I think that Scooter has been sending Tonka ESP lessons on napping. Or, maybe it was the January thaw with temperatures in the 40s, and the pasture, finally clear of snow and ice, that induced him to lie down and doze.

Yesterday afternoon, I brought a friend to the barn to meet Tonka, This is how we found him.

He looked so cute. I wanted to make sure that I got the photograph before he stood up, so I snapped this from a distance. I shouldn’t have worried. As we came closer, he rested his nose and snoozed on.

Eventually, he drowsily looked up. Oh, he thought, Here comes my person. No need to budge.

We talked for a bit about the joys of naps in the winter sun.

And then Tonka did stand up and we went for a very nice ride.

Horse Training Note: Obviously, Tonka was very happy where he was, but I wanted to go riding. I needed him to get up, but I didn’t want to have to yank him with the halter and lead rope, or jump up and down and wave my arms at him to spook him up. I wanted Tonka to get up on his own, because he wanted to come with me, and I knew just how to do that. I’ve been teaching him the “touch” cue and I put it to good use here! I’ve trained him to gently press his nose against the palm of my outstretched hand when I say “touch.”  I mark the correct behavior with a distinct click (using a box clicker) and then I treat with a piece of carrot. Today, while he was still lying down, I asked him to “touch” when I was next to him. Then I asked for a “touch” which required a neck stretch. Then I stood up and moved about 5 feet away, held out my hand and said “touch.” He unfolded himself and stood up, walked over to me and touched his nose to my hand. That willing compliance and calm attitude carries over into the riding. Every interaction matters!

UPDATE: This contest is now closed. Katie Zack is the winner!

Sure, you can go on-line to search out the answers to your questions about poultry care, and yes, there are books, too. But, there is nothing so cozy and relaxing and indulgent as reading a magazine devoted to a topic that interests you. For us chicken people, there’s Backyard Poultry Magazine. Sit on a couch (and if you’re lucky, you’ll have a dog like Scooter curled up with you) and flip through. There might be an article on a breed of chicken you’d never heard of. Or an advertisement for just the heater you want to splurge on for your next batch of chicks.

I have a one-year’s subscription to Backyard Poultry Magazine to giveaway! If you already subscribe you’ll get an extension. This contest is only open to addresses in the US.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m trying out a new contest format, which will give you multiple ways to enter. Let me know what you think of it. I’ll contact the winner via email. The winner will have two days to respond. If I don’t hear back, I’ll pick someone else. Good-luck!

For those of you on FaceBook, Backyard Poultry Magazine has a page to like.

I know that you’re all curious about the second ramp that you see on the HenCam.

This is what is around the corner.

It’s a rabbit hutch.

On paper, my coop and pen fit the space requirements for the flock. With the passing of the two old hens, you’d think that there would be even more room. However, the weather has been awful, so they’re spending more time inside. And, the group dynamics has changed now that Buffy and Twinkydink are gone. Betsy can no longer hide from the Ladies by squeezing behind the old girls. (Do not read into this that the old hens protected Betsy on purpose. They did not. However, Betsy is a smart little bird and she knew that if she hid behind Buffy or Twinkydink, that the Ladies wouldn’t chase her there. The Old Girls didn’t like the Ladies in their personal space, and pecked at them if they came too close, but they were used to ignoring Besty.) Betsy, now in need of some other sort of buffer from the Ladies, joined Phoebe under the nesting boxes. Phoebe, being a mild-mannered little bunny, turned her back to Betsy, but found still found her presence annoying. Unlike the late, great Candy, Phoebe does not imperiously hold her own with the hens. She needed a new quiet spot. So, I put the hutch into the pen, thinking that Phoebe would appreciate a new haven, and that I’d alleviate some of the social pressure.

It’s nice and cozy. I put rabbit food, fresh hay and shavings inside.

Of course, the animals do not follow my script. Phoebe does like the hutch – to sit under. Once in awhile she goes inside for a snack, but she doesn’t want to stay in there. Twiggy does like the hutch – to lay her eggs in the hay. Nancy Drew has laid an egg in the shavings. And Betsy? She continues to annoy everyone. They peck at her, but it’s not serious. No one actually takes a pull of any of her pristine white feathers. She skitters here and there. If the flock truly bothered her, she’d be hiding in the nesting box. So far she hasn’t taken a step inside.

I had wanted to wait to write this post until I had better photographs, but knew that I had to assuage your curiosity (I believe my readers are also suffering from mid-winter doldrums!) At best, I took this one of Twiggy going down the ramp. You’ll have to imagine the rest.

This small addition has improved everyone’s mood. Chickens are curious animals that like to investigate new things. It doesn’t take much to improve their surroundings by adding a shelf, a perch, or a nesting box in a new place. Think about what you can do for your animals during these mid-winter doldrums. Ideas? Tell me here.

It’s been cold. On many nights, the needle on the outside thermometer has dipped well below 0°F. Daytime temps rise only into the low teens. I’ve written about cold weather care for chickens here and here. I’ve followed my own advice of don’t worry and keep things dry and give them a little extra feed. I have well-designed coops, and that makes all the difference in how the hens fare in this bitter cold.

The one thing that I do is to keep an eye out for frostbite. Surprisingly, chickens can walk around on ice and snow and not show any pain or signs of freezing in their feet. However, their combs will succumb. Frostbite can cause pain. It can reduce a rooster’s fertility and stop hens from laying. You’ll know severe frostbite when the tips of the comb turn black. They might even fall off.

I don’t worry about that with Veronica. She’s a Cuckoo Marans, which is a winter-hardy breed. Not only does she have an extra layer of soft feathers under her harder, water repellent outer feathers, but she also has a tight, low comb. She’s not going to get frostbite, no matter what Old Man Winter throws at her.

Cuckoo Marans in winter.

Nancy Drew is not a winter hardy breed. She’s a Black Star – a hybrid designed for laying. She has an upright, medium-sized comb. But, the cold hasn’t stopped her. She’s consistently laid an egg every other day. However, her comb is a duller red than the bright flame of summer.

I’ve kept a close eye on Twiggy. Leghorns are not winter hardy. They don’t have downy undercoats for warmth.

White Leghorn in winter.

They have ridiculously large and floppy combs which are useful for dissipating heat in the summer, but prone to frostbite in the winter. Twiggy’s comb has a bit of a grey cast to it, but is otherwise fine.

Smearing vaseline on the comb might protect it from frostbite. The petroleum jelly keeps water off of the comb itself, and therefore makes it less prone to freezing. My hens, in their dry coops, don’t have wet combs, and besides, rubbing vaseline on a hen is a messy, difficult job. Additionally, the hens that would benefit are the ones that don’t like handling. So far, I haven’t bothered.

The cold has not stopped Twiggy from laying her daily egg. The other morning it was -5°, and I saw her hop into the nesting box to do her job. She is also the first one outside in the morning. I suspect that if she was in weather like they have in Montana, down to 20 below, that the cold would be too much for her. But, here in frigid New England, Twiggy is doing fine.

However, the cold has been hard on Misty’s comb. Like the Twiggy, she’s a Mediterranean breed, sleek and with a large comb. She’s a flighty, nervous girl, so she’s not going to sit still in a warm patch of sun. Her comb, which looks like this in the summer

Blue Andalusian in summer.

has shrunk down to a grey ridge.

Blue Andalusian in winter.

Misty shows no sign of distress or pain, and there are no blackened dead spots. Will it plump up again in the summer? I don’t know. Will Veronica ever lay an egg? I don’t know that either.

I do know that all of the hens are behaving normally. The ones that lay, do. The flock goes outside for exercise and sunshine. This frigid polar weather isn’t getting them down.

A little over seven years ago I decided to get another dog, not for me, but for Lily.  I’d already had Lily for over four years, and it was clear that she didn’t have the temperament to meet and make friends with new dogs on the trail, or at lessons, or in contained dog parks. I’d tried all of those options. She was reactive and wary and didn’t read other dog’s body language accurately. She longed to play with other dogs, but they stressed her out. Stress can cause aggression. Add to the mix that Lily took her farm dog job seriously. She chased a neighbor’s Portuguese Water Dog out of the Beast’s pond. She told a clueless Labrador who wandered over, to get away from the goats. She’d encounter these same dogs out on walks in the woods. Were they friend or foe? I knew how, and did, do much work with her to calm around other dogs. However, she was an older rescue when I got her, and she’d missed out on that crucial socializing stage during her first few months. Lily was never going to be a relaxed social butterfly. She needed a dog friend that she could feel secure with. She needed a best buddy at home.

So, I went looking for puppy under ten weeks of age. I like intelligent and athletic working dogs. I like mixed breeds. One constraint was size. Lily travels in the car in a large crate, and there was only room in the back for an additional small crate. A dog about twenty pounds would be right. Lily liked boys more than girls, so I’d get a neutered male. I perused PetFinder.com, and there was a corgi mix mama, who had three adorable pups up for adoption! She was exactly the size and temperament I was looking for!

She and the pups were in foster care in a household with other dogs, one quite large and energetic, which meant that they’d been well-socilaized and used to a dog like Lily. The household also had a teenage boy, which also fit in with my criteria. I’d be able to bring the puppy home when he was only ten weeks old, so I’d be able to train him right from the start. No issues!

I chose the little male (sleeping to the far left.) With those coats, I was sure that I was getting a Corgi-Terrier mix. Perfect!

Lily was not immediately ecstatic. Was this a new squeak toy? A chipmunk? The first week I rewarded her for calm interest.

Soon, Lily caught on.

And Scooter made himself right at home.

And they became fast friends.

So, Lily got what she wanted.

Scooter, however, was not what I expected. I have never liked toy dogs. I like sturdy, active smart dogs. Scooter weighs 10 1/2 pounds. He’s a little, shivery lap dog. Most of the day you can find him sleeping where it is warm and cozy.

In the summer, he prefers to sleep in the sun.

Lily protects him from hawks.

Once in awhile he wakes up and gazes sweetly at you.

Then he goes back to sleep. Lily has been taught a repertoire of tricks and useful behaviors. Scooter, who we call the dog of little brain, has one. I say, “look cute!” and, of course, he does.

It turned out that Scooter didn’t match any of my criteria, and yet somehow, he is perfect in every way. He’s taught me to embrace the unexpected. You never know who might become your best friend.

Happy Seventh Birthday, Scooter!