Hen Chronicles: Well-equipped to cope with winter's worst

Even after six years of keeping chickens, there's one thing that never ceases to amaze me.

It was barely a hair above zero outside when I got up at 4:45 this morning. Decked out in their fleece-lined coats, the dogs were very efficient about "doing their biz," thanks to the cold weather. When 7 o'clock rolled around it was time for me to head out again, this time to release the hens from their coop and feed them.

I couldn't possibly have donned more vests, coats, scarves, etc., without completely immobilizing myself. Yet when I finally lugged the feed and water bowls out to “the girls,” Nellie and Hope, our Rhode Island Reds, showed no signs of discomfort. Nellie peered through the small window above the coop door, waiting for me to let her out into the pen. Hope emerged moments later, and both hens dug into their breakfast with apparent indifference to this latest wintry indignity.

Chickens certainly are not immune from the cold. Nellie and Hope sometimes retreat into the coop during the day, to escape an icy wind, or to enjoy the sunlight pouring in through the east-side window. And they huddle together on the roost at night, wing to wing, sharing their body heat to keep one another warm.

Still, their ability to withstand whatever winter throws their way is remarkable. It was only a few weeks ago that they coped amazingly well with overnight temps of 15 below. They did so even with a partially open coop window that provided the ventilation they need while cooped up, to avoid the frostbite and respiratory problems that can be caused by excessive moisture in the coop.

My feeding and coop-cleaning duties completed, I hightailed it back to the house. Because whatever advantages we humans may have over chickens, a thick, head-to-tail covering of feathers is not one of them.