A Hard Frost

It's November on the farm, a typically slow time of year. The hens have all decided to takea break from their hectic job of daily egg-laying and have been lazily foraging about the property for the last several weeks. Each morning I collect the eggs and find only two or three in the nesting boxes. I'm amazed each year when the winter solstice arrives and then in that first subsequent week of the days getting longer, egg production picks up again. The hens know. Vacation has officially ended and it's time to lay again.

Last night was a very cold night, and I was on edge because two nights ago a predator got into our coop and killed our largest rooster, a buff orpington. I'm surprised the predator (raccoon seems the most likely) stopped at one chicken and didn't kill the whole flock. He/she apparently moved on to the neighbour's flock last night because I could hear the sounds of chickens being murdered into the wee hours -- very unsettling and heartbreaking for me, having no way to help. My suspicion is that the scent of our dogs may have discouraged the predator from sticking around our farm long term, but we will have to remain vigilant for a while.

Our coop is beautiful, but I noticed this morning that the roof leaks. That explains why the bedding material is so damp. I'm not sure what to do about it, but maybe Jess will have some ideas. I'm going to the store to get cracked corn today. The chickens love it, and the process of digesting cracked corn generates heat and will help to keep the chickens warm during these long, cold nights.