Washingtonians

[CailetTempest]

To all of you who go to the Scottish games/events please check out the couple that has the white trailer that sells the Meat Pies.
They're Larry and Fran and are my friends. Stop and say hello and tellum that Mikeyb sent you.
They are very good people and helped me through a very tough time in my life. The best thing is, they don't even know how much they helped me.

Oh I will definately have to stop and say hello when I go. Do they go to Renaissance Faires also?

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

Quote: We do this 2 or 3 times a day... just let them out to cuddle. DD does it too. She loves them. They just love to cuddle.

 

[FirewifeJess]

CT- I'm still VERY new to all this (and not even getting eggs yet!) but every last book I've read has said NOT to wash eggs if you can help it. They have what's called the "bloom" on them and if you wash it off they are likely to be more susceptible to bacteria in the egg. I wouldn't wash unless it's really filthy, and then I'd eat it right away instead of storing.

 

[mikeyb]

Ok here is a quick question for you all about washing eggs. Hubby and I have a little disagreement over this... He argues that eggs need to be washed before putting in the fridge otherwise they will keep growing inside the egg and then there will be blood spots on the yolk. I say putting them in the fridge stops all growth and that the eggs already had blood spots on them from when the egg developed in the chicken.

I grew up where we didn't wash the eggs at all unless they were really dirty... Mom never washed them except for that. And she cooked them all the time straight from the shell without washing the shell. Help???

We do agree on not washing them if they are to go into the incubator.

Any thoughts on this subject? Anyone at all?

As I understand it the shell is porous so if you leave dirt/po on it you risk contamination of the egg and other stuff in the refrig. It is also my understanding that you gently clean off the eggs with a damp paper towel and then dry it b4 storing them.
This is from Raising Chickens for Dummies. Hope this helps.

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

Ok here is a quick question for you all about washing eggs. Hubby and I have a little disagreement over this... He argues that eggs need to be washed before putting in the fridge otherwise they will keep growing inside the egg and then there will be blood spots on the yolk. I say putting them in the fridge stops all growth and that the eggs already had blood spots on them from when the egg developed in the chicken.

I grew up where we didn't wash the eggs at all unless they were really dirty... Mom never washed them except for that. And she cooked them all the time straight from the shell without washing the shell. Help???

We do agree on not washing them if they are to go into the incubator.

Any thoughts on this subject? Anyone at all?

Mine going into the incubator = not washed...maybe some extra poo wiped off with paper towel...but NO wash.
Into frigerator = rinsed off.
Blood spots = I believe this is called "meat". It happens during the development of the egg. I don't know how it happens...but it does not happen in all eggs. We had monster omlets last night. I probably cracked some 20 eggs (some were serama eggs - tiny) but 1 was a bit bloody. I told no one...just mixed it up in. they are fresh, I knew it.

Others will pipe in with better information for you. This is just the level that I know at this point.

 

[CailetTempest]

I do use a paper towel and wipe them off. If they are filthy dirty then Yea they get washed. Hubby's idea is I need to literally wash the eggs... soap and water. lol.

I have read that blood spots happened during the development of the eggs so washing makes no difference on them. Hubby argues that the eggs are still developing when they are in the fridge. I argue that nope that's not where blood spots develop.

Thank you everyone for your opinion on this. It is all great information.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Well just to get it all out there, here's me (guess I never really introduced myself):
Daughter of God, I call myself a Christian and I hope to live for Him every single day in everything I do.
Home schooler to my 3 kids because the public school system is a joke and a serious disservice to American children, forcing indoctrination of false values that have ruined our country.
Home birther; birth is a natural event, not an illness. I'm thankful for modern medicine in the case of emergencies, but birth is not one, MOST of the time.
Cloth diaperer; I will not contribute to landfills by throwing hundreds (or thousands) of pounds of plastic and human waste to leech into the ground and make us sick for years to come; also, they're freaking cute! Who would use sposies knowing how cute and easy cloth is? LOL
Aspiring backyard homesteader; slowly but surely, we'd love to be entirely self sufficient. Starting with chickens, moving on to a huge garden, perhaps some goats, rabbits, quail, etc down the road. Thankful for the internet and lots of fantastic books to keep me growing in knowledge on how to sustain our family!
We also eat according to the Paleo diet due to gluten, dairy, and soy intolerances in all 3 of our children and myself. We LOVE living here in WA where it's extremely easy to get a hold of organic produce, grass fed meat, and tons of gluten free, dairy free, soy free alternatives.

OK that's it. Hoping I'm among friends here, I've enjoyed all the info and resources so far and the company ain't half bad too

Not to burst yer happy little bubble but since you mentioned what goes in landfills. And when ya flush the torlet where do it go ? Either the ground or the nearest large body of water. Why do ya think I doesn't drank warter. Caurse itll rusty yer pipes !

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote:

But then wouldn't Julie, Terry, Taco and all her critters be deaf also? I can't imagine putting hearing protection on all of her own before blasting the annoying neighbor!
OK let me clarify I didn't say it would cause deafness. Where's yer sense of adventure?

 

[cowchick11]

Quick question for y'all: What are your favorite chicken books? RIght now I have:
A Chicken in Every Backyard (from a pacific northwestern chicken farmer in Portland, by far my favorite chicken book so far!)
Chick Days (bought it for my kids to be able to see what to expect during the baby times with our chickies
Storey's Guide to Keeping Chickens (so far it's been the most comprehensive guide)
The Joy of Keeping Chickens (sucked...it's for big time farmers, not backyard chickeners like myself)

Basically, I really like being an expert at stuff I get involved in. I would like to start collecting chicken books and come up with a little library on my kitchen shelf of great resources. I know I already want The Chicken Health Handbook but can't think of others that I know will be really good resources. Thanks all!

The book I have enjoyed most recently about chickens that was just entertaining was "Just a Couple of Chickens" by Corinne Tippett, she is an author that now lives in Oregon. She had a booth at the show in Stevenson. It is about chicken math and raising a family in hard times. I think she is like the Erma Bombeck of poultry! The book is on Amazon or at Corinne's website at www.TheFeatheredEgg.com Then the one that I have as a quick, easy reference and for use in my 4-H club is the new "4-H Guide to Raising Chickens". There are basics on just about everything including chicks, adult birds, showing, and diseases. It has great photos and good descriptions. You can find it at 4HMall.org (and support 4-H!)

 

[pettec63]

Quote:
That's awesome! I LOVE flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphy's!!! My kids turned me on to it quite a few years back, I unfortunately don't have any cd's currently, they took them when they left. Oh, the introduction was firewifejess's, But, yes, I grew up on a farm in Grandview, well actually as a little one, back in MI, we moved here when I was 12, so no I was not born here, but I have lived here most of my life with a few exceptions being the military. That was back when you could buy 12 acres for 20,000! LOL!

So, it's been a long road back to the farm, and we used to grow everything and can and freeze everything, and it's one of those things, you wished you would have paid more attention when you were a kid!! LOL! We used to fish a lot ect. I love farming and always have, I was an FFA freak, and took every ag class I could! My parents couldn't afford to send me to WSU and frankly at the time I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, so I went in the Navy instead. I think you will have plenty of room to start doing what you can. Glad the city is cooperative, I know some are not.