Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[fawngrovechad]

We Bought a Zoo
What a great movie. Reminds me so much of my family. 3rd time watching it in 24 hours! 20 seconds of courage...how awesome it THAT?!?!

 

[fawngrovechad]

We Bought a Zoo
What a great movie. Reminds me so much of my family. 3rd time watching it in 24 hours! 20 seconds of courage...how awesome it THAT?!?!

 

[fawngrovechad]

We Bought a Zoo
What a great movie. Reminds me so much of my family. 3rd time watching it in 24 hours! 20 seconds of courage...how awesome it THAT?!?!

 

[fawngrovechad]

We Bought a Zoo
What a great movie. Reminds me so much of my family. 3rd time watching it in 24 hours! 20 seconds of courage...how awesome it THAT?!?!

 

[beaglady]

Thank you. It looks like purchasing a pressure canner is in my future.

I recommend the 'All American' brand. They don't have a gasket to go bad, and they have both a pressure gauge and a weight. This is the one I have. http://www.amazon.com/All-American-...&sr=8-1&keywords=all+american+pressure+canner

The only bad thing I can say about it i that it's very heavy and hard on electric stove burners. Of course, the same is true about any canner, even a water bath one. Once you have a pressure canner, you can can your old roosters into tender, tasty ready-to-eat chicken and broth.

 

[fawngrovechad]

Obviously didnt mean to post 4 times but heck, our "zoo" is gonna have this dog in 2 weeks. Who wants him? why not?!?

 

[SilkieSensation]

Quote: Yep, mine get that too. You get swarmed when they see you coming with the feed bucket.

Quote: I really don't want to know how many of you guys eat that kind of stuff! You are from NJ! Don't you know I am talking about human body parts? LOL. I was trying to make LMP and pretty much everyone else laugh.
I REALLY want to know about Chili. The book said I have to add sugar. I adon't want to make my chili sweet.

I am sorry I am not funny. Maybe I should have added an emoticon after the joke. I am sorry.
I knew you were joking but was too tired to comment. I was at a swap all weekend & was exhausted.

My mom always canned chili when I was a kid, plus fruit, homemade applesauce, veggies, pickles, spaghetti sauce, etc. My brother couldn't eat regular canned stuff because of all of the preservatives. They made him hyper. So mom pretty much canned everything she could. I don't remember her ever adding sugar to her chili for canning or any other time for that matter. We don't like sweet chili.

Quote: I don't do tongue either but have used hearts, kidneys, necks, livers, etc. to make broth & gravy.

Quote:
Looks like a girl to me too.
I'll try getting some better head, comb and hackle pics. I'll honestly feel a little bad if Stich is a girl, only because I know you were hoping Stitch would be a pullet/hen LeBlackBird. IF Stitch is a she I guess we'll be building a bachlor pen and breeding pens sooner than I planned, wouldn't want her getting hurt.

anyone else decorate cakes here?

I do, but only for my son and only when my sister won't see it. She went for Baking and Pastry arts at Penn Tech, and I hate to make her feel bad by doing it instead of coming to her. Plus I hate having her attitude and temper flare because I do a better job than she does (according to my parents, fiance and others), but I've been baking/decorating for 20 years or more...

I do cakes, just not professionally. My aunt taught me. She's been doing them for 40+ years.

Alright, I have a lot of updates to do, so apologies for possible pic overload!

First, an update on Nonalee, who is getting quite huge as of late! She follows me around the yard while I do chores (that thing in the corner is the top to my one poultry traveling cage thingy. It's yellow and covered in dirty scratches, but it's placed just well enough to give off the illusion of a hairy leg. gross.)


Also, the meaties got butchered last week...


Yum!


Also, Oley Valley chick days, so I picked up new fluffies!
2 Cochin Bantams, one Red (still hoping for miracle frizzle) and one Silver Laced


3 D'uccles, 2 Mottled and 1 Porcelain


3 other bantams, 1 Buff Brahma, 1 Silver Duckwing OEGB, and 1 looks to be RIR


3 Assorted Cresteds, 1 Silver Laced Polish, 1 Gold Lace Polish, 1 Buff Laced Polish, and 1 Black Crevecoeur


also got 2 Royal Palm turkeys! So turkey math begins...

Brooder Pics!!

Awww

I can't wait until I have enough room for some more chicks, Gavin's begging for gooslings

.... We may be getting eggs this time, the future FIL is trying to pass a lot of his chicken stuff off to me (waterer, feeders, crates for breeding pens, a bator etc), as he hasn't had birds for years.

For those of you who send your chickens to "freezer camp" do you do the work yourself? At first I couldn't stand the thought of eating one of my pets but since I seem to be a rooster magnet I've decided to reconsider. I just don't know if I can do it myself. There is a guy a few minutes away that processes deer and he also did my neighbors steer. I wonder if it would be worth it for me to pay him to do my roosters. I'm new to all of this so any info you can give me would be great. Is it better to do it at a certain age?

I will be processing ours on our own, but we don't have many that are strictly for meat so I can space out processing. I know age to process depends on the breed, sorry I couldn't be more help.

Dear Valued Murray McMurray Hatchery Customer,
It has come to our attention the Post Office is requesting a change to the shipment of poultry through the mail. The following link is a copy of the proposal in PDF form or You can read the proposal on-line at the Federal Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/04/24/2013-09603/new-mailing-standards-for-live-animals-and-special-handling
They are asking that a Special Handle Fee be charged on every Live Animal Shipment. This proposal would increase the postage amount by $9.00 to $11.95 per box.
The proposal outlines the new fees to be charged but it does not include any new rules to insure us that service would also improve. Nor does it offer how additional funds would address their concerns about; Protection of Postal Service employees, mail and the environment, or animals against death.
Please read the proposed changes and send your comments to the US Post Office. We have included a link to a sample letter (in MS Word) for your use. (Sample Letter Link)
Make your voice heard, do it today. The comment period ends next week May 24. Thank you for your continued support.
Letters and e-mails must be submitted on or before May 24, 2013, by sending to the below address or Emailed to [email protected], with a subject line of "Live Animals".
The Manager, Product Classification
U.S. Postal Service
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Room 4446
Washington, DC 20260-5015
RE: 39 CFR Part 111 New Mailing Standards for Live Animals and Special Handling

Thanks for the info and link. Although I haven't ordered from anyone/anywhere yet I'll be mailing a letter in.
I got the same thing from Ideal over the weekend.

Quote: Broodies turn & shuffle eggs constantly.

Quote: OK, you talked me into it. My mom always pressure canned so it's really the only way I know how & I haven't even SEEN it done in over 20 years now. I need a refresher course.

 

[BirdbyGavin1103]

Quote: Thank you. They're both hams...Stitch has decided if s/he sees that I'm holding the phone anywhere near him/her (find out soon enough) it's time to sit/stand pretty. If I didn't know any better I'd think Stitch knows his/her self when I look through the pics or load them on the comp. The more Stitch sees them the better s/he sits whenever my phone is out...

 

[LeBlackbird]

Here are some pics of my Mottled Cochin Bantams: Spriggs Diggle Spriggs Diggle is from eggs I hatched from Amy Knoll in the fall. Spriggs is from J Matts in NY (Jan hatch). I have my first home laid eggs in the bator! Very excited for some peeps!!!

Wowza, those boys are ssooooo cute!!!

 

[Blarneyeggs]

You may be able to just candle them and will probably find a few that are clear.  You can pitch those that you know aren't fertile and end up with a better number for them to sit.  If Gracie could cover 8 and get them all to hatch your girls should be good for a dozen!

If you aren't sure about some, you can put them into an incubator for another week and see if they change.  Since the hens probably will get a good hatch rate but have a couple that don't hatch you may even be able to graft back any day olds that hatch in the incubator to whichever hen has fewer chicks.

This is excellent advice. If you can pick up a cheap incubator, it would come in handy if either broody hops off the eggs at the end of incubation. I've had first time Broodys do that. I finish the eggs in the incubator and slip the hatched chicks back under Momma that night.

Welcome! I'm sure someone on here is within that distance. Also, many more breeds would fit the decent layer/cold hardy breeds! If you'd like to see where most people are located, check the map in my signature.
We have trees from both places.
Come on over. For meat (you said tongue etc in a later post) you're going to want to pressure can.
No, but I'm more than willing to eat them. Me TOO!
Welcome to the area!
Welcome aboard!
Mine are all named Move, You, Yes You, and Get out of my Way! Mine have the same names! I wonder if they're related.

Spent the weekend in NJ doing Relay for Life with my family....it rained the whole time! So we were soaked to the skin by the time they finally had to call it at 11 pm.

Oh my! Wet n cold is the WORST kinda cold! Good for you for doing it! Got to meet my adorable niece. And finally my aunt had me come over and pick up 14 cases of canning jars! Most of them are not even opened! YAY!

As long as she is a LF, she should be okay with 14. Are they always sticking out? The rule (I know) is that you add eggs until they start popping out from under her. Then take away 2.
Looks like we are hatching together!!
I really don't want to know how many of you guys eat that kind of stuff! You are from NJ! Don't you know I am talking about human body parts? LOL. I was trying to make LMP and pretty much everyone else laugh.
It made me laugh
I REALLY want to know about Chili. The book said I have to add sugar. I adon't want to make my chili sweet. I add sugar to my tomato gravy to cut the acidity, but I never added it to my chili.
I am sorry I am not funny. Maybe I should have added an emoticon after the joke. I am sorry.