Welcome back to Kids Wondering…!
This episode features our four fantastic geese, Audo (a male Emden), China (a female Chinese), and Houdina and Iza (female Africans).
Check it out!
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KW Homestead
Pasture Raised Poultry & Edible Landscaping Plants Since 2013
Tag: cold
Tonight it is supposed to get down to 10 degrees (without the wind chill) and we decided that we really needed to set up the chickens with extra windbreaks and warmth.
Here’s what we did:
- Moved the mobile over beside the standard pen, creating a two-sided windblock for the geese to hide behind.
- Covered the top of the mobile with 3 sheets and a tarp to keep in the warmth and to keep out the wind.
The bantam mobile gets some extra warmth!
- Attached an unfolded cardboard box to the front door of the standard’s house. This is attached with small bungee cords and c-clamps. Their front door is facing the direction of the arctic wind and is only a frame covered in hardware cloth, so we knew that this was a place that they really needed some extra windblock!
A cardboard door!
Using our bungees… Thanks Grandma!
- Adding straw to the area between the standard house and the bantam house…
Creating a space for the geese to sleep!
- And even though the geese have this great new, less-windy spot, they didn’t think it was worth their time to go near it. Clearly they didn’t even need the wind block! They even had the audacity to take baths right out in the cold wind as the water was starting to freeze over! Ha, ha!
Taking a freezing bath!
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In anticipation/celebration of the unusually cold weather that is rolling in tonight, 19 degree cold weather, I thought I’d take a look back at some of our cold weather posts from the past. For new readers who maybe weren’t around last winter, check out some of these posts on cold weather and winter homestead chores.
- hibernation vacation: preparing for the winter storm!
- Winter Homestead Chores: Spring Garden Planning
- Cold Wind Blowing
- maple syrup icicles: an unexpected surprise
- coveralls: a woman’s favorite garb
Hopefully these posts don’t make you feel too cold! Stay warm tonight!!
With Christmas right around the corner, why not get your Christmas tree delivered right to your home instead of messing with all the hassle and mess of picking one up and transporting it back home! If you are in the triad area, check out our Greensboro Christmas Tree Delivery service!
coveralls. oh, coveralls. i would not be the woman i am today without coveralls!
i grew up seeing my father wear them outdoors in the winter time, and when i bought a scooter in adulthood i used a pair as my safety gear and also as my dog-walking-in-winter outfit when i lived in an urban setting.
my lovely coveralls, hanging by the
door and ready to be donned
i feel like women are less frequent wearers of coveralls than men (especially in public), and i can understand why. firstly, wearing coveralls disguises your body shape and on your worst days might make you feel like you are wearing a sack. otherwise, they are associated with mechanics and other laborers, and thus usually thought of as masculine attire.
despite what might drive a woman to think they aren’t the best option for her, i urge you (women and men) to rethink their value as an article of clothing! the coveralls that are quilted inside are extremely warm in the wintertime and one can simply wear pajamas (or even nothing, as i’ve done before) under them when completing outside winter homestead chores. they also serve the dual purpose of protecting your underclothes from mud or dirt. i often wear my nice work clothes under them in the morning during my chore routine without worrying at all about ruining the garments underneath. super convenient!
not to mention, anytime something happens outside that deserves immediate attention (i.e. an attack on our chickens in the middle of the night), it takes less than 30 seconds to be fully suited up and ready to run out the door.
emma, suited up and ready to
face the winter chill
coveralls beat the value of a coat hands down because they don’t allow any drafts to blow up under your clothes, as a coat might. often they have double hip pockets, where one pocket allows access to the pockets of your clothes beneath and the other holds things as any pocket should.
i often collect eggs in my coveralls, placing up to 12 eggs in the breast pockets of the suit.
to me, coveralls are a convenience, a coziness, and my very favorite garb. if i woke up one morning and couldn’t find them hanging in their usual spot, i would have a foul day indeed.
coveralls to the rescue!
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Brrrrrr…. Last night it got down to 3 degrees. Fahrenheit. With a windchill of -11 degrees. That’s cold. So cold in fact, that it pushed us to the limit of our USDA Hardiness Zone. This kind of weather adds a few more things to the ordinary lists of winter homestead chores.
For instance, we took extra precautions with our remaining yaupon holly bush because its already on the hardiness border for our zone. We covered it with a layer of clear plastic, and a double layer of bed sheets just to be safe.
Emma thought up a few ways to protect the chickens from the icy wind and seal off drafts in their mobile coop. That seemed to work well, and the chickens seemed extra joyous about both their new plot of pasture, and the warming rays of the sun. So far the chickens seem more than capable of handling the cold in their solid, yet uninsulated mobile coop.
Ice Cold Water
Yet it only got up to 23 F today, so I did have to break the ice a few times on top of our new chicken waterer today to let them to drink. No frozen eggs to report of yet ;)
We also covered our well pump with a couple of sheets, just to be safe. That’s not a problem I feel like dealing with any time soon, and thoughts of building a more substantial well house came to my mind again last night.
Our faucet protectors did their job, and the pipes in the basement didn’t even flinch in the face of the cold, more than I can say for myself last night on our 1 am dog walk. The front treated me to a great swallow of arctic air that widened my eyes and stole my breath for a moment. Did I mention the windchill? -11 F?
All in all, we weathered the cold just fine. The house, furnace, chickens, and even Bridey. One thing to thank the cold front for was the sky last night. One of the clearest nights we’ve had yet, and worth bearing every extra second of the cold that set its stage.
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