CLUCK CLUCK

[ovenrack]

COME IN TO TALK ABOUT CHICKENS!

[ovenrack]

linewifekat tell me about your fermented feed!

[ovenrack]

[ovenrack]

[ovenrack]

They're
2 buff orpington
2 speckled sussex
2 rhode island red
2 barred rock

[linewifekat]

It's so easy! Depending on how many chickens you're feeding will depend on what size container you'll use. When I had 20 chicks last year I used a 5 gallon bucket and with 5 this year I used a 1/2 gallon mason jar. All you do is put 1:1 with chicken feed and water. If your water is chlorinated you're supposed to let it sit out for 24 hours to let the chlorine evaporate. Then you just stir it multiple times a day and it'll catch the good bacteria in the air and start getting bubbly and sweet smelling. With your initial ferment it'll take 2-3 days to get a good fermentation going. Then I use a sieve to dish out enough of the feed to give the chicks. Then you add more feed to the jar. That's called backslopping I believe. After the initial ferment it only takes 8-12 hours to ferment the new feed.

[linewifekat]

I love my buff orpingtons! Very cute chicks. I've never had luck getting fodder to grow

[ovenrack]

Mar 23, 2017 14:24:30 GMT -5 linewifekat said:

It's so easy! Depending on how many chickens you're feeding will depend on what size container you'll use. When I had 20 chicks last year I used a 5 gallon bucket and with 5 this year I used a 1/2 gallon mason jar. All you do is put 1:1 with chicken feed and water. If your water is chlorinated you're supposed to let it sit out for 24 hours to let the chlorine evaporate. Then you just stir it multiple times a day and it'll catch the good bacteria in the air and start getting bubbly and sweet smelling. With your initial ferment it'll take 2-3 days to get a good fermentation going. Then I use a sieve to dish out enough of the feed to give the chicks. Then you add more feed to the jar. That's called backslopping I believe. After the initial ferment it only takes 8-12 hours to ferment the new feed.

I love fermenting stuff, so this sounds good.  Currently I am using this (the one on the left) - but I'd imagine it won't work well for wet feed?  Do you just put out a dish?  

[linewifekat]

In the early days I used an egg carton and cut off the top. We use the long trays and just take tops off of them. Those feeders will be good for grit and oyster shell in the future.

[sarenu]

Now I want chickens.

[linewifekat]

I love our chickens and have tons of cute pictures of them.

[rugger]

Mar 23, 2017 14:20:58 GMT -5 ovenrack said:

They're
2 buff orpington
2 speckled sussex
2 rhode island red
2 barred rock

You should name them :
Buffy, Oprah
Speck, Sassy
Rhodie, Red
Barry, Rocky

[Stringy]

Mar 23, 2017 15:33:19 GMT -5 rugger said:

Mar 23, 2017 14:20:58 GMT -5 ovenrack said:

They're
2 buff orpington
2 speckled sussex
2 rhode island red
2 barred rock

You should name them :
Buffy, Oprah
Speck, Sassy
Rhodie, Red
Barry, Rocky

This is spot on

[sarenu]

Mar 23, 2017 15:35:20 GMT -5 Stringy said:

Mar 23, 2017 15:33:19 GMT -5 rugger said:

You should name them :
Buffy, Oprah
Speck, Sassy
Rhodie, Red
Barry, Rocky

This is spot on

But if you name one Buffy, you really should name another one Spike.

[rugger]

Mar 23, 2017 15:37:28 GMT -5 sarenu said:

Mar 23, 2017 15:35:20 GMT -5 Stringy said:

This is spot on

But if you name one Buffy, you really should name another one Spike.

Ok, then instead of Speck, go with Spike

[dramaphile]

They're all girls, right? The Barred Rocks should be named Sasha and Malia because the breed sounds like Barack. Or if they're possibly not all girls, Obama and Biden, or Michelle and Barack.

[ovenrack]

Omg I thought of Buffy!

[CurlieWhirlie]

Mar 23, 2017 15:37:28 GMT -5 sarenu said:

Mar 23, 2017 15:35:20 GMT -5 Stringy said:

This is spot on

But if you name one Buffy, you really should name another one Spike.

Or Willow! Since they're all girls.

[ovenrack]

It's cool, I just snuck through the room they're in and tried to check on them (they're sleeping) and when one popped its head out I scurried away at lightning speed in the style of a parent who has been spied by their infant.

[Stringy]

So do these chicks sttn for you OR?

[ovenrack]

Mar 24, 2017 5:48:48 GMT -5 Stringy said:

So do these chicks sttn for you OR?

Yup. My kids, not so much.

[ovenrack]

Okay I think after some research my two speckled Sussex may actually be one speckled Sussex and one Easter egger.

I know you all care deeply.

[rugger]

ovenrack, do they have names yet?

[ovenrack]

Mar 24, 2017 8:45:41 GMT -5 rugger said:

ovenrack, do they have names yet?

Nah. I've got to assess their personalities. Both my kids didn't have naps for 24h after birth so I anticipate the chicks taking a few days minimum!

[ovenrack]

I cleaned the brooder. So here they are in a basket.

[ovenrack]

See the two stripes ones look similar but definitely not the same! Wonder what they are.

[ovenrack]

My M and Stringy's P ogling the chicks

Be still my heart! Babies with babies.

[sarenu]

For a minute I was wondering why they were in the cage.

[ovenrack]

Mar 24, 2017 14:07:03 GMT -5 sarenu said:

For a minute I was wondering why they were in the cage.

They're chickens!

[Stringy]

Mar 24, 2017 14:07:55 GMT -5 ovenrack said:

Mar 24, 2017 14:07:03 GMT -5 sarenu said:

For a minute I was wondering why they were in the cage.

They're chickens!

Chickens are free range. Babies are caged.