Our first snow!

Yep! And boy did it fall early. Out here, it is quite normal that we have a winter without snow, or maybe one with just a couple inches in December or January. . . But this one happened just before Thanksgiving, and, well, ended quite badly. At first, it was beautiful. . .





Even white chickens couldn't hide in it!



And of course, some chickens just plain couldn't hide FROM it. . .



But have no fear! Our Yak has been guarding the now very dark barn, so all the hens had a nice, safe place to be. . .



Here's a look inside. The barn is very dark because the roofing is transparent, which allows snow to block out almost any light.



But still, some of our animals didn't hide away. These are our Sebastopol Geese.



Of course, though, some of the boys seemed to enjoy the snow. . . They wanted to offer a beautiful Christmas Card photo.




But, after all the pretty snow, things got bad. . . The following night, it cleared up, and froze. Just before midnight, the power went out. It did not come back on until 9 AM in the morning.

What did I lose?

- 4 chicks, died in the mass huddling for warmth

- An entire incubator filled with eggs waiting to hatch

- Water. All the pipes froze, so it took 2 hours to torch them near our wellhouse and finally get water again, but still, the animals had to have it hauled to them daily in buckets of hot water. Our hoses were still frozen, and their waterers kept freezing up the following mornings.


Finally, after a few days, the snow melted and it began to rain. Things were back to normal. However, my egg production seems to be worse in this rain than it was in the freezing storm.

Buff Ameraucanas

Yes! Besides a lot of new chicks, we also purchased a new color variety of Ameraucana. I must really say, I'm getting quite the addiction to Ameraucanas. Why? Because they're good sized, lay good sized eggs, and they're very sweet, friendly, and laid back. Unlike Araucanas, cockerels get along better, and unlike Araucanas, they're not practically bantam sized. But still, I do love Araucanas as well!

Anyway, here's my new pair. I got them from a well respected breeder, Jean Ribbeck. (Known well as Pips&peeps from BYC) They're Buff Ameraucanas. A very rare color, and sadly also very underrated. Because most Buffs lay a poor egg color and the color in general is rare, they're rarely spoken of. If anyone mentions the color, it is usually another misinformed owner of a typical Easter Egger. (Who of course is NOT buff colored)

The pair are in quarantine right now, so the photos aren't the best. . .

The evening sun just feeds to his gorgeous golden glow!



The two. . . Perhaps two in love?



. . . Or a pullet who thinks beards are tasty. . .




Now that we're done with that excitement for the night, let's take a very brief tour on how others are doing..

First, our Tolbunt Polish are still growing! This here is Spike, my frizzled cockerel.





And this is Bowie, my Smooth cockerel.






Looking out at some girls free ranging. . .





Her secret hidey hole.



Searchin' the tree trunks. . .



Our colorful Blue Wheaten Marans cockerel. . .



Crowing. . .



Sultan, our "White Wheaten" crowing. . .



Our Wheaten Marans crowing . . .



Even Bowie crowing!



And at last, here's a little sample of all the egg colors we've been getting. Isn't the purple looking one just awesome?