wire and wood chick brooder, fermented pickles, kombucha, yogurt, food in general...I made four human children too, not cooked though!

 

[Lazy Farmer]

 

[cavemanrich]

Does anyone else see a practical use for this or just I ??? I'm going to connect a Garden Hose to bottom and drill a hole thru wall to outdoors.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

 

[Lazy Farmer]

 

[Vortex81]

Got my nesting boxes situated finally! Reuse lumber and a bunch of shipping crates... Very easy clean out now. Pull down the crate, dump the hay and refill..
A lot easier than our last set up..
Hung them off the rafters. only a box of screws was purchased.
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That is a great idea but i have heard down the line that if the hen dont feel its dark enough in a nesting box that they wont ley in them particular boxs? And to be frank it kinda seems that way in my coop cause i have to lights that stay on 24/7 i just think they like having the light ( mind you there is a part of the coop that is dark also if they prefer the dark) but it seems that they ley more in the darker boxs.... is that just a story? cause all your milk crates are wide open so just curious. ALSO i love all your creations along with everyone elses too there all great and inspire me to make more Thank You!!

 

[Vortex81]

Not like cottage cheese. More like Ricotta style, but pressed out firm.

So did you make this? and if so would you mind sharing how? im am very intrigued by it and want to try it!!

 

[cavemanrich]

So did you make this? and if so would you mind sharing how? im am very intrigued by it and want to try it!!

Here is how to do it. Temps must be summertime warm like about 80 degrees or warmer, because when cooler, the bacteria will not grow/multiply sufficiently fast enough. Reason I only do it in summer. Tried during winter inside home with 70 degree temps and NO GO.
There is another option, and it is to use a Crock Pot, set up to produce about a 90 degree temp. I do something similar with mini crock pots during winter to keep chickens water from freezing. I use a Dimmer Switch to regulate the temperature. I have not tried the large Crock Pot option, but know how I can do it. It would take a trial and error run with water as my trial medium. I would keep increasing voltage to pot until I achieved the 90 degree temp steadily. At that stage, I would replace with milk and proceed.
Two ways to do this. I do it the first way.
Fill a large cup with milk. Add to it about a tablespoon of cultured sour cream, and stir. Let sit uncovered until milk sours. Time may vary on temperature of course. The warmer, the faster it happens. At least half day. You will know it is done when it is kind of stiff. It will not be as stiff as sour cream, since it is milk and not cream. You should be able to spoon it out and it should not run like liquid milk. It should be almost like yogurt. Yogurt and sour milk are like cousins.
This is your larger quantity of culture that is good enough in quantity to make a gallon of milk sour. Add to your milk and stir. Again let it sit uncovered until your whole gallon of milk turns to sour milk. (yogurt like)
I do like to drink this sour milk, since it tastes similar to butter milk. Goes well with potato based summer time meals. I usually make it for this type consumption in individual cups and refrigerate.
Second way would be to use a whole sour cream container quantity per gallon of milk. Again, wait until milk turns into sour milk.
To make cheese, the next step is to heat the sour milk.
This step gets a little tricky, since it has to be done very slowly. Place on stovetop and provide the smallest fire/heat you can. Too fast or hot, and if it would come to boil , means it would be wasted. After about 2 hours or so, you will notice the the milk will start to congeal and separate into milk solids and whey liquid. (if nothing happened in 2 hours, increase temp slightly) The whey is yellowish in color. Your cheese in progress resembles like river ice bergs with whey in between the ice bergs looking like the water. Give it about another hour and turn off heat. This is my time estimate. It may vary for you. Let cool. DO NOT STIR.
If all the milk curdled properly, then you just gently ladle contents into cheese cloth in a strainer. After it drains for a good while, remove cheesecloth and cheese, and tie closed, and press out to desired firmness.
If you choose to use to make cheese cake, you can skip pressing and use just strained.
Please understand that when I'm making this, I use my judgment of observations that I have done over the years. I don't have time recorded, or temperature thermometer checked, or time to cool down ether.
Try a small batch and experiment. If it does not work out soo perfectly the first time, you will learn what to do better second time.
Some things that may not turn out at first attempt.
1. Milk did not sour sufficiently. Need to let it process longer. It is not likely that it will oversour.
2. Milk did not curdle sufficiently, and when laydeled into strainer, milk poured thru. The stovetop heating should have been longer. The cheese cloth should catch all the milk solids. The yellow whey is all that should pass thru the cheese cloth.
3. When you press the cheese out place between plates, or bread boards and place a weight. 4 or 5 pounds is a good start. Let press in refrigerator for a day or so.
The longer it presses, the firmer your cheese will be.

When I make some cheese this coming summer when it is warm/hot, I will note the temps and times so I will have better figures to post.
The above gives a good guide to making it yourself with some details that can be tweaked to each individual's differences. Experimenting with a gallon of milk is not a budget breaker even if it fails the first time.