Winter is here!!! PIC HEAVY

[bburn]

Looks cold to me....36 here this morning and I have the fireplace ready to go.....trying to decide if I can get away with turning the heat down some and starting a fire in the fireplace.

I am a little chilly....my feet are a little cold.....hmmm....thinking about it.

 

[7L Farm]

I like Texas in the winter. The summers that's a different story.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

This isn't cold yet, wait till winter comes.....

Everyone was just fine this morning. Turkeys are out playing and the hens are busy laying. Looks beautiful out there right now. Maybe I'll take some more pics later today.

 

[MaureenL128]

Your girls look great! Keep 'em nice and cozy!

 

[maggiemooscluckers]

Quote:
Have the wood stove going, had well aged venison steaks (taken on this land), tenderized and done chicken fried steak style with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes from the garden with southern white gravy(heavy on the pepper) for dinner...nummy. I do know how to make it even though I'm a Yankee. From scratch BTW. Your birds will be fine. My birds are acclimated. Had to push the turkeys in a 4:00pm to dry off before going to bed. Their backs were completely white with snow. They just had to be out in the snow all day. The chickens on the other hand would have nothing to do with the snow except for Mr. Roo. He was right out there with the big boys in the snow. Everybody got plenty of BOSS, oats and cracked corn before bed to keep them warm for the night. I'm doing the deep litter method and have about 8 inches of pine shavings in the coop with DE. Thanks to everyone here who recommended that; I'd have to say that it is working great and I'll have some great compost in the spring for the garden. Smells like good black earth in the coop; no poop or ammonia smell at all and I haven't changed things in months other than adding pine shavings and turning it once a week with a fork. The turkeys were tracking wet snow in the coop all day and it's still nice and dry due to the DE. When I went in there after dark the coop was noticeably warmer than outside in the run. Even though it's below freezing and has been on and off for the last month the waterer has had no ice in it yet. I'll be putting in the water heater this week and maybe a ceramic heater that will only be used when it gets really cold. It's supposed to get down to the low teens this coming Thursday.

I remember the days of cutting wood in the snow to take home to the old barrel stove. And of course there would be a nice pot of chili cooking there for when we returned home. I do miss those days just a little!

 

[Ema]

I am In hearst ontario just started snowing an hour ago and we got 2 inches already...we will see how my hens like it in the morning!! funny enough we had rain/flurries mix all day and then the sun came out just before it went down?? then it started snowing...lol...we might be able to make chicken snow man in the morning...ahahahaha

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
Have the wood stove going, had well aged venison steaks (taken on this land), tenderized and done chicken fried steak style with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes from the garden with southern white gravy(heavy on the pepper) for dinner...nummy. I do know how to make it even though I'm a Yankee. From scratch BTW. Your birds will be fine. My birds are acclimated. Had to push the turkeys in a 4:00pm to dry off before going to bed. Their backs were completely white with snow. They just had to be out in the snow all day. The chickens on the other hand would have nothing to do with the snow except for Mr. Roo. He was right out there with the big boys in the snow. Everybody got plenty of BOSS, oats and cracked corn before bed to keep them warm for the night. I'm doing the deep litter method and have about 8 inches of pine shavings in the coop with DE. Thanks to everyone here who recommended that; I'd have to say that it is working great and I'll have some great compost in the spring for the garden. Smells like good black earth in the coop; no poop or ammonia smell at all and I haven't changed things in months other than adding pine shavings and turning it once a week with a fork. The turkeys were tracking wet snow in the coop all day and it's still nice and dry due to the DE. When I went in there after dark the coop was noticeably warmer than outside in the run. Even though it's below freezing and has been on and off for the last month the waterer has had no ice in it yet. I'll be putting in the water heater this week and maybe a ceramic heater that will only be used when it gets really cold. It's supposed to get down to the low teens this coming Thursday.

I remember the days of cutting wood in the snow to take home to the old barrel stove. And of course there would be a nice pot of chili cooking there for when we returned home. I do miss those days just a little!

I'm not from this part of the northwoods and I complain about it every year with the long winters, but I really do love it in a way. Just like you said. Coming home in the cold to find a blazing fire and the warmth from the wood stove that can't be duplicated from any other source. I'm from about 350 miles south of here and the winter still seem way too long even though I've been here 25 years. If I can keep busy either outside or in all winter then I do so much better. Warm stoves and good hearty food do help.

Last night I came in from deer hunting after dark. First I smelled the wood stove while I was still in the woods, then I saw the glow of the lights through the snow, then the smell of dinner and warmth of the wood burning topped it off when I got in the house. Some times stay with you forever...last night was one of those times. I'm so lucky to have had many of them.

 

[sablevulpe]

TurkeyR- whereabouts are you? I'm from the Cloquet area, though I'm living down near the cities now... my chickens were NOT impressed by their first experience with snow... a complete log-jam at the pop door as the first ones out called a retreat!

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
I'm just outside of Proctor..just north of Cloquet

 

[sablevulpe]

we woulda practically been neighbors! Stay warm this year- I hear it's supposed to be a snowy one.