Just so y'all don't think having a small farm is all roses...

This freezing weather is causing us no end of trouble. Chicks need to be kept at about 95 degrees for the first week and we're having a bitch of a time doing it. DH put all the chickens in together and rearranged the heat lamps and it still seems a little cool. We brought home a radiant heater and that didn't kick out enough to raise the temp in the barn, but it did drain some power from the lamps, so we unplugged it and DH built a tower around the chick out of hay bales in an attempt to provide some insulation. That seems to be keeping the heat in a little better. And chicks a very skittish. As soon as I reach in to grab their waterers or add some food they all cram into a corner, a phenomenon known as "piling". They can smother each other that way, so I'm always trying to stir them up so they get out of the corner. We check on them like 4 times a day to make sure they're doing OK.

But on the other hand, I love doing it. We've only had animals for about a year and we learn new stuff all the time. There is great satisfaction in knowing you raised a healthy animal in a humane way.