The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[speckledhen]

Yikes! We haven't had temps this cold in 12 years! 3*?? NO!!!
The night Isaac, my Delaware rooster, got frostbitten toes, he had lost his balance and ended up on the floor, slept there. It was 2* that night. No frostbite in his comb, just his toes. That coop was raised off the ground so air rushed underneath, making the floor extra cold. Our barn is solidly on the ground so nothing like that should happen, but I am almost in tears over this at the moment because of my husband's condition and me having to do all the outside work. All I want to do is hibernate and I hope to God we don't lose power like we usually do. I told him to call our wood delivery person and get more, but he is dragging his feet about it. All it takes is a message on Facebook, no standing, walking or anything physical. She'll even stack it. I just want this over, just one more stress on my plate now.

 

[speckledhen]

Update: he got in contact with a guy who lives close by to deliver at least a face cord of wood tomorrow.

 

[1muttsfan]

I'm so sorry to hear about Tom. It is a misery to have such pain, it just drains all of your energy and clouds your ability to think.

Cold here also Lisa, the lake is making a lot of ice so looks like we'll have pond hockey this year. I don't see any temperatures out of the teens for the next week, and as you say possibly longer. Birds are shut into the coop for the duration although if it gets into the upper teens tomorrow I'll throw some straw down and let them out for a little while.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm so sorry to hear about Tom. It is a misery to have such pain, it just drains all of your energy and clouds your ability to think.

It does and I'm helpless to really help him other than do all the jobs I can to keep this place running. He's had back issues for 40 years, was on temporary duty in TX in the 1990s when a disc basically exploded. He came home in a wheelchair and had back surgery to repair it. Beyond that, doctors have never offered any help other than useless physical therapy (muscles are not the problem, structure is--bone, cartilage, pinched nerves, etc) but they've surely made a ton of $$ off his pain and he's much worse, plus has picked up other conditions. He is a strong man. A weaker man would have already packed it in. He is the best man I know, uncompromising integrity, but that won't fix his pain and the mental decline that comes with it.

 

[speckledhen]

They keep changing the night lows on the forecast, but we're having single digits multiple days over the next two to three weeks. By mid-February, we'll have a break. Most of us are expecting a layer of ice. We are just outside the line they drew delineating the probability of ice. Ice storms are the worst. We have a dual fuel generator and two tanks of propane for it, plus our solar array for refrigerator. The freezer is a non-issue, should keep meat frozen well for three days because the basement is like a meat locker anyway in weather like this.
We're hunkering down for the cold spell. Because we always prep and sock away supplies and food, we don't have to run to the store in the madhouse these storms always bring. Chickens have all they need and so do we. They won't be leaving the barn for several days, but they all have very roomy pens and full feeders and appropriate hot spots. I filled two of the three 3-gal waterers that were below half full and put kindling up on the deck for our wood stove, plus we just got a delivery of firewood to take us through the rest of the winter (as long as it doesn't keep up this meat locker stuff).
Oh, yesterday, all three of my elderly BR hens produced an egg! Zara, 10, Jill, 9, and Maddie, 8. They don't even cackle. Mace does that for them, LOL. He gets so excited when they lay an egg.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We got down to -25 F last night. Wind chills were around -40 to -50 degrees. Dogs sure come in a lot quicker.

Stay warm Cynthia.

 

[1muttsfan]

Oh it was way warmer here, only 10 below .

Temps keep going up and down on the forecast here as well, but never higher then about 14. I will say it was quite bitey today, that West wind was absolutely bitter. Chickens seem to be handling it well though, although shut inside all the time right now.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Oh it was way warmer here, only 10 below .

Temps keep going up and down on the forecast here as well, but never higher then about 14. I will say it was quite bitey today, that West wind was absolutely bitter. Chickens seem to be handling it well though, although shut inside all the time right now.

Anything above zero is gonna feel like a heat wave.

 

[speckledhen]

Anything above zero is gonna feel like a heat wave.

I get that! I remember those Dayton, Ohio winters, which is why we don't live there anymore. Almost stayed after being there for 12 yrs, but glad we didn't. I just remember Isaac's frostbitten toes the last time it got down to almost 0*.

 

[speckledhen]

Tom's doctor is fired. He's not going back. She prescribed Prilosec for his back pain which he didn't know until the pharmacy called. Seriously. He has had degenerative disc disease for 40 years, some discs are now missing entirely, and she thinks its heartburn. He doesn't have heartburn since he quit eating almost all carbs about two years ago. He's decided no more of her. She refuses to prescribe anything for pain, so thanks for nothing, body mechanic. She fights him at every turn and ignores what he's telling her. I guess "The Narrative" must be protected at all costs. Maybe coming into the 21st century would be a good idea, instead.
She wants him to take something for his elevated cholesterol...which is not elevated at all. Statins have no benefit for folks who have never had a heart attack and miniscule benefit for those who did, plus has been linked to dementia. I saw his lab report. His triglycerides are perfect and HDL is perfect and the VLDL which is a ratio of two readings, is perfect-- really only those matter. Even his total is only 189, but the one thing that she is calling out and is not a problem at all, is LDL, which they erronseously call "bad" cholesterol (it is not cholesterol, but a transporter for cholesterol to the cells). No one gets cured of anything because they're all subcontractors for Big Pharma acting on outdated information and none have any clue about what is healthy eating and what isn't. She even said what you eat has nothing to do with your cholesterol, only activity does. So, why is she always pushing him to eat greens if his diet has nothing to do with it, I ask? Greens. For what? There are plenty of vegans with high cholesterol and have horrible digestion to boot, worst diet on earth.
She sounds exactly like another doctor we had years ago who thought if you didn't do exactly what he ordered, he could not treat you anymore and even called you names. I fired that guy, too. Jerk. Today, if all you do is sit across from a doctor as he scrolls his laptop/tablet to find what he should do, I'd say we don't need him at all. What did he go to medical school for it all he has learned is how to look up stuff? End of rant, sorry. Good thing I didn't go with him this morning. My own doctor is fine, but she is never there when I have my appt and sometimes it's because she is sick.