So Just How Cccold is It?

Colby, an Angora buckling, lost the skin off his wet nose when he pressed it to the metal.

The temperatures have stayed in the minus 20's for a long time, gong down to minus 32 and 34 at night. For the most part the sheep and the dogs, except of Harley, who has arthritis from being fed GMO grain based dog food when he was a pup, are pretty comfortable. Both the dogs and sheep can curl up on the snow and sleep there and not be cold. The dogs curl up and their bushy tails cover their noses. The sheep are well insulated and the alpacas seem to be too, more so than the llamas. Those poor goats run out to eat and shiver and run back to their barn, staying there until they have to eat again. They do not like the snow or cold and only travel on their paths, never venturing their little hoofies into the snow. The Angora goats were not shorn in the fall, so they have long thick warm coats that will be of little to no value other than insulation, because the fiber will mat and it is so full of vegetative matter from feeding alfalfa hay. It does make good insulation though. Some of the chickens only venture out to eat and drink and spend the rest of the day on their perches in the coop, trying to stay warm. The ducks and geese come out to eat and drink, but drop onto their downy bellies frequently tucking their toes into their feathers so their feet do not freeze. In their coop, they have a thick straw bedding that insulates their feet from the icy ground. Still, one duck froze in his sleep this winter.

The trees can be heard cracking loudly when it is crispy cold, freezing as they stand. In the winds, these weakened trees are blown over and up rooted or simply broken in two. No other living things are seen around the farm, no weasels, no coyotes, nothing, because of the pack of livestock guardian dogs that keep it safe. The lens on the camera continually fogs over because though it is very cold, there is also a mist in the air of ice particles. It has snowed non stop for the past three days, lightly, but non stop. One would wonder why anyone would choose to live in such a frigid area, and yet, further north, there are much colder regions where people also live. Just because winter is so hard here in northeastern Alberta, the anticipation of the beautiful summer is so looked forward to. But, darn, it is cold right now.

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Zeb is talking to Aiden over the fence. Zeb has a nice thick coat and the snow stays on his back, but does not melt because he is so insulated.

Leon and Smokey are in the cat box, a barrel turned on its side. They also go under the porch and sometimes sleep with Ofcharka, when he sleeps near the farmhouse.

It is only the end of December and already there is no place to throw the snow off the sidewalks.

The llamas spend a good deal of time in their barn these days, but the alpacas do not mind the cold as much.

Jenna does not look for shelter, just curls up and tucks her nose under her tail. Robbie does not have the same beautiful thick double coats that the livestock guardian dogs do, and he does get cold and shivers. He sleeps in the house and Harley gets to come in for the afternoon to nap where it is warm.

The little ewe lambs use their shelter more than their mothers use theirs, but they do not mind the cold and snow as much as some of the other animals.

The waterfowl and some of the white Chantcler chickens hang around inside their shelters in these very low temperatures. Those white Chanteclers were developed in Canada and are the best winter hardy chicken breed on this farm.