Oh dear, it has been a while, hasn't it?  I was swamped at both jobs and just now came up for air, but fear not!  The chickens are just fine.

Since my last update, Winter has come in full strength.  I even had to leave work early one day the week before Christmas because a blizzard was raging.  So I got home and looked out the living room window to check on the chickens.  Now, keep in mind there's a BLIZZARD raging.  Guess whose chickens were under the coop, wet and huddled together?  Yep, mine.  I ran outside to try to shoo them into the coop but they wouldn't budge.  Anyone who tells you chickens know what to do on instinct is either lying or doesn't know my chickie babies.  Without another thought, I ran outside and dragged the little buggers inside the coop, one at a time.  Ok, Forte wouldn't let me grab him but I ended up chasing him in there.  That's when I remembered I was STILL IN MY WORK CLOTHES!  All I can say is Shout is great at getting mud off of dress pants. 

The chickens stayed inside for the next week.  I opened the door for them every morning as usual but they refused to come out.  Ok then.  I felt really bad because I never want them to be confined but it was their idea.  Finally, one morning Buttercup actually walked onto the ramp, flapped his little wings and began crowing.  The first chicken to brave the weather wasn't my big, bad rooster, it was my sweet little Silkie rooster who loves to snuggle.  Hooray for Buttercup the Brave!

After that, they finally went outside.  I shoveled out the run so they could walk around and now whenever there's snow in the forecast, I put down an old tarp to cover the ground in the run. I pull it up after the snow ends and they have a dry place to run around.

When the weather got colder, I worried about what treats to feed the babies.  Watermelons are hard to come by this time of year, and tomatoes are about worthless.  So again, I did what any modern homesteader does - I got on Google.  Turns out chickens like raisins.  Oh boy, do my kids like raisins.  Ever see a bunch of little kids with a pinata after it breaks?  That's how they act.  We now call raisins "chicken candy" and they get a couple handfuls every morning. 

Egg production has decreased to 2 eggs a day (down from 3-4) but that's ok.  It's mostly due to them being exposed to less sunlight.  They should pick back up again come spring.  And that's when my babies will be a year old!  Who wants to help plan a first birthday party?