Maybe this will help with the chicken poop. It is a summary of how to use Lacto bacilli to get the chicken poop deomposing in the chicken house, help eliminate some odor, and help your chickens' health. This is summarized from the Gil Carandong paper on the link above, with an alteration. 1. Get or make some plain yogurt--doesn't matter whether it is fat free or full fat or inbetween. Make sure it has live cultures. (Dannon and Stoneyfield do). NO flavors. (This is the alternative to gathering LB from the air..) 2. Put a sieve over a bowl and line the sieve with a coffee filter. 3. Pour yogurt into sieve and let the whey drain out. Depending on how long you let it drain, you will end up with more whey/stiffer "yo-cheese" product (which you can eat or feed to chickens) or less whey/firmer yogurt product that resembles Greek yogurt. Eat it yourself of feed to the chickens (and goats) if you don't like yogurt. (If you use a quart of yogurt and let it drain a couple of days in the fridge you will end up with close to 2 cups of whey.) 2. Two options with the whey. Store the pure whey in the fridge or mix 1:1 with unsulphured molasses to keep at room temp without it going anerobic. 3. If using pure whey, mix 1.2t per 2 gallons unchlorinated water (like in a typical 2 gal pump sprayer). If using the molasses/whey mix, mix 2.4 (2.5 for ease) in two gal sprayer. Spray the chicken house floor...how often? I would do as much as possible at first to really get the LB bacteria working in there. You can also use this same mixture for the chickens' water. It will be like natural antibiotic, good for their digestion according to the paper. It is supposed to be particularly effective against Salmonella and E coli. Refer back to that Janong article to look how they are HANDLING the chicken litter from the house. They also use it in piggerys to eliminate odor. As for the pile of straw... a. Perhaps you can screen it off with some split bamboo fencing (not too pricey) or another alternative...free wooden pallets? http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/sawyer69.html or, if you need taller, this one: http://summerville-novascotia.com/PalletWoodShed/ But, if you add the right stuff to the straw pile (as mentioned above) you will have some incredible compost...and the straw pile will continually be shrinking.. Thank you Luckygal and RJ over on the other thread for coming up with the "one step" method of dealing with the LB... Here is a link that might be useful: split bamboo fence

Check out Bee Hive cheese made in Ogden, Utah....just down the road from where I live. This is an artisan cheddar cheese, with different flavors. The milk comes to the cheese "factory" from a local dairy that is just 15 minutes away...so fresh, fresh, fresh. Bee Hive Cheese tries to use Utah products whenever possible. Founded in 2005 or 2006 (by a couple of business men who were sick of the suit, tie & brief case routine), this artisan cheese shop has won accolades and awards in the artisan cheese contests they've entered. Their Barely Buzzed cheddar (cheddar rubbed and aged in a mixture of espresso grounds and lavendar) won top prize at their first artisan cheese competition in Vermont. The next year, in Chicago, their cheeses again scored in the top 3, and similar results have occurred with each competition they've entered. In 2009, they competed for the first time in the international artisan cheese competition, and their smoked walnut shells & apple cheddar came in #3, internationally. I do not work there, nor am I affiliated...I'm just a loyal customer who loves spreading the word about this very good, and very different cheese. I order the cheese and have it sent to friends and family located throughout the U.S., so if you're interested in trying this cheese, you can certainly do that. I recommend the cooler months though, to keep the cheese in peak condition during transport. From my many discussions with the owners, I know that California has many cheese shops which carry Bee Hive Cheese. Here's a link to the cheese shop. Please let me know if any of you try this cheese. I also highly recommend the Rusk crackers they make there (again, a laborious hand-made process) because they're filled with dried fruit, nuts & seeds and go beautifully with the cheese. Here is a link that might be useful: Bee Hive Cheese

In the old days, my mom always spread left over icing on graham crackers, topped it with another gramham cracker, and stores them in the refrigerator for snacks. With 4 kids in the family, they did not make it through the day. With left over pie crust, she baked stickies--rolled out the remaining dough, buttered it, sprinkled it with light brown sugar and a little cinnamon, folded the dough in half and sealed the edges and baked. These stickies never had a chance to cool completely before they disappeared.

I bet you can. You should give it a try using a small amount as a test and be sure to let us know how it worked. Clever you for thinking of it.... :-) I've made goat yogurt, drained it to the consistency of cream cheese and used it, but it takes a LOT of yogurt to get a small amount of drained yogurt substitute. There is also vegan cream cheese available - Tofutti (I've never tried it because I avoid soy as much as possible). I found this "interesting" recipe on-line and had it in my dairy-free file. Cream Cheese Frosting: ½ C Non-Hydrogenated Shortening ½ C Earth Balance Butter (or omit and add an additional ½ C shortening) ½ C Honey 1 Tsp. Creamy Almond or Cashew Butter 1½ Tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar 1½ Tsp. Lemon Juice ¼ Tsp. Salt (omit if almond butter has salt) 2 Tsp. Pure Vanilla 1 or 2 Drops Vanilla Stevia, optional Update - You can also add Solidified Refined Coconut Oil 1 Tbsp at a time to thicken as needed without placing in the fridge :)Blend all ingredients on low for 30 seconds or until well combined. Turn speed to medium-high and blend until smooth. Place in refrigerator 10 - 20 minutes to firm up if needed. Frosting hardens if left in fridge. Cream Cheese Frosting:Source: http://cassidyscraveablecreations.com/2013/09/carrot-cake-cupcakes-with-easy-cream-cheese-frosting-grain-gluten-dairy-soy-refined-sugar-free.html  -Grainlady