Yes, it has definitely been shocking. I'm not sure which has been the biggest hurdle, the cold or the wind. In Florida the only time we had wind like this was during a tropical storm or the outer bands of a hurricane. For the first month I constantly felt the need to stock up on water and beer. My husband figured out that the wind was putting me on edge, and had a good laugh about that. The winter is just obscenely cold. I did not know cold could get that, well, COLD. And so dry. I'm used to year round high humidity. The dry cold wind nearly killed my sinuses. Hopefully I will handle next winter better.
I have buff orpingtons, silver laced wyandottes, easter eggers and light brahmas. I'd love some speckled sussex. There are others I'd like but they aren't cold hardy, so I try to pretend they don't exist lest I delude myself into thinking I can make it work and wind up snuggling chickens next winter to keep them alive.
