Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[jbkirk]

Hello friends. I'm new with chickens but I love them and I would love to find some more to add into my flock. Also I'm here for help in taking care if them. I live in bellingham. Thank you.!

 

[ochochicas]

Thanks for the welcome!
My girls are 16 weeks old today! I'm getting ready to set up the nest box for them. I have two Buff Orpingtons, one Australorp, One Barred Rock and one Speckled Sussex, but I'm afraid the Speckled Sussex is a roo -- which is very sad because s/he is a favorite and I won't be able to keep her if she's male. I think the Barred Rock, Roxanne, will be the first to lay. Her comb and wattles are getting red. I'm going to take some pictures of Luna, the Speckled Sussex, to get some opinions on her gender. Her comb and wattles are still small and pale, but s/he has pointy tail feathers

Please do post some pics of Luna so we can see what he/she looks like.

If your girls are 16 weeks you should get started on those nest boxes. I had a pullet that started laying at 17 weeks. Of course they will lay someplace even if there are no nest boxes. It is always easier to get them in the habit of laying in the boxes from the beginning rather than trying to "retrain" them later.

Keep us posted on how your flock is growing up!

 

[Hinotori]

Welcome to all the new people. I know I've missed several of you.

 

[CharterChick]

I live in aberdeen and I am looking for someone close that might sell me some eggs to hatch for the preschoolers. I am going to use some from my flock which are all large breed (BO, PR (roo), 2 EE mixes, RSL, and a mutt chicken lol) but I was thinking it'd be fun to have some different breeds mixed in too for the kids. I don't care what breed of chicken or what size or if they are mixed, purebred, large, bantam, foo foo or whatever lol just from a heathy flock is all I ask. I will pick them up. I just don't want to risk getting shipped eggs for the project. I am thinking that I'm going to start incubating October 28th in the class room. Don't worry these babies are coming home with me and going in my closed up heated garage when they hatch. I'm looking for up to 2 dozen if possible.

Thank you all!
Cassandra

 

[jbkirk]

Wow, that is impressive. I don't can anywhere near that. I was only doing jams, fruit, and juices. This was my first year using the pressure canner. One jar of tuna didn't seal. The rest were fine. I opened a jar of the plain tuna for Mike's lunch today. It was pretty good.

we just use the oven to can

 

[DaveOmak]

we just use the oven to can

Using an oven, to can foods, can be a problem... The temperature does not get high enough to kill the botulism spores...

Just so you know....

It is time to get a pressure canner before someone gets ill.... All it takes is 1 shot of botulism and your life will be ruined, and possibly someone else's life too.. maybe your grand children .....

Dave..... (anal about food safety Dave)

 

[Manningjw]

Hey everyone! I have one day left on my trip but I wanted to share some pictures of feral chickens I saw (met) on Honolulu specifically the north shore.

According to a local man at the beach, people drop off their unwanted chickens where I found these but they appear to be more of a game bird - LOTS of chicks of various ages.



This handsome boy was near the Giovannis shrimp truck a couple miles up the road.



He decided to join us for lunch.



I couldn't help but read "Leghorn" in this street name near where we are staying.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
Oven canning was developed for dry goods.

Air is a very poor conductor of heat. You need temps well over the boiling point of water to kill botulism. Only way to do that is under pressure.

I've had food poisoning before. It was a very horrible few weeks. I'm not going with any risk of food poisoning that can actually kill me.

I check the seals on every jar before I use it. Even on the high acid, high sugar jams and grape juice.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:

Quote:
Oven canning was developed for dry goods.

Air is a very poor conductor of heat. You need temps well over the boiling point of water to kill botulism. Only way to do that is under pressure.

I've had food poisoning before. It was a very horrible few weeks. I'm not going with any risk of food poisoning that can actually kill me.

I check the seals on every jar before I use it. Even on the high acid, high sugar jams and grape juice.


I know this is redundant for Dave, Hinotori, and some others, but pressure canning is only needed for some foods including meat, fish, and low acid foods like green beans, etc. Pickles, Jams, Jellies, and fruit are classic examples of foods that do not have to be pressure canned. I don't want newbie canners to be frightened off thinking everything requires a pressure cooker! My rule of thumb is, When In Doubt -- Freeze It!

 

[jbkirk]

Using an oven, to can foods, can be a problem... The temperature does not get high enough to kill the botulism spores...

Just so you know....

It is time to get a pressure canner before someone gets ill.... All it takes is 1 shot of botulism and your life will be ruined, and possibly someone else's life too.. maybe your grand children .....

Dave..... (anal about food safety Dave)

We only use it to seal the jars and if they aren't sealed we eat them. We do not use it to cook what goes in the jars!!