Saturday 10 December 2011

More Weather Coming!

Who needs the Farmer's Almanac when we got Ryan Snodden!!  Actually, he is off this week and someone else is delivering the bad news.  We are supposed to get snow tomorrow, then rain, and how about that wind yesterday!  My concrete house never rattled once, and we didn't lose power.  I fully expected a few of the chickens to be blown away though, but no, they came out of it unscathed as well.

A few weeks ago when we had the first snow, the henhouse door blew open, then blew shut with the chickens and roosters outside.  The next morning, I went out and a few of the hens were huddled in the corner of the fence OUTSIDE the compound, too stun'd to find their way back in.  Well, not stun'd.  In all fairness, I don't think their little feet are much like snowshoes, and they just didn't want to walk across the snow.

So there I was in my rubber boots rescuing them, two by two, bringing them up around the fence, in the snow, and into the henhouse.  I felt like Noah loading up the ark!  First the two Silkies, then the two brown ones, the two black ones, and then the two white ones.  I planked them on the roost near the heat lamp to dry off.  Poor things were frozen.  Now the roosters, let me tell you, I was tempted to leave them out.  They were flipping out when I tried to catch them anyway, and Dick just hid under a tree.  Rod, was in the neighbours yard up in a tree!  When Rod saw me collecting the other hens, it was like he was saying (in chicken language) "I'm over here!"  He said, "cock-a-doodle-do!"  I yelled to him, "Hang on b'y, I'm comin." But he wouldn't let up.  Then, when I finally climbed the fence to rescue him, he turned on me and wouldn't met me come near him.  I grabbed those gorgeous tail feathers when he waddled by and had no time for his nonsense.  Got a handful of plumage in the process, but it was do or die.


One even laid an egg in the snow!


Dick, taking off.  To stun'd or scared to know I was trying to rescue him!  Men!!

All hands back safe and sound!



Eventually, they all got back safe and sound, and the hens were fruitful and had eggs waiting for me the next morning.  Quite the adventure though.

So, tomorrow is another sloppy day.  Just have to check the henhouse door again before I go to bed.