I was glad that I’d not
only overloaded
the chickens with greenery, but also refreshed the deep
bedding, because the third week in January was not a good time for
chickens to play outdoors. First we had an endless cold rain that
produced a
flood nearly at the 100-year flood mark (and nearly reaching the
chicken coop). Next, eight inches of wet snow fell in a couple of
hours and knocked
out our power.
Our chickens’ usual hunting grounds became a snowy, flooded swamp.
Although our rooster did lead
his ladies outside during breaks in the rain, once the frozen flakes
started hitting the ground, he threw in the towel and gave the hens the
rest of the week off. They kept laying, but stayed inside,
pecking through the debris on the floor of the coop.
If our winters were
regularly this snowy, I suspect we’d change our housing arrangement,
building a bigger, sunny coop that could keep the flock busy even when
the weather is dreary. For now, though, the biggest issue was
having to remember that our heated
waterer didn’t work
without power, so I switched over to a pre-made
waterer I could
easily carry inside to stay thawed overnight. Our chickens didn’t
seem phased by the shift at all.
