Indoor projects are all the rage with January temperatures arriving in force. Last night it got down to -11 with a -30 windchill. Even coming from Minnesota, that's chilly. I was really worried about the birds with that big of a temperature swing. One of the barred rock girls has already lost a point on her comb to frost bite, and that was at 13 degrees. The muscovies never even go inside! They're out swimming in the creek every darn day, regardless of the weather. So long as they can find open water, they swim.
I knew foul weather was on it's way when Draco brought his girls up to the pen for shelter.
I closed the chickens in their coop to keep the wind out and left it at that. There's seven of them (no more hawk attacks!) so they can produce a good bit of heat. The muscovies put themselves in their hut once the sun set. The next morning, everyone was out in the early morning sun, warming up and preening. No frost bite or losses. Score one for the geeks!
The ducks went right back in the creek, taking advantage of the sections that are fast moving to find open water. Weirdos. It was about 5 degrees out. For a Central American species, they really don't seem to feel the cold much.
We found these in the duck hut while prepping for the cold night.
Heck of a time to start laying! We're collecting them since it's just too darn cold for them to try to brood. With the chickens producing 3-4 eggs a day and now duck eggs, Joe is back to eating omelets daily. I made some cookies with the duck eggs, they really do make baked goods fluffier.
2015 is off to a roaring start. Seed orders are going in, pick up my bantam chickens next weekend, and our little rooster crowed for the first time. It's starting to actually feel like a baby homestead around here.
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