Green grass and happy chickens

Published 5:08 pm Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The grass is finally visible again. The heavy rain during the night was enough to wash it away. Last night, it was a bumpy field of icy snow. This morning, it’s a bumpy field of muddy grass.

The chickens let me know, loudly, that they are very happy to see the grass again. They were tired of being cooped up – pun intended.

When I opened the coop door, they rushed outside and promptly began popping into the air. In their random, erratic hopping and flapping they reminded me of the Whack-A-Mole game. Once that settled down, they got down to the serious work of grass eating. My husband’s decision to leave the grass longer than usual in the fall is paying off for the girls.

This cold snap was our first with the chickens. As such, we learned some important lessons. So here’s what I learned during this cold snap. If you have any lessons learned – whether about gardening, chickens or just staying sane in the snow – please add them here in the comments or send me an e-mail.

• Chickens like to roost up high. We know this, of course, but didn’t consider it we brought them inside on a very cold night. They ended up roosting rather happily on our bikes, which hang from the ceiling in our mudroom. A chicken, with her head tuck backed under her wing, is quite comical while sitting on handlebars.
• In heavy snow, chickens can’t get grit. We have a small tray full of grit, but the girls rarely touch it – they get it from the ground outside. During the snow, the grit in the tray froze solid. I’ve now moved the tray to a spot where it is less likely to get wet. Also, I’ve stocked up on grit. We ran out during the snow and couldn’t make it to the store. We improvised with some crushed shell.
• A heat lamp over the water is a handy way to keep it from freezing, and to keep the chickens warm at the same time.
• Oatmeal makes chickens really happy. I fed the girls warm oatmeal and bird seed with chopped apple on really cold days. I believe they thought they had gone to chicken heaven.

So how about you? What lessons did the snow teach you?