It is, but in weather like this I understand some of why livestock industries have gone to confinement housing. I did the last egg gathering and afternoon feeding at 3 p.m., latched the doors, and am done for the day. That may not sound earth-shattering, but it is a relief. In good weather, when everyone can be out, I can’t shut the doors until after dark. Some hens and the ducks like to stay out as long as they possibly can. It isn’t that big a chore, but it is something that nags in your mind that you have to do. To know that chores are over for the day is a really nice feeling.
In this weather the animals don’t mind staying in. The ducks came out a little yesterday morning, but stayed in all afternoon of their own accord. I left them closed in today, and with the sun shining through the plastic south wall, it was much warmer in there than outside. The hen house has a long south glass wall and heat from the shop, so they were toasty inside also. I took them some entertainment – soft sweet potatoes, hard tortillas, and other leftovers. When I filled the rabbit waterers (we have 3 Angora rabbits in the henhouse), I went ahead and put some water on their food, which sent them into ecstasy. You can’t let the food set and mold, but they do love to have their food wet. If the salad actually thaws tomorrow, I’ll thin it out and give them fresh greens. And it is supposed to get above freezing for about a week starting Saturday, so they will be out again getting their own greens. Tony snowblows paths for them and they love to dig the grass out and eat it. One nice thing about all this snow is that the grass underneath is in good eating condition for them.
The weather is actually quite gorgeous. The sky is usually really clear when it is really cold. Today’s high was 6 degrees F. For about half the morning there was a line of grey, but pretty, clouds over the lake, that obscured the sun. By 10 it was bright. The hoophouse did not thaw until afternoon, and the row cover was starting to freeze at 3 when I recovered the salad. The neighbor across the road had their white pines harvested this fall, but nicely left a few along the road. Those are to the west so OK. Unfortunately, they did not harvest the trees to our southwest, so the hoophouse is shaded by 2 p.m. at this time of year.
