Where to get chickens

I was wondering where you got your white laced cornish chickens from. I have looked on-line and all I can find are the dark cornish. Also, do you know anything about feeding fodder to livestock? I have found several systems on-line that make growing your own feed seem easy. Is it too good to be true? John and I cannot wait to meet you guys in May!

Mia Sodaro
Frazier Park, California

We bought white laced RED cornish from Welp Hatchery. We wanted the white laced reds as they are a prettier bird with a whiter skin than the dark cornish. Yes, we have grown up feeding fodder to livestock, primarily corn stalks with ears matured and on the dried stalks. This works well for horses and cattle. Let me know if you have specific questions, and I’ll be happy to answer them! We’re excited about meeting you at the seminar, too! — Jackie

Canning ham

I have a lot of left over ham. I was wanting to can it instead of freezing it. Is it safe to can at home? Is it done the same as other meats or would the prolonged canning time make it turn to mush as it is already precooked? I can’t seem to find information on canning ham anywhere!

Jennifer Gall
Roseburg, Oregon

That’s one reason you should have my book, Growing and Canning Your Own Food! (This is the most complete canning book out there, with lots of recipes to can, including ham. — BHM Staff) Yes, basically, you can ham like other meats. Only, because it’s pre-cooked, you only have to slice or dice it up, fill the jars, and pour boiling broth or water over the meat, leaving 1 inch of headspace. It must be processed for 75 minutes (pints and half-pints) and 90 minutes for quarts, at 10 pounds pressure. If you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet, consult your canning book for directions on increasing your pressure to suit your altitude, if necessary. Ham is wonderful, canned like this. I do it every year! — Jackie

3 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you Ms. Jackie for this link. I’m excited to can my first meats very soon. Hugs, Melissa in Virginia

  2. Mia,

    I will check out those links. I have used tray grown fodder for an old horse that didn’t eat well anymore. It was expensive, as opposed to pasture or hay, although he did love it! Remember that a bale of good hay is many yards of standing crop, cut, dehydrated and baled; over 100 pounds worth. When you buy the trays and equipment, I don’t think it’d pay.

    Jackie

  3. Thanks Jackie! The fodder growing system I found online was at http://www.foddersolutions.org I also found a model at http://www.farmtek.com that would pay for itself within the year as the hay prices in California are outrageous. Basically you grow barley from seed in trays and within a weeks time it is ready to feed to the animals. Please, if you have time, check out these web sites and let me know what you think. I think it would be really neat to grow our own feed. Thanks so much!

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