Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. It sets the tone for the rest of the day’s meals, or at least, it makes up for any that aren’t so well-thought-out. It’s a chance to be grateful. It’s a time to gather thoughts and maybe make plans.
One of my original hens is still laying. I’m worried that she won’t take a winter break, but I’m enjoying the eggs. She lays one each day.
We’ve had some nasty windchills these past couple of days, and a bit of icy snow. This is where the vinyl wrap on the quail pens and the deep straw in the coops make a huge difference for the birds. It doesn’t get below the ambient air temp even in the runs, and it mostly stays a bit above that temp. So no windchill temperatures in the pens.
Still, I worry, and watch the temp sensors that are in a couple of the coops. The Cozy Coop flat panel heater that’s in the new bird pen has been on for most of the time. I turn it off on some of the above-freezing days, as I want to make sure those birds have their winter feathers. Unfortunately, the heater was off during one of the coldest nights and days, and I didn’t know it. Maybe the switch got bumped. The birds still did very well. Yesterday’s average temperature, without factoring in windchill, was 28°F. The birds don’t seem bothered, and their feet look good.
The heaters are rarely on in the other two outdoor pens. Strangely, the waters haven’t frozen. There was a crust of water around a drinker before the nastier temps came, and then nothing. I’m sure this will change as the true nature of Minnesota winter is revealed.
Tomorrow will be a good day to do an oxalic acid dribble in the beehives, from my understanding. The bees should be clustered, but it won’t be as cold as the past few days. I really want to get eyes inside the hives, too, as I think one of the colonies is gone. The yellow jacket pressure was huge this year, and I think it got robbed out at the last minute. It took less than a day. This breaks my heart.
All of the project-leavings I have around the house are finally finding their ways to where they go. The beeswax has been cleaned, the tools are getting put away as I no longer need them, and the plants and furniture that were rearranged to accommodate the quail hutch actually fit.
I’ll be focusing more on food and soap for a while, so yes, I’ll be posting those taboo types of photos.
