It ’s easier to get up for winter when it ’s always the same . In many parts of the state , winter is cold , blustery and frozen through for month without sculptural relief . Because I maturate up in Michigan , living in Kentucky has been confusing — wintertime has no eubstance here .
In twelvemonth by , we ’ve had logical tornado warnings and electrical storm in January . We ’ve also had glass storms — last year ’s sealed all the door my poulet cage with a thick stratum of ice , and the one five years prior go away us without power for 10 minute . Last workweek , my mountain survived nights get to 0 degrees F , but next weekend it ’s go to be 52 degrees in Louisville . It ’s no wonder I have worry remembering what month it is !
It just occurred to me that because most the area is south of where I live , many readers of this blog might be dealing with the same wintertime inconsistencies that I am .
This winter , for us , is clay time of year . ( Just ask my weenie . ) Relief from the bitter temperature is nice , but mud is a mint cleaner when it ’s frozen . So , here ’s the goodness , the bad and the ugly about these warm , rainy days , and how they ’re move my flock and my landscape painting .
The Good
My chickens are out-of-door forage in January ! forage satisfies chickens ’ instinctive behaviors , and they ’re eating plague that never seem to go dormant in southerly winters . That ’s a win - win ! Warm daylight make for a happy flock .
And my compost pile is break down . That ’s a horticulture win ! The hen and the pullet have been taking turns turning it all morning .
The Bad
The periodic rain , hazy skies , and temperature near 40 degrees mean nothing dries . The flat coat is soft and spongy , making the lawn easy for chicken feet to pull and tear up the land as they forage . While the chickens do n’t track in the clay , my dog sure does .
Also , some water in my backyard hose continue frozen , so the swampy chicken poop on the patio gets to stick around until the hose thaws out completely . Tiptoeing across the patio to the curtilage to incline to the flock is necessary since I ca n’t hose down off my brake shoe .
The Ugly
brute are active . Across the theater behind my backyard , Bronx cheer are dance though the sky and land to scrounge . As pastoral as that sounds , a war hawk just landed in a neighbour ’s tree . Everyone ’s out hunting for a nice meal , and that can get ugly .
Have I mentioned my patio ?
Be Flexible
We chicken steward make many selection to ready our wad for survival in the wintertime , so a affectionate conditions surprisal can throw off us up a scrap . My flock has only seen snow once so far , about two month ago . I ’m hope for some real winter weather condition soon — but not the grievous kind or the muddy kind . While I keep my fingers queer for swelled downlike snowflakes landing on my detached - ranging chickens , today ’s chicken task is to exchange dampish bedding with dry bedding .
How do the change in atmospheric condition bear upon how you care for your flock ? Do you find that sure weather term change the way you keep the coop ? Let me acknowledge what you experience through the winter where you live .
study more of Chicken Quarters »
