Guest Author - Susan Hopf
Having a new flock of chickens has been an amazing education into the minds and habits of these amiable animals. Busy from dawn to dark these multi-colored birds are friendly, engaging and without a doubt sentient. The roosters have a wide array of vocal calls that send the hens crouching, running for cover or eyes up alert to the skies. They greet all that attend the barn at the gate and say hello with all sorts of coos, clucks and trilling. It has become a bit of a happy challenge to entice them with new foods and new experiences. Ever curious they examine anything new that is placed in their environment.
Winter has presented some new concerns. Two feet of snow on the ground and it was not long before it became quite evident that chickens really dont do snow very well. Stuck on top of a drift unable to walk without sinking into the cold white fluff the bantam rooster needed rescuing. This happened only once and only to the jaunty little bantam the others watched and readily learned to avoid the same fate. Shoveling a maze of paths around the fenced yard made it possible for the flock to continue their busy days unimpeded by the increasing level of snow even more than normal for Western NY.
Exceptionally cold days followed the excessive snowfalls. Chickens do quite well in most weather but can become frostbitten in temperatures lower than zero their feet and combs and wattles are the most vulnerable. The coop is off of the ground and well insulated on the floor but the busy birds have quickly torn down any of the straw placed on the walls for added insulation at least I know they are keeping warm with the extra work involved.
The temperature has moderated but the long-range forecast is for extreme cold for the first few weeks of February some cold year 2011 has thus far proven to be. Moving the chickens into the horse barn would be an excellent alternative but transporting 12 full grown chickens can prove daunting. Plus how to contain them in the barn without creating havoc among the equine population was a perplexing puzzle. Necessity being the mother of invention and with a Goodwill store around the corner the puzzle was easily solved a playpen and some netting and the job will be easy peasy when the weather next turns frigid and breezy cluck, cluck, cluck.
Remember all of the critters during the remainder of the winter months. Throw some extra bird food out, place a laundry basket with a blanket or two into a cubby out of the wind for a feral cat, keep an eye open for chained dogs with no shelter and report it if you see such and make sure that your own animals are warm and secure. The horses have begun shedding this happens as the days get longer and not necessarily due to warmer days but it does mean that spring is on the way so take heart, bundle up and look toward the sun if you can find it hiding behind the clouds that is.
