SPRING IS A FICKLE BIT*H

WELL SHE IS!!

She teases us with bird song, flowers, green grass then ......BOOM! She takes it all away! Ok maybe not the green grass but seriously! 34 degrees and roaring wind in April in Texas! Jeez girl give it up!

I have 50+ 4 week old Cornish Cross chicken in 2 chicken tractors on pasture. I rais as much of my own meat as I can. But as you know they are rather fragile.

Well spring in Texas is storm season. Last night I got home from work just before dark to find a roaring North wind and one of the tarps ripped off; babies all soaking wet!

Under lightning thunder and pouring rain I replaced the tarps and added heat lamps and ran power cords out to the field. That was all I could do then. I wasn't horribly worried because it was so warm.

So warm that I turned on the a/c in the house to take out the heat and then opened the bedroom window when I went to bed.

Well.....

I woke up to my bedroom at 40 degrees and a roaring North Wind!!!

430am and I am slipping into my farm shoes and booking it out to the field to attempt to block the North wind from the little birds a little better with another tarp.

Then back to bed.

At the crack of dawn I was up again and back into my mud boots, sweats, and gloves to go out and move my egg laying flock to new pasture. They are in a Justin Rhodes style Chickshaw. I had closed them up last night and with the North Wind I didn't want them to stay locked up too long.

It takes me 1 hour to move them, their gear and the portable Premier 1 electric poultry netting to a new spot. In the cold North Wind! Bit*h!

After I let them out, and saw how happy the girls were eating grass and scratching around it kind of made it worth it.

Then over to the little birds dragging bungee cords and a larger tarp to add some more wind breaks to the chicken tractors. It may look funny but the relief was immediate. The birds started moving around and eating and drinking right away. That made me feel better.

I fed the dog pack I currently have and came back inside for some farm fresh eggs for breakfast.

I still can't feel my fingers.

You know what will happen? We will go from winter straight to 100 degree summer in 3 days. You watch.