Washingtonians

[Totalcolour]

Quote:
I live in Yakima WA. I am allowed to sell butchered birds off my property with out any inspections/license. Should I have more than 1,000 birds, I would then need a commercial license. I have not looked into other livestock. I have found a local guy who will butcher, shrink wrap and freeze birds -- for about 3 to 4 bucks each.


I hope this helps you

Dave

Actually, you do need a license, but it's easy to get (they don't do an inspection, but you need to send a diagram of your set-up). You need to inform state authorities on which days you butcher, you must sell the birds in the first 48 hours, and they must not be cut up, they must be whole, and must be sold from your property. You are right though about the number, except it's not that simple. For chickens it would be 1000, but it's a smaller number for turkeys - some kind of point system.

The best market is to sell live birds, because you can find the right kind of market easily, and you don't need all the complicated stuff like my DH has - the Featherman plucker, scalder, kill cones etc. And then, it's up to me to vacu-seal them. If you live in an area where there is a good Asian population, they prefer live birds, and they pay well. The best way to advertise is to put a flyer up at your local Asian markets, with photos (ask for permission of course), and if you give the owner a bird for free, he's much more likely to be co-operative

You can put the little tags on the bottom of the flyer with your phone number so they can pull them off and take your number home. I have had some good buyers for my ducks this way!

Good luck

 

[Totalcolour]

You know, I forgot to put this in the last message, the form is AGR 425-3302; you can Google it and get a pdf file to fill out.

Good luck

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
I'm sorry. I know some cats really enjoy going outside, but it makes me nervous, and I don't have nearly the predators you do.

We used to keep our cats indoors, but now we have a house with 32 exterior doors (we have glass doors instead of windows), and it was heartbreaking to lose our cats when a door is accidentally left open. (We lost 2 in 04 due to doors left open and another that same year because Morty pushed out a windowscreen; - that was the hardest loss, my 9yo, 20lb Maine Coon that I had raised since he was a kitten - the only kitten I have ever had, Morty and his brother Chester who we lost earlier to health issues). With so many doors, some are bound to be left open at times (usually blown open by the wind when a closed door has not been properly latched). Since 04 we have only adopted older cats, mostly from the Spokane area, that are listed as indoor outdoor as we figure these cats have experience outdoors and are not city cats (city cats don't last very long out here either from what I have heard). We generally have had good luck with the Spokane cats, often losing them to kidney failure. DH has a soft spot for sorry looking cats. We once drove down to a huge no-kill shelter in Oregon to pick up what we were told was an 8yo one eyed cat who had lived at the shelter for 5 years - adopted and returned several times because he pees in houses, and he was forever trying to escape when the door was opened at the shelter. (He couldn't be caged so they let him run around. many of the shelter cats were caged or in big community rooms with lots of things to do, but Jasper did not get along with them, so he ran loose at the shelter) They said they changed their rule about indoor only because of him. They also told us that he hated cats, kids and dogs. Well, Jasper was just a love! He did pee EVERYWHERE though. The shelter had him on kitty prozac for the peeing, but a closer exam by our vet revealed the cat was very old, nearly blind from glaucoma, and a he had a terrible case of kidney disease - he said numbers like his hed never seen on cats that could walk! Well, Jasper refused to eat his kidney food, so we just fed him what he wanted, and let him go where he wanted. He tolerated my other cat and loved our dog Willow (who we had found that same weekend we got Jasper - Willow had a head injury, so she was indoors wearing her cone of shame.) Jasper and Willow always slept snuggled together; he also let my daughter push him around in a doll stroller. I sent photos to the shelter. Jasper lived for 18 months before he gave up eating and I had him put down. His last 2 weeks he dropped half his body weight! But those 18 months were great. He and Willow were best buds and explored everything together. They'd be out in the yard hunting mice together, and when we took Willow on walks, Jasper would run along with us! Jasper knew Willow would defend her, so he would taunt the neighbor dogs by sitting on a rock in full view calling out the them, and when the dogs ran toward him, Willow would chase them off then Jasper would weave between Willows legs, and jump up on his hind legs to butt his head up to Willow's chin. When Jasper died, we burried him in the yard, and Willow would not leave the gravesite for nearly a week. She was so sad. But then we went camping and after that Willow seemed to froget about Jasper.

I'm happy Jasper found you. You made his last months very happy.

I didn't mean to sound like I was blaming you. I wasn't. Letting cats out, is to some extent, a personal choice, like free ranging chickens. I'm a worry wart. With either cats or chickens, you have to expect some losses.

32 exterior doors! I had a security guy once complain because we had 7!

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
So sorry- we're only a month and a bitout from loosing Zathras, and no matter how distracting the kittens are, the absence is still noticible.

I've been looking at Kittens online. DD and DS have been asking for kittens since we lost Fern to kidney failure a few months back. DH said he'd like to try kittens next as he is hoping for a few years of good health before we deal with the cost and heartache of kitties with health issues. I personally would like something between 1 and 3 years old as they likely won't have the issues of the old cats we usually adopt. DH wants to wait at least a month before we get more cats, but I am looking at these:



http://nwsource.kaango.com/ad-adorable-kittens/19465027

That blue point kitty is sweet looking.

Our cats are rescues. Mr Hallerlake got Charlie by asking for the cat who had been there longest. He can only have been unadopted because he's black, because he is a love sponge, very affectionate.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

So, no hired help today

Guess that means I need to get my socks sorted to wash (in bags, so the woolly ones don't link all over the dark ones that I wear with skirts, y'know?) and figure out how I can work in the shade while the shade moves.

Note to self: next year aquire desert boots for summer work, your ankles will thank you!

 

[Ogress]

Quote:
No worries, I did not think you were.

When I lived in Woodinville, I never let my cats out because our property backed to Avondale road. Cars scare me much more so than animals. Usually I won't let them out between dusk and dawn, but Char refused to use a litter box if the weather was nice, and she'd poop in the middle of the hallway where you were sure to step on it if you kept her in. We let her out at tnight, but only for 20 minutes or so at a time. I do know it is a risk, but I think with careful selection of a cat that is used to living outside and fending for itself, the risk is not that great. They may live longer in a shelter, but the quality of that life is not going to be so good.

The doors are a pain to keep all locked - my family knows there are only a few I allow them to use, but the kids have firends visit and doors are left unlocked quite often. We called a security company, but when we saw how much it would cost to wire our home, we decided not to get a monitored system. Perimeter cameras do a better job, give you photos of intruders, and you don't have to pay a monitoring company an arm and a leg.

 

[Ogress]

Quote:

I've been looking at Kittens online. DD and DS have been asking for kittens since we lost Fern to kidney failure a few months back. DH said he'd like to try kittens next as he is hoping for a few years of good health before we deal with the cost and heartache of kitties with health issues. I personally would like something between 1 and 3 years old as they likely won't have the issues of the old cats we usually adopt. DH wants to wait at least a month before we get more cats, but I am looking at these:



http://nwsource.kaango.com/ad-adorable-kittens/19465027

That blue point kitty is sweet looking.

Our cats are rescues. Mr Hallerlake got Charlie by asking for the cat who had been there longest. He can only have been unadopted because he's black, because he is a love sponge, very affectionate.

Don used to be the one to pick out our cats - he's choose similarly, but Olivia was the one to choose char. We looked at pet finders and I told her the cat had to be at least 4 years old and from the other side of the mountains. Most of the shelters in the Seattle area do get a lot of cats from Spokane. Don would have NEVER picked a fluffy all-while cat! He groaned when we brought her home. Funny, he has nver loved any of our cats more than he loved Char! (she was named after a veterinarian who savedher from death - she was starving, flea infested,completely matted and had a litter of kittens she could not care for when she was found.

 

[RustyHen]

Quote:
We were just at Westport last Saturday and saw a guy on a bike pulling a skateboard with a long rope. Perched atop the board was a very happy bulldog! They were doing tight corners and big circles! That dog was never even close to losing his balance even for one second! It was amazing!
And man did the kids get a kick out of it!
Great vid!

I've seen the dog on a skateboard before but not surfing and sledding. I figured he just did it because he had been trained to do it but he actually enjoys it! He even puts his paws on the ground and pushes off to pick up more speed!

When he was at the skatepark he was making his own turns at the end of the run so he could go back, Amazing !

 

[Kaneke]

Quote:
No worries, I did not think you were.

When I lived in Woodinville, I never let my cats out because our property backed to Avondale road. Cars scare me much more so than animals. Usually I won't let them out between dusk and dawn, but Char refused to use a litter box if the weather was nice, and she'd poop in the middle of the hallway where you were sure to step on it if you kept her in. We let her out at tnight, but only for 20 minutes or so at a time. I do know it is a risk, but I think with careful selection of a cat that is used to living outside and fending for itself, the risk is not that great. They may live longer in a shelter, but the quality of that life is not going to be so good.

The doors are a pain to keep all locked - my family knows there are only a few I allow them to use, but the kids have firends visit and doors are left unlocked quite often. We called a security company, but when we saw how much it would cost to wire our home, we decided not to get a monitored system. Perimeter cameras do a better job, give you photos of intruders, and you don't have to pay a monitoring company an arm and a leg.

if they are sliders -- what about the traditional long-dowel-in-the-track ??? or the newer and more unobtrusive screw-on-metal-clamp device .. which can be set to allow some air passage but not enough to let animals out

either of those can be yanked out in emergencies, but will essentially block those from opening without some thought (and will clue "friends" in, that those are not exits or entrances

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Quote:
No worries, I did not think you were.

When I lived in Woodinville, I never let my cats out because our property backed to Avondale road. Cars scare me much more so than animals. Usually I won't let them out between dusk and dawn, but Char refused to use a litter box if the weather was nice, and she'd poop in the middle of the hallway where you were sure to step on it if you kept her in. We let her out at tnight, but only for 20 minutes or so at a time. I do know it is a risk, but I think with careful selection of a cat that is used to living outside and fending for itself, the risk is not that great. They may live longer in a shelter, but the quality of that life is not going to be so good.

The doors are a pain to keep all locked - my family knows there are only a few I allow them to use, but the kids have firends visit and doors are left unlocked quite often. We called a security company, but when we saw how much it would cost to wire our home, we decided not to get a monitored system. Perimeter cameras do a better job, give you photos of intruders, and you don't have to pay a monitoring company an arm and a leg.

if they are sliders -- what about the traditional long-dowel-in-the-track ??? or the newer and more unobtrusive screw-on-metal-clamp device .. which can be set to allow some air passage but not enough to let animals out

either of those can be yanked out in emergencies, but will essentially block those from opening without some thought (and will clue "friends" in, that those are not exits or entrances

Before we sealed the air-leaking slider, we used a bar clamp to lock it when we were gone/at night.

Hey Kaneke, have trouble staying in your chair an hour or two ago? Howitzers for the next nine days, fun! Including late-night firing, ugh.

See: http://www.lewis-mcchord.army.mil/pao/Releases/2011/107-11 JBLM Late Night Firing.pdf