Still, it starts to wear you down, especially with animals to care for. We did okay though and nobody suffered since we have good barns, lots of good hay and frost free water, and a generator if we need it. Chipping all the water buckets is a lot of work but it got done and was a good workout three times a day. [I had lots of suggestions on keeping water thawed in buckets, none of which work for our set up, this year anyway, so there's no need to give me unrequested advice here on that, thank you.}
Today it really didn't feel that cold to me even though it was zero when I went out. I've had most of animals secured in the stalls to keep the warmth in-the pigs generate a lot of heat in their large stall so they are fine. The chickens are all inside the barn too. In the outer barn, the equines tough it out but have ample area out of wind and elements, and this year for the first time Boone wore a 300g coat-he has a thin hair coat so I got him one and he is warm as toast, as is Matilda who wears a coat in the winter due to her age. The sheep are just fine with their thick wool coats as is Birdie. Rosie is probably the one who has the hardest time in the cold but she has a deep bed of straw about 2 feet thick so is just fine, and also has a coat which often comes off but it helps in this weather. Marcella, Earnest, Wilbur, Moose and Goose also have a large interior area I can shut down to the winds and they were fine. Opie, Tripod and Sophie have an area inside the barn too and are content.
I told them this morning as I did chores that this week the weather is going to warm up, and after this cold it will be just like beach weather. I later found little Opie in his favorite swimming trunks, ready for the beach. Forget how literally they take me.
