This weekend we let the chickens out. There wasn’t much space for them to walk around (the snow is still quite high in our backyard and the only real walking area is the shoveled path to the hen house), but they took full advantage of the tiny bit of freedom and change of scenery.
Once the girls got outside, they stretched their legs and pecked at the grain around the coop that had frozen long ago into the ice. They clucked, they spread their wings, and they turned their faces to the sun.
By evening, the entire flock was happy to go back inside the coop to roost – worn out by the exercise and ready for a rest.
All this week, the temperatures are supposed to be above freezing (and on Wednesday, it’s even expected to reach 52 degrees – for us that’s a heat wave.) With the melt, we’ll be out back, chipping away around the coop, trying to unearth it from this past winter.
One step at a time – if we all hold on long enough, the season will eventually change and with it will come the long-anticipated warmth and freedom of spring.
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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