Rabbit Weather

It’s going to snow at least 4 inches today. Maybe 8. There will be high winds. Then we’ll get sleet on top of it. The goats, despite their furry coats, do not like it. Pip looks out, but you can tell by the expression on his face that he is not pleased.

not me

The chickens stay indoors.

But, wait, who is this going outside?

candy in chicken door

Yes, it’s Candy. She like to warm up in the company of the chickens. She drinks from the heated waterer. But she also likes snow. She likes to hop in it, build tunnels, and sit on mounds of it, surveying her domain. It’s nice to have an animal who likes this weather. That’s one of the benefits of keeping animals – going into the moment with them. I once had a dog who loved to leap up and snap at snow as I shoveled it. We had fun. Shoveling is more of a burden now that she’s gone.

Although Candy has a thick layer of fur (and a roll of fat under that!) there are still chores that are specific to winter rabbit care. Because she is a lop-eared rabbit, her ears drag in the  snow. She can’t pin them against her fur to keep them warm. Like caring for a rooster’s comb, when the temperature drops, I smear them with vaseline. Also, like chickens, she needs to be out of biting wind and driving ice. If I know a storm is coming I’ll cover the hutch with a plastic tarp to keep the snow from blowing in. Candy can also take shelter in her  wooden house that’s in the hutch. In the winter, I give her extra hay to burrow in. Her water dispenser freezes solid, quickly, in the cold. I’ll bring out fresh water a couple of times a day. But, Candy always has access to water, since she shares the heated waterer with the hens. Lastly, I make sure that she has plenty of rabbit food, and supplement that with greens and carrots. All of this care seems to be working. Candy is healthy, active and loving this weather. Thanks for that perspective, Candy!

candy in hutch

Winter Care for Chickens

An average chicken has 8,500 feathers. That makes for a warm coat. Like its wild bird cousins, a chicken will fluff up, trap air under her down, and stay cozy, even in below freezing temperatures. However, a sharp, cold wind that ruffles the feathers can sent a chill to the skin. Icy rain on a hen’s head and mud frozen on a feathered legged hen’s legs, can chill her to the bone. So, although that fine-feathered garment can keep a hen plenty warm even in the coldest weather, there are some things to do to keep your chickens comfortable and healthy in the winter.

Chickens do not need insulated houses. But, they do need shelter that is out of the wind and free of drafts. At the same time, it shouldn’t be at all damp. Manure contains a lot of water, and in the winter, when  the coop is closed up, this can make the air unhealthy and the hens prone to respiratory illness. I keep my coops shoveled out weekly and bedded with fresh pine shavings. Also, good ventilation is a must – it’s best to have vents high near the roof.

Most chickens do not need heat lamps. In fact, if you have a spot heater in the coop, the hens will huddle near it, but when they move away to eat or roost, they won’t have their feathers fluffed out, and they’ll be cold. It’s not good for them to go from one extreme temperature to another. If you have only one hen, do her a favor and get another. They need to huddle on the roost with each other to stay warm at night. A few breeds are not cold-hardy. Silkies and frizzle-feathered birds feathers can’t trap air, and so don’t keep them warm, and so you have to provide heat. Also, some hens, and often roosters, have big combs, prone to frostbite. Slather on some vaseline if you know the temperature is going to drop.

Chickens appreciate a bright and sunny coop. Here’s my aged Eleanor, who has claimed a toasty place in a patch of sun.

eleanor in sun

Chickens need to be high and dry. If your run gets muddy, add a few bags of sand, or put down wood chips, to give the hens a place to roam above the muck. Chickens have scaly, bare feet. They don’t like walking on snow or ice. They’ll do it, but they won’t be happy. So, take a moment and shovel a clear area for them in their run. Or, if the snow is too deep and icy, put down some hay. They’ll appreciate it.

One of the most important things to give your chickens in the winter is fresh water. If you have electricity in the barn, get one of these base heaters for the waterer.

winter water

Otherwise, you’ll have to replace the frozen water a few times a day. (And, yes, I know the directions on the box say not to put a plastic waterer on the heater, but these are sturdy and I’ve never had a problem. Note, too, that the cord goes directly to a safe outlet. Always be a bit neurotic about watching out for fire hazards in your barn.)

In the winter, chickens will expend extra calories staying warm so give them an added ration of cracked corn or scratch grains. Also, if your hens free range in the summer and eat lots of bugs (protein!), be aware that their diet changes in the winter, when all of their nutrition comes from you. Make sure you’re feeding them high-quality laying hen pellets.

Greens are important in the winter as much as in the summer. My girls get bored all cooped up, and so I hang a cabbage in the pen. They peck at it (they do like a rousing game of tetherball) and so don’t peck at each other. The added benefit is that they’re eating greens.

Hens need 14 hours of sunlight to lay. You can increase the light using a 40 watt bulb on a timer, and you’ll bring production up. (However, they still won’t lay as much as in the summer. For that, you need to keep the girls heated and indoors.) If you do decide to use a light, turn it on in the early morning. Do not use it at night – if it’s dark out and the light suddenly goes off, the hens won’t have a chance to settle into their roosts for bedtime. They’ll be miserably stuck on the ground.

There are usually a few weeks here when the temperature doesn’t rise above 0 degrees F. Each morning I hurry to check on them. The wind will be biting. I get chilled making my way across the icy, snowy yard to the coops. My eyes water from the cold.  I expect to find the girls frozen stiff, but they’re fine. I toss them some grain. They look cheerful. It’d be nice if they worried about me as much as I worry about them.

Snow!

Here is view of my street early this morning.

street

The snow is my husband’s fault. He is in sunny and warm southern California. Whenever he goes to California, there is a MAJOR WEATHER EVENT. In the past, I’ve been left to shovel out two feet of snow, and deal with ice storms, and loss of power. One year, he went to California in the summer, so you’d think all would be okay here at home, but our house was struck by lightning.

In comparison, this early winter snowfall isn’t too bad. It’s very pretty. The snow is icy and there’s no wind, so it defines every branch in white glitter. It does make getting down the porch stairs treacherous. And I had to pour hot water on the chicken run’s latch this morning, as it was frozen solid.

The chickens are not happy about it. Agnes looks, but doesn’t go in the snow. She will venture out later. It’s not too deep, and it’s sparkly. Chickens love sparkly.

Agnes

This is the goats’ first snow.

goats first look

They go right out. They taste and snort and sneeze and cough.

tasting snow

You can tell what Caper is thinking by looking at the hair along his back. See how it stands up like a mohawk? That’s goat body language for this is exciting!

mohawk

It is exciting. Though I wish Steve was home to do the shoveling.

Home Alone

The men in my life are away for the weekend. This is the first time that I can remember that I’ve been home alone.

Don’t worry, I’ll keep those alien-UPS drivers away!

lily

I’ll sit on your lap.

scooter

You could play with us.

caper

Join me for a hop-around.

candy

Why don’t you watch a movie and bring us the leftover popcorn?

coco

Did I say I was home alone? I guess not.

Chicken Breeds

Yesterday I took Betsy, one of my Bantam White Leghorns, to a preschool. I read Tillie Lays an Egg to two classrooms of three-year olds. I don’t know if sitting politely in chairs is their normal behavior, or whether the sight of a chicken had them transfixed and immobilized, but they were very well behaved children! At the end of the program, each child got to pet Betsy. The kids (and the teachers) were beaming. It’s always a thrill to see that connection.

A Bantam Leghorn is the perfect chicken to introduce poultry to small children. Large hens are often quite scary to them, but here’s nothing frightening about a little white bird sitting in the palm of my hand. The children relate to the smallness of the animal – it’s just like them! After having read so many noisy rooster books (what child doesn’t know how to cock-a-doodle-doo?) they are relieved that the chicken in their classroom is quiet.

I find the Bantam Leghorns particularly well-suited to school visits. My leghorns don’t mind being removed from the flock, traveling in the car, and being in new places. They are outgoing, curious, individual birds. I’d never be able to do this with my Australorps who can’t bear to be far from their coop and friends. I joke that if Coco (my Leghorn) could be reincarnated, she’d come back as one of those tiny dogs carried around in a purse in Beverly Hills. She’d love that!

Other bantams breeds are also wonderful for small children. Silkies, in particular, are placid and sweet. (But they do need extra warmth and care in the winter!)

When choosing which chicken breed(s) to get, people first look at their ornamental value. You can get chickens speckled, striped, glossy black or pure white. They have black legs, yellow legs, white legs. Their combs can be  flat or spiked, or not there at all. Chickens can have big poufs of feathers on their heads, or have naked necks.

You can also select hens by the color of egg they lay. I like to keep a blue-egg laying breed in my flock, just to have that egg in the carton.

But once people get chickens, what they notice is their temperaments. I’ve heard, “I don’t like Americanas, they’re too aloof,” and “I love my Orpingtons, such gentle birds!” My own personal favorites are the basic big brown layers. I like how they go about their day. They’re good, solid citizens of the barnyard.

Sometimes you fall in love with a breed by sheer happenstance. One day, Hope Sandrow found a Paduan rooster while on a walk near her home. Eventually, she moved him into a coop in her backyard. Hope fell in love with this breed and got more Paduans. Hope is an artist; she has work in major museums. I don’t know if a big brown hen would have become her muse, but that Paduan rooster has changed her life. Even her coop has become an art installation.

Has there been a special chicken that changed your life?