I've been canning for years and by far my favortie is the All American. IMO the best you can buy.
http://www.allamericancanner.com/allamericanpressurecanner.htm
I have 3 total of the same model. I have had two of them for 7 years and not
a problem yet. I do anywhere between 150-250 lbs of jerky each year.
Excalibur does make a good dehydrator, I just can't justify spedning that much
when I get the same results for alot cheaper.
I make a ton of deer jerky every year. I use Nesco dehydrators. They work great
and are easy to clean. A good one runs about $55-$75 depending on where you buy it.
Stay with the 700 watt model to make jerky with. You can fit right at 5 lbs of jerky
in the standard model with 5 trays.
At 1/4"...
Get rid of the chickens or prepare for a battle. The dogs will never stop once they have
done it once. If they refuse to pen the dog, animal control isn't going to help much. Byh
the time animal control gets there, the dog will be back home and they won't do anything.
You can shoot legally...
Taco is doing great. He does really well with everybody. I am suprised at how much of a pet
he actually is. Very vocal if you ignore him.
He lets the kids ride him all over the place. I will post up some picture of him later today.
Up until a few years ago, I kept a bunch of snakes, lizards, monitors, and tarantulas.
Ball pythons are great starter snakes but to me they are boring. I like Red Tail Boas
and most of the boa family but by far my favorite is the Burmese python. They get HUGE
so you need to prepare for that...