Baby it's cold outside....

-16 degrees F. to be exact.....burrrrrrr

Have I ever mentioned that my husband thinks I'm chicken crazy? Well, I'm not. My friend, Jennifer, just might be however. She is a wonderful chicken lady. Here are her hens resting nicely in her basement for this Arctic blast we are getting here in Upstate NY.  They look very happy indeed.

Some very lucky chickens!

I was rummaging around our garage last night trying to figure out how I could bring my girls in without destroying my husbands lawn tractor. They took roost on it last year and he hasn't let me forget that. I was even playing with the idea of cardboard boxes. I finally gave up realizing that I needed to just trust that they would be fine. I couldn't bring them in where it would be too warm because I was afraid they would get sick when I put them back up.

It's a good coop and they are the hardiest animals I've ever seen. Jumpers was in the jaws of a coyote and has the tale to tell. I've got cold hardy breeds, I use the deep liter method, and I just needed to trust I was doing OK. The coop is 4'x8' with an extended nest box and a slanted roof which holds the snow nicely for insulation. I do run out several times when we have these crazy cold snaps with jugs of really hot water and place them under the roosts. I am careful to keep their drinking water fresh because it freezes so quickly on days like this.

I have to change up the filled milk/juice jugs twice during the day and first thing in the morning. I keep the coop closed up so the heat stays inside the coop. It really does raise the ambient temperature inside and doesn't add much if any moisture. I haven't noticed any moisture build up because even though it's really cold I keep some side ventilation open to prevent frostbite.

If I had a place to bring them inside I would have. I did one year and really enjoyed that I could go and hang out with them for extended periods of time. Yes, I talk to my chickens.....they don't argue with me like my children sometimes do!

The main thing with keeping them inside is they do get bored. Boredom can lead to pecking. I bring them treats like warm oatmeal or polenta. Eating is a great boredom buster...I know this from personal experience, unfortunately.

-16 degrees and they are doing fine. I on the other hand go a bit stir crazy (er). I hope you stay warm and keep looking out for the sunny days soon to come:)

Gypsy Meet Your Chickens

"Hi...we're going to be friends"

She held that chicken for an hour.

Start training early

The story of how we decided to welcome Gypsy our Minitured Austrailain Shepard (Miniture American Shepard) into our family is on my family blog lifeaswegrow.com

She is absolutely perfect! She's going to be kept very busy around here. One of her jobs is going to be to help with the chickens. Gee, I might have to get more to keep her busy.... She's a born herder and it's very clear right from the start. It's amazing how different she is from Cricket. Cricket really wants to chase. She's a Coton de Teluer / Shih Tzu and though she would never hurt the hens, she sure loves the chase.

Gypsy didn't even seem interested at first, but as soon as they started moving around she became very watchful. I rounded them up and guided them into the tractor and Gypsy walked along right at my heal as we circled the tractor several times. I really need to research how to do this because I'm afraid of messing up her training. If anyone has any hints I'd love to hear!

I started some tunnel training with both Gypsy and Cricket. I know not to have her do any jumping because she is so young, but the tunnels are great fun. Cricket is almost 3 years old, so she is really ready for this. I can't believe I didn't think to get her going sooner. She is full of energy and is a natural jumper. I've never seen her so happy since she got her own puppy. I didn't think to worry about it since she is such a sweet dog around any other animals. Any dog that will sleep and cuddle with a kitten is bound to be good with a puppy. Gypsy is going to be more than twice her size....but I'm not going to tell that to her yet.

 My Moon Princess has been upset that there has been too much snow for her to go visit her chickens. She was very happy for a melt so the hens could run around for a while. She held on to Yorkie our Barred Rock and just talked and pet her for an hour! No one can tell me that chickens don't love attention. When I opened the back of the coop Lilly actually jumped up on my arm and walked around with me like a falcon.

Cricket missed her chickens too.

Snow Chickens in CNY

The snow was so deep after one night of snow that the coop was dark on the inside. The snow had about covered the windows completely. My girls weren't very happy. I got out there first thing and tried to pull the snow off the best that I could. They were warm enough in there and Reba even laid an egg in the dark! That is one dedicated hen:) They didn't really come out of the coop except to jump out and hide under it for the next week. They did enjoy pecking at it around the edges. 

P.S. see that old camper in the background? Stay tuned...that's our next project....the hens are going to LOVE it!