To say it has been cold would be an understatement. Frigid, icy, arctic-like, glacial and finger-numbing would more accurately describe the past month. It is a sad thing indeed when the temperature hits 20 degrees and you think it is warm outside.
Even though my ladies are winter-hardy, (there was tag on them when I bought them that said this.:)) Scott and I have been a bit worried about them outside in their coop when the temperature drops down to single and then negative digits.
First and foremost I have been very glad Scott insulated the coop when we first bought it. However, there is no heat for them other than a 100 watt bulb that turns on for 4 hours in the evening and 2 hours in the morning. They are on their own. Yes, they are wearing their own custom made down coats, but still you start to worry.
However, they seem to be taking the cold in stride. They don't go out into their run much and we haven't let them out to roam the yard in weeks. But, they seem relatively happy pecking around in their coop during the day and then crowding together on their roost at night. And so far we haven't noticed any frostbite on their combs. I'm sure they are getting tired of being cooped up like the rest of us, (I'm so funny aren't I?) but this cold has got to break soon!
5 comments:
I'm not going to tell you what our high was today, only that you are welcome to visit ANY time--especially during a very cold January. Hang in there!
That's funny. I had the very same experience, going out one evening and finding it was 24ยบ and thinking, Wow, it's so warm tonight. Good luck with the chickens. They don't look like they're suffering in any way.
We have been in the negatives a lot this past week. I don't know why we moved to Idaho, it's nuts!
I can understand the need for snow but there is no reason for tempertures to be like this
I would hate to live outside.
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