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Seed Soak Solutions, Egg Yolk Oil, Baby Chick Feeding

March 9, 2025 · by Drake Weinert

Drake opens with the I Ching hexagram Taming Power of the Small, then covers a busy week on the farm: 13 to 15 chicks hatched under two rogue hens, a mongoose trap mishap, and one chick lost to the dog. The surviving chicks went into a 3x3 foot brooder pen with a cardboard house and a pile of rice, no heat lamp needed.

On day three, chicks get finely grated boiled egg for protein, followed by a small pinch of bamboo cut to about a millimeter square. The bamboo is rationed so chicks stay hungry for it, which teaches them to seek out grass and later cuts feed costs once grass becomes a third of their diet.

Main Q&A topic: fertilizing seeds after germination. Drake explains the seed already has what it needs, so instead of fertilizing you use a seed soak of food, cleanser, medicine, and structure (the core maintenance solutions) plus fuel, minerals, and IMO, soaked 15 minutes to two hours. Hold off fertilizing until the first true leaf appears under the cotyledons so the plant is forced to grow roots first.

He also demonstrates egg yolk oil: burn egg yolks in a junk pan with a wooden stick for about 40 minutes until they smoke and blacken, then squeeze out the dark oil. A small amount added to a seed soak boosts germination, and Mark noted it also helped heal a cut on his head.

Questions answered

  • 12:59 How do you feed chicks in their first few days? — On day three give a little finely grated boiled egg for protein, then a pinch of very finely cut bamboo.
  • 15:34 Why give baby chicks bamboo? — Bamboo is fibrous and sweet; giving only a little for a few minutes teaches chicks to seek out grass and lowers feed costs later.
  • 19:36 Can you fertilize seeds after germination? — No, the seed already carries everything it needs, so use a seed soak instead of fertilizing.
  • 21:07 What goes into a seed soak solution? — Food, cleanser, medicine, and structure plus fuel, minerals, and IMO, soaked 15 minutes to two hours.
  • 24:21 When should you start fertilizing a new seedling? — Wait until the first true leaf appears under the cotyledons so the plant grows roots out first.
  • 25:07 Does seed soaking help old, low-germination seeds? — Christoph soaked old onion seeds and got a lot more germination than expected.
  • 25:52 How do you make egg yolk oil? — Burn egg yolks in a junk pan with a wooden stick for about 40 minutes until they smoke black, then squeeze out the oil.
  • 28:35 How do you prep soaked seeds for a seeder? — Seed soak about 15 minutes, then dry the seeds on a paper towel or in the sun before loading them into the seeder.
  • 30:05 Is egg yolk oil good for anything besides seeds? — Mark said it also helped heal a cut on his head.

Topics: seed soak, egg yolk oil, imo, chickens, brooder, bamboo, fertilizing, germination, chicks, mongoose

KNF Office Hours is a free live Q&A every Sunday at 9 AM HST. Bring your question to pureknf.org/learn/questions or join live.

In this episode

  1. 0:00 Intro & I Ching: Taming Power of the Small
  2. 4:57 Membership meeting announcement
  3. 8:01 Chicken hatching story & mongoose mishap
  4. 11:46 Setting up the brooder pen for new chicks
  5. 12:59 Boiled egg for day-three chicks
  6. 15:34 Bamboo teaches chicks to eat grass
  7. 19:36 Q: Fertilizing seeds after germination
  8. 21:07 Seed soak solution ingredients
  9. 24:21 When to start fertilizing seedlings
  10. 25:52 Egg yolk oil for seed soak
  11. 28:35 Drying seeds before using a seeder
  12. 30:05 Egg yolk oil for wound healing

Transcript

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