Preparing for Cold

It is suppose to get to a low of 1 degree and a high of 9 degrees here on Wednesday.  Mike and I got up early this morning to start enhancing our animal accommodations for such extreme weather.

To be honest, we didn't get up early to do this work.  We got up early to take Laura to the airport.  Laura is going to ride with Suzanne as she moves all her worldly belongings from Florida back to Denton Texas for the spring semester at UNT.  Cold was not on Laura's mind as the temperature in Orlando today was forecast at 80 degrees.  Laura was more concerned about getting stuck with helping Suzanne pack.  Mike just texted Laura to ask what she was doing now and this is the latest reply and picture.

'Hanging at Epcot'

Meanwhile, back at the pond, Mike and I added a layer of round pebbles and sand to the floor of the chicken coop to keep it dry.  It is just too much of a fire hazard to add heat to the coop so the best I am going to be able to do is keep them dry and protected from the wind.   A safer way to keep chickens healthy in winter weather is to feed them corn right before they roost for the night.  This gives their bodies something to digest during the night generating warmth.  Another Internet suggestion was to feed them cooked oatmeal for breakfast on Wednesday morning to warm them up from the inside out.  

Mike is putting up insulation on the walls of the garage part of the shed as I write.  He is trying to make this part of the shed warmer for Buddy, the golden retriever and Little Girl who sleep there.  

We will have to wait until Wednesday morning to see if our endeavors were successful.