I must admit, I have never experienced the cold we have had in the past two days. Yesterday was the first time I had heard the phrase ” polar vortex”. I am not a fan of the cold weather whatsoever. If I had my choice I would live in a tropical place and never ever miss the cold weather. I think is the Ecuadorean blood that courses through my veins that makes me crave warmth from the sunshine and heat for any source!
The reality is that I live in a suburb of DC in Maryland. We have had single digit temps for the past 24 hours and it feels like it is not going away. However, usually our winters are not too bad temperature wise so I usually don’t complain. That being said, I now have the added responsibility of hens. So this morning like every other morning I had to go check on the hens at daybreak( actually before daybreak).
Their water was frozen and my crazy hen Liberty was at the chute door. The chute door opens up to their run; opens up to the great outdoors and the 1 degree temp. She stood at the door facing it then looking at me sideways as if to say ” Are you going to open it so I can go outside?”.
“Is she crazy”, I thought to myself. Don’t these girls know we are in the midst of experiencing a polar vortex?
I changed their water and made sure they had enough feed and left the chute door closed. (I don’t open the chute door until the sun is out.) Later when I opened the chute they all tumbled out as if they had been waiting for me to open it! Yes everyone is talking about the polar vortex. Apparently, the chickens have never heard of this and are not at all amused nor do they care.
I have to remember that hens put off as much energy as a 60 watt light bulb ( not the LED kind either the illegal type!). So when I step into their coop, it feels comfortable and not nearly as cold as it does outside. It looked as if they had taken turns in the nesting boxes overnight to keep warm though. I made sure to stash extra hay in the boxes as well as fortifying the side walls by filling in hay to insulate from the crazy wind that howled last night. Twice, my husband looked out the window to make sure the coop still stood.
The kids and Jack know better. Jack went out with me in the early morning. He usually watches while I take care of the hens from a safe distance behind a railing on the deck. As I was finishing my chore, he got impatient and started barking so the kids would let him in. He had enough of the brisk breath-taking air.
Needless to say today when we go out , we need to cover up completely. Found my daughter’s awesome mittens with a water proof thin exterior shell ,lined, and fur on the edge. I wore them out today and what a difference from the cheap little knit gloves! Why did my 16 year old decide she did not need these warm mittens? Well, she explained to me that whatever extra garments she brings she has to carry them around with her all day and is afraid of losing them . Her loss is my gain! they are definitely Polar Vortex worthy. I did not feel the cold at all on my hands.
Stay toasty everyone!
I am sure I will revisit this post in the high heat of the dog days of summer and remind myself how cold it was and to enjoy the heat.
Marvegal's Blog 