Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Deep Freeze in the Deep South

O.K., I guess I jinxed us!  Since I bragged about how wonderful the weather has been lately, Mother Nature decided to remind us we are never in control of the weather.  Here in central Florida we woke up to temperatures in the low 40's (wind chills below freezing), and highs of only around 48 degrees today.  Tomorrow will be even colder with temps below freezing to start the day.  The Moose and I covered our strawberry pyramid, and the other remaining plants in the garden, along with our citrus trees.  Growers are getting ready for tonight's big freeze and will start up the sprinklers to coat the precious citrus still in the groves. 

We also put up a hard clear plastic corrugated sheet over the Hooligan's coop windows to help create a wind break.  It's clear so it allows the sun to still shine through and heat up the inside of the coop, and keep them on normal daylight hours. It cost around $12 (that was last years price, it's at $14 now).

Since most of them sleep outside on the roof, we'll see if they figure out it's warmer in the coop than on the coop.  It's either that, or find a really close friend to snuggle up with overnight.  We'll be out to check on them Wed., after the deep freeze.  I'm interested to see how their combs and waddles fair.

Buckeyes have been bred so their combs and waddles are small and compact, so the influence of freeze is limited. 



My Red Stars have rather large combs and waddles (similar to the Rhode Island Reds), so their exposure will be greater. 


I'm sure they'll be just fine, but Mom's do something really well;  we worry!  So until I can see them, do a head count and make sure they are all accounted for and seem healthy, I'll continue to worry.

The cold weather makes you stop and really think about how prepared you are.  Do you have the proper items to cover your plants, and care for your animals?  We can get very lazy in Florida or other warm southern states, having wonderful weather, but we need to be prepared for all eventualities.

I'm off to make some hot chocolate, put on some warmer socks, and get my day started!   Have a good day...

2 comments:

  1. I just wrote in my blog about our good weather and the next day we had a freeze that was not predicted. So shhhhhhh! Your chooks will be fine. I don't start worrying about mine until it gets into the 20's. The only part to worry about is if the water freezes and they can't get any. That can be bad if you aren't there to thaw it out.

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  2. Thanks for the info on temps, but I'll still worry. We are to reach freezing tonight for about 2 hours, and then we warm up to the mid 60's tomorrow. We'll start out in parkas, and then be in short sleeves by the afternoon. go figure..

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