What the flock???

Just over 20 degrees at 5am this morning!! Everything is frozen solid. We still have to get our garlic planted, so hopefully the forecast for warmer temps later this week is accurate. All the critters need extra care when it gets really cold. Mostly making sure they have access to unfrozen water and aren't getting frostbite. The meat bird coop is unheated, but there are 16 birds in there so they should be able to cuddle up for a few nights. The inside house temp got down to 63 overnight. Brrrr! Luckily the woodstove cranks up fast.

Here's one of our Red Star hens. It's nearly November and these gals are laying an egg each, every day. Behinder her are some of the Speckled Sussexes, a rooster to the right, hen to the left.

A close up of one of the two roosters we're keeping. They seem to get along pretty well, but the older, bigger Red Stars are riding herd on everyone, so not much chance for a coup attempt yet.

This is BoldHen. She's bigger and more adventurous than ScaredyHen, and prefers to free range. When the babies are big enough, we'll start letting them into the barnyard a few hours a day. As you can see, she looks a lot like a rooster. The top hen in the pecking order will often take on male characteristics, maybe to emphasize who's in charge...