#4 Subzero Temperatures Last Night

Well, it seems the girls are becoming more acclimated to the cold weather.  Not that they want to go outside or anything, but they do seem happier inside than they did.  They do like to be visited though.  I get "attacked" by Ebony and Gretchen practically the moment I get in the coop and get their door closed.  They do love to sit on me and talk to me face to face.

I couldn't get Gretchen to move over to get her in the shot.

Raisin time is still their favorite.  They do get so excited.

Last night it got down to -4 degrees.  I don't have any heat source in the coop.  I don't have anything suitable yet.  However, I did purchase a flat electric radiant heater to mount on the wall behind their roost for when it gets horribly cold.  Having it is probably more for our peace of mind more than anything else.  I don't know that it will even ever get turned on after seeing the girls this morning; they seemed happy and active. Gretchen had already laid her egg and Ebony and Ivy were in the nesting box getting ready to lay theirs.  And actually, the temperature in the coop was 10 degrees.

Now the dogs on the other hand ... well.  They, Max and Buster, are not in the house dogs.  They stay in their 10'x10' dog run during the day when it's nice enough out.  At night and when it's super cold they stay in their wire kennels in the barn.  I put hay in the kennels for them.  It's like Christmas for Max when I put fresh in his; he loves to arrange it all.  Anyway, I was concerned about the subzero temperatures last night and decided they probably needed a little extra heat.  I used a heat lamp secured to a water bucket that could not tip over.  Buster was not at all sure about that red light shining on him, but I figured he would get over it.  This morning when I came out to the barn to feed, Buster had built a hay wall in front of the heat lamp (oh yeah, smart dog to put flammable material in front of a heat source).  It wasn't too much in front, but ...

Maybe I will use the new heater for them instead.  Hmm.

Have a Great Holiday!!