The snow has ended for today. Haven’t heard what our total accumulation was, but it looks to be about 4 to 6 inches. Best of all, the wind hasn’t picked up so it’s really pleasant to be out and about. Tromping through snow to do chores is a good workout.
We knew it was coming, so yesterday I got the chickens and ducks bedded down and hauled feed out so I wouldn’t have to do that in the snow. Matt was sick, so Madeline and I fed the calves their corn. They get two five-gallon pails of corn a day. Olivia fed the boar & gilts and filled the cattle watertanks. I hooked the trailer water tank up for Madeline, and she pulled it up to the house with the tractor to fill up and then out to the pigs (where she had to knock the ice out of their trough with a hammer first). Chores are much less of a chore when there’s teamwork involved.
Olivia and I discovered a hen that had gotten herself stuck under a piece of fence panel that separates the cows from the calves. Looked like she had tried to squeeze underneath, but only got halfway through. I pushed on the bottom of the fence and Olivia pushed and pulled and wriggled the hen until she was out. Still, she wouldn’t move. So I tried to pick her up and found that her feathers were frozen to the ground! Kind of like pulling off a bandaid – just had to pull her free real quick. I carried her out to the coop and she was eating and drinking and walking around just fine.
Oooh, poor chicken! That must have been hard to do. Reminds me that I need to grab my Swiss army knife before I head outside to milk.
I love the cows in snow and the photo of the mist is beeeutiful! That new camera is a keeper!!
I envision a new reality tv show based on the three chicks on your farm and how your “git-er-done” attitude saves the lives of many a farm animal. Wouldn’t that be awesome?! Why aren’t there more “farm-based” reality tv shows? I might actually watch it then.