Monday, January 17, 2011

Frosty chickens

When I got up this morning, the thermometer read -29.8C. Let's just call it -30! But what a beautiful day, all sun and sparkling snow. The chickadees were eating out of my hand when I filled the feeders this morning.

When it gets this cold, I feel sorry for the chickens. Although the coop is fairly well-insulated and has heat lamps, the temps in the coop (away from the lamps) dip down to around the freezing point on days like this. So I like to take my feathered friends a nice bowl of warm oatmeal! Today they were also treated to some freezer-burned raspberries...
 


 As you can see, oatmeal is a big hit with the chickens. Last year they had it with cranberries and peas!




Lord Gaga supervised his ladies for awhile before diving in.



Meanwhile, Beaker and Chicky were more interested in the remnants of yesterday's purple cabbage, dangling from the treat hanger.


 
Claudia rose above it all and laid a lovely egg for me!

Stay warm out there, people.


12 comments:

  1. Minus 30! Wow that is cold. I'm sure the warm oatmeal was appreciated.

    The others will all be wanting a saddle like Chicky's to keep them warm!

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  2. Can I come and stay with your chickens? You feed them better than I feed myself!

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  3. my british hens have to put up with more rain that is good for them
    cold chickens HATE the rain!

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  4. Little Blue Mouse, it's the kind of cold that takes your breath away. The coldest I have experienced is -40C (which is the same in Fahrenheit!) but Gordon (hubby) has been to Yellowknife up north and it was somewhere around -50 Celsius, which just sounds painful.

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  5. Calum, it was even organic oatmeal!! If you come, you can even stay in the guest room. Central heating is good in January!

    John, I think damp cold is so much worse than dry cold. LIving in British Columbia drove me nuts because I was always cold and damp, even though the temps were usually above freezing. It reminded me of England! I like snow and cold and drier air.

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  6. Anonymous9:10 pm

    Brrrrr! Them's some lucky chickens though. You take good care of them.

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  7. Chickadees eating out of your hand? That's so awesome!

    I'm sure the chickens appreciate the oatmeal on these cold days. Who woudln't?

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  8. -30!!!!
    I'm sure I would be dead!! seriously. Can't imagine how cold this is. Would it be like if I locked my self in a freezer?

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  9. You have a guest room in the hen-house?

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  10. Should be much warmer this a.m. for both the girls and all of us I love raspberries and oatmeal - those are very lucky hens! We used to have an old Tom cat we built a cat house for that was heated with a light bulb - while the water never froze, on days like that my husband just wanted to gather him up and hustle him into the house by the rads.

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  11. CogDis, I figure it's the least I can do when I'm stealing (and eating) their unborn children every day! ;)

    Ahab, it's not hard to get chickadees to eat from your hand although it takes a little patience. It's even easier when it's bitterly cold and two dogs are sitting under the birdfeeder. Makes my outstretched hand seem more appealing. :)

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  12. Hoot-a-toot, you would not be dead because I would have you bundled up in my parka, hat, scarf, mittens, boots, and maybe thermal underwear! :) And I think a freezer is warmer, ha ha.

    Calum, you silly, the guest room is in the human house! But the garage is heated too, should you wish to sleep in a car.

    Barbara, it really has warmed up, although fortunately the freezing rain missed us. DId you get the flash freeze? We are supposed to get some snow tonight. Love your Tom cat story.

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!