The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

I answered the pea question earlier but...I always grind mine. The outter coating is too tough and takes a long time to break down. When I run them through the blender it ferments faster. Same with the grains. I at least crack them to break the seed coating and expose the interior. Makes the ferment get going much quicker and I think lets it ferment much quicker.

I have an old vita mix which is just a high powered blender that I grind in. Delisha said she got an old glass container blender second hand and uses that for hers.

 

[aaggjg]

I gave in and since I don't drink wine anymore, put some live vinegar into my wine aeration bottle (sort of a big butted thing) put in an apple slice on a piece of wire, and added a funnel at the top made from an attractive bit of PostIt note... I have cleaned hundreds of fruit flies out, and it's finally manageable. Going to be a permanent fixture in the house now!
I also have clear sprouting bins with clear lids, so that helps a little.
Good luck!

Where do you put the slice of apple???? I've tried actual funnels but the flies don't seem to want to fly down the hole.... I have plenty of decanters for wine I could use. Do you have a picture of your trap???

I did an inadvertent experiment when I had an infestation of fruit flies. First I used un-pasteurized apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap in a teeny bowl. It attracted and drowned fruit flies like a champ. Then I put out (same places, different days) pasteurized ACV and not nearly as many dead flies. Could be a coincidence, but I'm sticking to the UN-ACV when I need to kill fruit flies from now on.

I leave a kombucha jar that the fruit flies got to and spoiled open .... they don't seem to gather in it just on the cabinet around it!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I would think that there is heat tape made for outside so pipes don't freeze that it would be fire safe,

I have thought of using the heating cables for roofs that keep ice off it.

But I am going to try my solar heated box first. And I figure this year I am only going to feed as much as they cane at in15-20 min. And feed twice a day. We get cold but I don't think it will freeze that fast. Lol plus that about how long it takes them to eat now.

Problem for me is that I leave too early in the morning. Depending on the month, I'm sometimes gone 3 hours before sunup so if I put food out for them in the morning it sits there all that time and would surely freeze.

I just put the pie pans or ceramic pans on the heaters I made from the dog bowl bases last year. But I was trying to think of a creative way to heat the flower box heater. maybe I'll just go back to the other pans for the winter and continue using the base heaters.

 

[ki4got]

So question for those of you who ferment grains. Does it smell strong like commercial food does when it's fermented? Grains have been in a AVC with mother since Tuesday afternoon. Slight smell of pickling and some bubbles when I stir........... New thing for me so I am curious.

Also for those who FF with peas in them. Do you ferment them whole? Do they get soft or mushy? I put mine in whole and and they are soft enough I can easily pop them in half when I squeeze gently and soft enough my finger nail goes into them easily.

The 5 gallon buckets has been fermenting in the house and I just moved it next to the wood stove to see if it starts to ferment faster.
Thanks!!

do you have to use acv? I couldn't find any, but the blog said you could use cultured buttermilk, and I COULD find that... (yes, live active cultures)

letting the silicone cure on the jar overnight, i'll fill it tomorrow.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Try googling Blue Yurt Farms. She is having a hen bag giveaway


I'd totally collect eggs in it.

I wish my daughter, Leah could see that! She LOVED hats and purses...had LOTS of odd ones. I think she would LOVE that!
Okay. I'm entered. A rubber chicken purse. Yep. Right up Leah's alley.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: I use beer instead of the acv/apple... same idea tho, but I tape a cut off straw to the mouth of the beer bottle, going down about the length of the neck. about 1/2" of beer (corona) in the bottom of the bottle.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
You don't even need to use a starter if you have a bit of patience But yes, a little buttermilk with live cultures would give it a jump start.

I actually added a boost from the sauerkraut juice a few weeks ago (fermented). And some places still sell the fermented (and not heat canned) sauerkraut and pickles if you don't make 'em yourself...

 

[lindz8504]

Well, I soaked feed today from when I let everyone out this morning til I fed this afternoon around 4ish....I just soaked plain chick starter, some oatmeal, BOSS, millet and threw in some leftover corn and peas from supper last night. When I went down to lock up at 6:30, there wasn't a drop of food ANYWHERE!!!!!!! They had been throwing food out onto the ground, but I didn't see any! I went ahead and brought more feed inside and have it soaking for in the morning! Hopefully this will save me some wasted food!

 

[Leahs Mom]

That was one of the best advantages to wetting or fermenting my feed. I was losing TONS of feed into the litter before I began wetting/ff. My feed was custom grind from the feed mill but it was powdery like a mash feed. They would dump tons of it out to get to the little things they wanted to pick out. Very frustrating.

Now...not an ounce of waste. Even if I throw it on the ground to feed them.

 

[armorfirelady]

I answered the pea question earlier but...I always grind mine.  The outter coating is too tough and takes a long time to break down.  When I run them through the blender it ferments faster.  Same with the grains.  I at least crack them to break the seed coating and expose the interior.  Makes the ferment get going much quicker and I think lets it ferment much quicker.

I have an old vita mix which is just a high powered blender that I grind in.  Delisha said she got an old glass container blender second hand and uses that for hers.

Hmmmm, think I am going to run outside quick and grab some dry grains and run some through the food processor quick. See how it looks. If the food processor does ok I will grind up a bunch as I can before conference tomorrow.

Hmmmmm maybe after doing the dry tonight I'll try some of the wet to.....

So question for those of you who ferment grains. Does it smell strong like commercial food does when it's fermented? Grains have been in a AVC with mother since Tuesday afternoon. Slight smell of pickling and some bubbles when I stir........... New thing for me so I am curious.


Also for those who FF with peas in them. Do you ferment them whole? Do they get soft or mushy? I put mine in whole and and they are soft enough I can easily pop them in half when I squeeze gently and soft enough my finger nail goes into them easily.


The 5 gallon buckets has been fermenting in the house and I just moved it next to the wood stove to see if it starts to ferment faster.

Thanks!!

do you have to use acv?  I couldn't find any, but the blog said you could use cultured buttermilk, and I COULD find that... (yes, live active cultures)

letting the silicone cure on the jar overnight, i'll fill it tomorrow.

I was going to say LM would be the one to ask but she already did lol