Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[delisha]

Apple cider vinegar neutralizes the bacteria in the urine, and can help reduce your dog's discomfort from this disease.

 

[smyers32]

Y'all might read up on dehydrating the meat too.  Anaerobic organisms not an issue there.

Can you then rehydrate it? Chicken jerky just doesn't sound good.

 

[Mountain Momma]

I dont have a pressure canner either. I canned a lot this fall -the green beans and carrots- I am watching closely because they dont have the acid content that the kraut, slaw and tomato sauce do. Ive heard of canning meat. I wonder how it tastes. I sure like spam so if it tastes like spam I'm in!

 

[Mountain Momma]

So I'm at my mom's for the week with my dogs and tonight the female starts having little accidents. She lived here for a portion of her life, so it's not a new environment thing. Urine is very strong smelling, no blood noticeable, and she doesn't seem very happy with her potty trained self when she leaks on the floor. I haven't scolded her, as she's had UTIs before and I suspect that is what this is. A vet would test her urine and if that's what it is, prescribe a round of antibiotics. My mom happens to have a bottle of cephalexin 500mg here from her boxer just before she had him put down due to his illness. So I can give her that? Or, take her to a strange vet 3-1/2 hours away from home? Or, what I'm hoping for, is a natural remedy? Anything tried & true? Acv work for this one? My mom has some but not with the mother:/
Thanks!!!!

Be careful with out dated medicine. It undergoes chemical changes which make it hard on the body and can actually hurt your liver or kidnesy. I think the acv and cranberry juice is a better solution. Throwold meds away and never give kids out dated tylenol or any of those kids over the counter things. Toss them all. I know how expensive they are and you never use them up but even leaving meds in a hot car changes the chemicla content enough to sometimes do damage


Bobbi I feel so sad for you feeling like yuo have to let the dog on the couch to get to see your son. That is one of my most fevered fears. I wouldbe devistated if either of my kids didnt come see me regularly when they grow up whether i like their friends or not.

 

[Beekissed]

Ok, I have a chicken related question... Bee I know you can some of your chicken, and I'd like to learn to do this as I have limited freezer space. I've been reading things found thru google, but they all employee the use of a pressure canner, which I do not have. Can it be done without a canner? And if you don't mind sharing, how do you do it??

EDIT: Anyone else with canning experience please feel free to jump on in here and school me! I know literally nothing about canning.

It CAN be done...pun intended.

Nine out of ten people will squall about botulism and pressure canners and use exclamation marks all over the room...and have never personally known anyone who has died from eating botulism laden canned foods that were canned in a water bath canner. Actually, of all the women in my family who have been canning down through 3-4 generations of women(only one generation owned a pressure canner, BTW) not a one have ever heard of or met anyone else who has ever heard of a canning related death.

It always amuses me the number of "knowledgeable" people who might have canned up some jelly a time or two who can discourse about how much they are certain about how botulism won't be killed in water bath temps..blah, blah, blah. People get rather hot under the collar about the subject... as if their child had perished from improperly canned foods and they are on a campaign to abolish the improper canning of foods. Maybe there should be an organization for it...something like MADD but call it MAWC(Mothers Against Water-bath Canning).

Many people over many years have canned non acidic foods without pressure canners. Yes...it can and has been done~I've done it and will be doing it this hunting season, once again. Most food safety issues occur before the food is placed in the jars, regardless of what method is used after that fact. If you have introduced botulism or any other pathogen into your jar during the processing, you have only yourself to blame. Using clean technique is key and it is the deciding factor in food safety, whether you are canning or merely cooking in your kitchen.

As with all things, there are many things in this life that can harm or kill you when done improperly but you are still driving(death, maiming, etc of every second of every day), still eating out(BIG risk to have strangers making minimum wage handling your food..you do the math), still eating commercially grown foods though we read about the many deaths from that source every year, still flying in planes that regularly fall out of the sky, still cooking foods in a microwave that has been proven to denature foods and cause cancer, still using a cell phone which has been thought to be the cause of tumors in the brain, still using fabric softener sheets that contribute to house fires every year, still using gas furnaces..deaths abound.

Need I go on?

To answer the question and address the debate...can all you want in a water bath canner, just do it right. All those who cannot can correctly, please refrain from this practice.

I have a problem. And I can't believe this but it's with my own son and daughter-in-law. Regarding dogs. They are both convinced that their boxer puppy will do no harm. That it's funny and cute for it to chase chickens. Though they know darn well not to EVER bring a dog over and let it loose here. They did bring the newest pup over though, which didn't make me any too happy. But it never left the leash.
My correcting said puppy for fixating on the chickens made them a bit upset. Not enough that they'd say anything, but you could see it. I've told them time and time again that a dog, any dog, that chases chickens is wanting to kill those birds and that it's not cute or funny. But in spite of whatever I say, since I am not a dog owner and don't really want to have a "baby doggie" they will not listen.
They just think I don't like them and won't entertain the possibility that baby doggie "just being a dog" and "having fun" is anything but harmless. What on earth can I tell them that will get through? Anything? Or do I just have to wait until they get their own and come home to a yard full of dead chickens when they finally do get them?

Maturity may bring some wisdom and I commend your decision to attempt an education for these people...one must always try to shed a light in dark places. It is up to them to either enjoy and use the light or choose to shut their eyes and minds to the knowledge. Until then, tell them that "baby doggie" needs to stay at home...that is, unless they would like you to bring a rooster over to their home~sans diaper of any kind~and bring it into the house to visit them. When it deposits love on the carpeting and scratches the carpeting to look for bugs, eats the dog's food and takes a hunk out of the puppy's nose you can just claim it is "just being a chicken" and "just having fun". Sometimes people need a visual when they are learning things...

Please do as everyone has suggested. They never had pressure cookers a long time ago. I have never used them. Cooked meat is cooked meat. A sealed jar is a sealed jar. Botulism can happen in a pressure cooker too.

Amen to that.

Lol galanie! If we were home, that's where she would be. My mom says to crate her, and for the peace of mind of my moms very close neighbors who may have to listen to her bark at every strange noise she hears all night, I'm going to follow her suggestion.
Come on Bee, you've gotta have some human treatment we can try here? I just mixed up some Greek yogurt w Cranberry extract pills, acv and cinnamon. Smelled gross. She ate it without hesitation. Oh, and some brewers yeast w garlic... Found it in my moms dog cabinet.

See below and refer back to the person who suggested outside living...it's where they belong. Outside living just doesn't present with these kinds of issues and solves all the problems. Barking? That can be stopped if one wants to put in a little training.

Apple cider vinegar neutralizes the bacteria in the urine, and can help reduce your dog's discomfort from this disease.

 

[bobbi-j]

Be careful with out dated medicine. It undergoes chemical changes which make it hard on the body and can actually hurt your liver or kidnesy. I think the acv and cranberry juice is a better solution. Throwold meds away and never give kids out dated tylenol or any of those kids over the counter things. Toss them all. I know how expensive they are and you never use them up but even leaving meds in a hot car changes the chemicla content enough to sometimes do damage


Bobbi I feel so sad for you feeling like yuo have to let the dog on the couch to get to see your son. That is one of my most fevered fears. I wouldbe devistated if either of my kids didnt come see me regularly when they grow up whether i like their friends or not.

I just want to keep things as smooth as possible. They live 4 hours away, he works 56-60 hours a week at a very stressful job, which includes weekends and holidays. He's working both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Makes it hard for the family to get together. She works at the same place, but in a different department. I do like the girl, I just want to keep thing civil. We usually go 2-3 months without seeing them at all because our schedules just don't coincide.... (I have already warned them that when they have children I will be camping out on their doorstep

) I may ask my son to ask her to keep the dog off the couch. We'll see. Drives my DH crazy, too.

 

[NanaKat]

Wow 200 posts to catch up on....going back to read.
Question oh wise ones...
Have you had chickens with heavy ear wax? I have a roo that was really shaking his head frequently. I picked him up to check him over and noticed wax inside the ear sticking the ear feathers to the opening.
First I gently pulled it loose with my finger nail, then used a little Oticleanse (used for my dogs )on a cotton ball to remove as much as possible. Then I rubbed a drop of VetRX around the ears, thinking the camphor would be helpful. I'll keep an eye on him.
What would trigger the accumulation of ear wax?

 

[al6517]

I like it when Bee get's all riled up over a subject, I can even imagine smoke coming out of her ears LOL.
I agree though about not worrying your head off over getting sick from home canning, if done properly you needant worry. We can here at home by the cases and often and have never even once came close to throwing out a batch and that's been years and years. The scare tactics started when the current 40-50 yr old mom's who have children but refused to make time to teach them the way around the kitchen and real food, not the stuff that just comes off the shelf at the corner market. So now we are left with the 20-30 yr old moms with a kitchen full of overly processed tasteless foods and still need to read the 2 paragraphs of directions on the back every time they make them LOL. They hold in very high regard the large box that sit's so convienantly on the counter on it own alter shrine they call they the microwave, generation X calls it the stove LOL. In a few years they won't even sell real ovens in stores, you'll have to buy them off the antiques section on e-bay LOL.

What is happening here is very sad, you call us OT's like were some kind of dinosaur but we don't have to search the internet just to make a simple dinner of real food, and we don't listen to the idiot people on TV that say everything in the world that doesn't come in a box is bad for you either. I almost stopped handing out recipe directions on forums and such when people ask because in the directions i give calls for some basic knowledge kitchen utensils and technics. and after they read the recipe they ask wellll can't I just put it in the microwave for like 30 seconds LOL NO NO NO NO. After all how do you explain what a whisk is to a 20 something yr old mom with a 3 yr old who's entire vocabulary consist of words like ...................... Whateveeerrrr, Like and like and like, dude, LOL. you think I am kidding?? I'm not.

Anyway for those of you that want to try and can, go ahead you'll love it and have fun too, don't listen to the nay sayers, listen to somebody who actually knows where the kitchen is LOL.

Bee You go girl !!!.

 

[delisha]

Smyers if you want more tips about canning just PM me. I would rather avoid all the conflict. Canning is fun, saves money, and is safe. Please don't be afraid. I can tell you what to look for and what to do to avoid problems. What to do if you have problems after canning. (like if a jar does not ping/seal)

 

[thedragonlady]

Thanks Lisa! It did stay on the leash. I just can NOT get them to understand that the reason I won't let little sweetheart chase my chickens hasn't a darned thing to do with my feeling toward dogs - it's a real threat.

Puppies chasing, or playing with chickens or goats starts the prey drive that ALL dogs are born with. Once prey drive kicks in , and a chicken flaps, or a goat says, "Maaaa", it's usually game over for the chicken or the goat.