#3 Cold, Snowy December Day at the Zen House

Yes, it certainly has been a cold December.  We now have 5 inches of snow on the ground and it is 6 degrees outside.  There is a wind chill advisory until tomorrow afternoon. Wind chill is suppose to go down to 15 below and 25 below zero.  Brrr.

Do you like my giant shadow?

 I guess it's not too much of a stretch to say that the chickens are NOT happy about this.  They are, of course, staying in their coop.  Keeping it well ventilated without being drafty is the tricky part.  I worry about them getting too much humidity in the coop and causing respiratory issues.  That would be very bad.  I did see some moisture on their window (not much), so I cracked their pop door open for some fresh air.

Interestingly, I did get 3 eggs already today.  Ivy, Ebony, and Gretchen have contributed.  Penny may before days end.  Yesterday I only got 2 and it was much warmer (still snowy); Ebony and Gretchen were the workers.

Tonight's air temperature is suppose to get down to -7 degrees and stay below zero for several hours. This always causes concerns, not only for the chickens, but for my other barn animals too.  Today, Hanna, one of my barn kitties, decided it would be a good idea to go out while I was dumping manure.  I saw her in the snow and told her she needed to get her little kitty butt back to the barn before it froze off!  By the time she made it back, and she had only gone maybe 11 feet, her feet were hurting from being so cold.  She was actually growling, she was so mad.  I tried to help her warm her feet, but I really think she thinks that I do this.  Oh, no, trust me, I do not make this frigid weather.  She keeps looking at me like I should be able to fix it.  Would if I could.

Hanna in the summertime

The good news is that tomorrow, Christmas Eve, it is suppose to warm back up into the 20's.  That almost sounds tropical.  I don't think it will get that warm with all the snow on the ground, but we can always be hopeful.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday season!!