“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”
– Theodor Seuss Geisel
The first of December brought us snow, and it continues today. Granted, we’ve had quite a few cold days over the past month, but those have been interspersed amongst unseasonably warm snaps, too. But this is the first snow on the ground, and we humans aren’t the only ones feeling some consternation about it.
When I walk out to the coop in the morning, the brabble amongst the flock is audible as soon as I come around the corner of our house, and it crescendos as they hear me approach. This is true no matter the weather; those birds are anxious to get outside and I can never seem to arrive early enough to their satisfaction. (We’ve heard the roosters crowing at 4 a.m., long before the sun has risen, but they pay no heed to that.) The past two mornings have provided me some amusement when I open their little coop door, and the first couple of hens see the white stuff on the ground, causing them to hesitate. However, the crowd behind them, unaware of the change in landscape, gives them the bum’s rush, and they reluctantly find themselves strolling around with cold feet, trying desperately to get back into the coop. Eventually, they get things sorted out, with some deciding to be adventurous and brave the cold, but with most deciding (wisely, I think) that being indoors isn’t quite so bad after all.
I have been putting some cracked corn out on the ground as a scratch treat, which some of them appear to enjoy, Gonzo included. He’s actually been the boldest when it comes to the snow; yesterday, when most of the birds had gone back into the coop, he was ardently patrolling the perimeter around the coop and barn area. That rooster doesn’t mess around when it comes to security. I feel I should mention that he’s quite upset with me right now, as I insulted him last night by daring to play Rock-A-Bye-Rooster with him. But I think the cracked corn treat this morning may redeem me somewhat. We’ll see.
Yesterday was so blustery, I opted not to open the large sliding barn door in the goat’s pen area, as I didn’t want them to deal with the wind. So this morning was their first encounter with the snow – most of them were nonplussed by the stuff, and decided that the hay in their feeder held much more promise. Heidi, Veronica, and Mal the kitten were a bit more curious, however, and Heidi even sampled some.
I think one of my favorite winter sights now is chicken prints in the snow. This is just a light dusting, though, and I suspect that as the snowfall increases in depth, it will become much less appealing to the birds. Yesterday, I read in Backyard Poultry that one way to help keep your birds warm is to feed them live food, like mealworms, or crickets, right in the coop during the winter. The crickets especially will give the birds a bit of exercise, and get their blood pumping. I can’t wait to buy some crickets!
Our animal housing provides sufficient shelter from the cold and wind, but the biggest issue we have had is with their water freezing. We’ve resolved that in the chicken coop with some heated pet bowls that we had on hand – placing one under their waterer has kept it from freezing so far. I keep some water in the bowl itself, I figure it may work on the same principle as a double boiler, and is better than leaving that bowl empty. Not that the water will boil, simply that it will help provide heat transfer. We do need to get some heated buckets in the barn for the goats, and get some PVC pipe to string the electrical cords through – even though the heated buckets generally have a metal coil around the cords, goats are tenacious and will try to chew through that anyway.
I really hope that I have the camera at the ready the next time one of our hens traverses one of the frozen puddles in our driveway – Chickens On Ice is one of the most hilarious things we’ve seen in awhile!
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