Canning pickled eggs

I tried to make your recipe for canning pickled eggs. I followed your instructions exactly and everything went well until I put the packed jars into the water bath canner. After the jars had been in a good rolling boil for about 10 minutes the lids popped outward and unsealed. I have never had this happen while water bath canning. I took them out of the canner, took off the lids, removed some of the liquid, wiped the rims good and replaced with new (boiled hot) lids, replaced the rings and put them back in the canner to finish processing. I made sure I had removed all air bubbles and did not have the eggs packed tight. The pickling solution covered the eggs good and had a bit more than 1/2 inch headspace. The only thing I did different was to leave the pickling spices floating in the vinegar solution which were also floating in my jars with the eggs. I wanted the extra spice flavor to permeate into the eggs. There was probably no more than a half teaspoon in each jar. The lids looked like they were about to explode had it not been for the rings holding them on. It was the strangest thing I’ve ever had happen when water bath canning and I’ve made TONS of bread & butter pickles, pickled pears, peaches that use whole spices as well. What could have made that happen?

Bonnie Martin
Perdido, Alabama

Boy, I’ve never had that happen, EVER, with any water bathed food! Did the lids seal when the jars cooled? I leave my spices in my eggs too so that’s not your problem. Anybody out there have any ideas? — Jackie

Hamster litter in compost pile

I just bought my daughters a couple of hamsters. Can I use their used hamster bedding (wood shavings and their poo) in my compost pile?

Rhonda Jurgenson
Jeffersontown, Kentucky

There’s no reason you can’t. Just be sure to mix it well and bury it with other compost so it decomposes well. It’d be like using rabbit droppings in your compost. — Jackie

Pecking order in chicken flock

I’ve got a flock of eight hens. One of the four Barred Rocks seems to be pecking the others above the base of their tails and behind their wings. The pecked birds are getting bald. The birds have access to a large outside run and plenty of food and water. Do you have any advice on how to manage/stop the pecking issue (besides having a BBQ)?

Rick
Spokane, Washington

Sometimes removing such a bird from the flock for a few days to a week or more will change the pecking order so this behavior stops. If it doesn’t work and the pecking begins to draw blood, BBQ for her. — Jackie

8 COMMENTS

  1. If you did use wal-mart brand lids that would must likely be the problem.Just had to recan about 24 jars of pear sauce the lids popped up and would not seal also did it on some of the pear jelly I made the some day.Thought I was saving some money buying the store brand but ended up costingme more in the end.Wal-mart canning lids not recommended

  2. I think it was the lids, that happened to me with Walmart lids,(Mainstay). My daughter and I were canning tomatoes and more than half of them buckled. I’ve been canning well over 40 years and it was my very first time I experienced that! Always make sure your jars and brine are hot before lowering into the canner.The jars are fine but save those lids for vacuum packing.

  3. Were your jars bought at Wal-Mart?? I think the brand is Simply Home? I bought several dozen of these jars with the lids/rings earlier in the summer and they are horrible. The lids are thinner than Ball or Kerr and they will explode. I’ve had this happen in a water bath and also in my pressure canner. I ended up having to use a few of the jars, but put Kerr or Ball lids and rings on them and they worked that way. I took the unused jars back to Wal-Mart and low and behold, there on the service desk counter were other boxes of jars that had been returned.

  4. I did some boiling water bath canning a few years ago. My lids crumpled, too. I think the water boiled too furiously, also cheaper flats will do that. Hope this helps. Lorraine

  5. I, too, have had hens pecking on another one or two. A neighbor had told to use Vicks or Udder salve. I tried the Vicks and it worked. Just put it on the pecked area of the hen and the others will leave them alone. You may have to do this a time or two.

  6. Bonnie, I’ve tried Jackie’s recipe for the pickled eggs and made them a few times in pint jars. I’ve never had any problems with the recipe or the process. The only possibilities I can think of has to do with packing your eggs, which you have mentioned. I pack the eggs loosely and make sure that the entire egg on top is covered before wiping edges down and sealing. Could your eggs be packed a bit too tightly? Could your head-space be inadequate? (I, too, use spices.) Hope you are able to figure out the problem you are having — the recipe is a good one for us.

  7. The eggs were probably getting to old and begining to spoil. Not much to be done in that case.

  8. re: Pecking chickens. We had chickens and sometimes they would peck each other. My mom mixed up some red food color with Vicks and put a good bit on the injury of each hen that showed evidence of being pecked. One mouthful of Vicks and the pecking hen decided that was not a good thing to do. Funny to watch when they got the Vicks in their mouth since chickens can’t spit.

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