Baby it's cold outside!

With daytime temperatures in the teens and twenties (it is 16° right now, at 11 am) chores at the Flat have increased. Water needs to be changed several times throughout the day, and warm food treats are appreciated by chickens and pigs alike. The piggies' fave seems to be spaghetti, although they also appreciated the string bean casserole that we received from friends Jane and Mac. (They know we gave it to the pigs, they didn't want it either!)

So far, the chickens' favorite winter treat is warm oatmeal with milk and honey. I read about it on one of my chicken forums where I went to seek advice about my injured black hen. Backyard Chickens and Community Chickens have both been very helpful to the "Just Hatched" newbie chicken owners.

Update: The black hen is improving, but she won't be completely improved until her feathers grow back and she can fly up to the roost again at night. At least the other hens do not seem to be picking on her, and she has maintained her authority over the new girls...a good sign.

Now that we have a bit of snow on the ground, there is a map of the day- and night-time activity around the Chicken Shack. It is easier to see how many critters are out there wandering around (or should I say stalking?) the girls. These poor chickens are going to be "cooped up" for the rest of the winter, if not longer. They do have a fenced area behind the shack, but they don't even go outside when it is this cold. Yesterday I left the doors on the coop closed all day and they seemed fine with that.

The Husband is headed back to NJ tomorrow to visit with some family members including Josh, Lisa, and their new baby Colin, who are up from Florida. I will try to get some pics of Colin up on the blog, but for now, here is one of Josh and Lisa from their wedding. This is the time of year when we envy your warm weather and your suntans! Don't look at that nasty picture above your heads!