The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[BlueMouse]

Ok, so I get excited about the dorkiest things, but I'm so super duper excited about this that I had to share. I've been fermenting my whole grains in a 3 gallon bucket setup. I didn't feel like with the number of birds I have on that particular ration the grains were getting really enough time in the bucket to get a really thorough fermentation. And, the more I read about plastic the less I want to store my food in it. Especially something as acidic as this. I mean, you don't pickle in plastic, you do NOT make Kombucha in plastic.... This week I scored this! $30 of craigslist!

It's a 15 gallon pickling crock. Glazed stoneware. It weighs about 3 tons without any feed in it. Now that it is full of water and grain I am never moving it again.

 

[starlingdaly]

I

Our silkie is broody! We're so excited, she has 3-4 silkie eggs and I gave her a couple LF eggs. She picked a bad spot though, so we built a pen in the middle stall, and my husband is very worried about moving her. So, any tips?
Also, I tried a sourdough starter, made bread and it was pretty good but not "sour"....but then my starter went bad. What the heck went wrong? I want to try again.

It takes 1-2 weeks to get a reliable, strong starter going.

 

[aaggjg]

Ok, so I get excited about the dorkiest things, but I'm so super duper excited about this that I had to share. I've been fermenting my whole grains in a 3 gallon bucket setup. I didn't feel like with the number of birds I have on that particular ration the grains were getting really enough time in the bucket to get a really thorough fermentation. And, the more I read about plastic the less I want to store my food in it. Especially something as acidic as this. I mean, you don't pickle in plastic, you do NOT make Kombucha in plastic.... This week I scored this! $30 of craigslist!

It's a 15 gallon pickling crock. Glazed stoneware. It weighs about 3 tons without any feed in it. Now that it is full of water and grain I am never moving it again.

Great find! I have been looking for something like that for my Kombucha .... must go look again now

 

[BlueMouse]

Great find! I have been looking for something like that for my Kombucha .... must go look again now

Yay Kombucha! I have a scoby coming in the mail and I'm super excited about starting some! I'm hoping that my DH will like it. He has stomach problems (I suspect that he really has IBS) and refuses to eat things like yogurt, or fiber, or pretty much anything that might help him.

Kombucha is full of all those good helper bacterias and might be more palatable to him than Keffir or yogurt.

 

[TeriO]

After all the sad postings and necropsy postings, here are some gratuitous cutie pie Silkie pictures. Two of my Catdance chicks got their first bath and blow dry today. The sun came out briefly just in time for some updated pictures in the Potager garden amongst the strawberry plants, lettuce, and pansies. The two Partridge chicks are female. I am so glad. I am not particularly fond of Partridge male coloring. I want to put these two cuties with a Blue Split male and start a Blue Partridge project pen. This little girl just wants to hide under that mop of a huge crest. She didn't want to show off her fluffy bum or fuzzy feet. Her sister doesn't have the huge crest yet but her feet are magnificent! They are such fun. A perfect diversion after yesterday. They aren't very old yet. Still under three months.

 

[TeriO]

Oh my goodness they are darling. They look just like my shih zhu Birdee. Love them

 

[Mumsy]

Oh my goodness they are darling. They look just like my shih zhu Birdee. Love them

Thank you.

I used a lavender kitty shampoo on them and Johnsons baby powder on their bums. They smelled good for about fifteen minutes. Chickens being chickens.....It didn't last. Hah!

It's been such a long time since I've seen Partridge Silkies. These two don't have any black. I'm seriously wondering if they could be Blue Partridge? The eggs that came from Catdance had 'P' written on these. I assumed it meant 'Partridge'. I would love to breed a project pen of Blue Partridge but have no idea what one of my little cockerels to put with them eventually. I have a Lavender boy and a Blue Split boy. They are both pretty chicks right now. I have no idea which would make the best match with these two pullets. It is a fun fun dilemma to have.

 

[CoopChick719]

Thank you Quailsong, Lala, Mumsy & Loan! I appreciate all the advice! The poor little thing passed by the time I got the chicks home. I talked with woman I got them from. She asked around and found that the chick probably had overheated. We are having a heatwave here--89 & humid. If I had only known it was overheating, I could have cooled it. I had shut off the AC, thinking that the day old chicks needed to be somewhat warm. All the other chicks seemed fine but that one was the youngest. My sister & I just came in from the coop--switching out chicks for unhatched eggs. I will be getting up early to make sure that everyone is settling in okay.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Ok, so I get excited about the dorkiest things, but I'm so super duper excited about this that I had to share. I've been fermenting my whole grains in a 3 gallon bucket setup. I didn't feel like with the number of birds I have on that particular ration the grains were getting really enough time in the bucket to get a really thorough fermentation. And, the more I read about plastic the less I want to store my food in it. Especially something as acidic as this. I mean, you don't pickle in plastic, you do NOT make Kombucha in plastic.... This week I scored this! $30 of craigslist!

It's a 15 gallon pickling crock. Glazed stoneware. It weighs about 3 tons without any feed in it. Now that it is full of water and grain I am never moving it again.

Be careful with old crockery. Most of the old ceramics have lead that can leach into the food. Some of the newer ones are guaranteed lead-free. I think there is a simple testing kit to be sure. There are also some visuals you can look for. If you do a google search there is info out there.

I almost bought a new one (lead-free) as I LOVE the way they look. One of the hardware stores in our area carries them and one of the Amish wood workers in the area makes maple lids for them. I keep thinking what you're saying - that I may never be able to move it! They sure are "homey"...

 

[Leahs Mom]

You know... I Iike looking at these so much - and the beautiful gardens they're in - that I just wanted to quote it again. Your gardens are so pretty and your little chicks, well, I'd have a hard time ever going inside. I'd just want to sit out there and watch them all day.

After all the sad postings and necropsy postings, here are some gratuitous cutie pie Silkie pictures. Two of my Catdance chicks got their first bath and blow dry today. The sun came out briefly just in time for some updated pictures in the Potager garden amongst the strawberry plants, lettuce, and pansies. The two Partridge chicks are female. I am so glad. I am not particularly fond of Partridge male coloring. I want to put these two cuties with a Blue Split male and start a Blue Partridge project pen.




This little girl just wants to hide under that mop of a huge crest.




She didn't want to show off her fluffy bum or fuzzy feet.




Her sister doesn't have the huge crest yet but her feet are magnificent!




They are such fun. A perfect diversion after yesterday. They aren't very old yet. Still under three months.