The calm before the storm



Miss Buff with her "I'm the boss now" look. (Fall 2013)



Well since we're in Minnesota, I pretty well have license to talk/complain about the weather any time of year...But what's coming may be talked about by more than just Minnesotans.  They are forecasting the coldest temperatures and windchill in 20 years.  The Governor has already closed all the schools on Monday.  The Minnesota Zoo will be closed as well.

I picked up some used ski goggles yesterday-I figure they will help make barn chores more bearable.  It's a balmy -8C out there today, and we had some sun.  Winnicus laid down in the snow and had a great nap.  G took Oakley's blanket off and the bear just stood beside Winny, napping and basking and wiggling his nose and lower lip the way he does when he's dreaming. 

 

Shoo Shoo on the left, Venga Choo the blondey on the right, from 2012.

We moved Tuvu (the one that had lice that I treated the other day) and Tundra out to the palace this afternoon, and things are going well.  The best thing is that Shoo Shoo has finally stopped hiding in the coop and will come out for food and water without being harassed or attacked.  She also came back to fine Shoo Shoo form and laid the smack down on the new introductions (she raised those girls, after all).  So I'm pretty confident that she's turned the corner and will be fine out there.  It just took over a week of hand feeding and watering her to make sure she didn't lose weight or get dehydrated.



Venga Choo is still timid and being tormented by Buff and Granny Rose, but at least she's started to go into the poly tunnel instead of hiding up on her perch all day.  I'm considering putting our little silver laced Wyandotte 'Fern' in with them.  She's still recuperating in the house and doing quite well. She's so little (1.5kg) and I really think she'd hate our obnoxious teenage roosters that have now taken over her flock, I just can't imagine putting her back in there. In the evenings I take her out of her cage in the basement and bring her upstairs for a 'social'.  She has two old bedsheets to play on, and she's quite entertaining.  I rolled one up to form a donut nest, and she especially loves that.  She'll roll and scratch and peck and sometimes hide her head under the sheet. 

 



I took Mr. Flan from his cage and put him in one of the big banty runs to stretch his legs and wings a bit.  His comb and wattles are healing but he's still not ready to go out with his new flock.  I think he's lonely and scared right now, and still isn't eating very well, but he is managing to maintain his weight.  I'm going to give him a bowl with sand in it later to see if he'll take a dust bath.  Hopefully that will make him feel a little better.

 

All of the banties will get a turn out in the runs today.  I'm trying to give them all some exercise and a mental break since they will be locked up for the next few days at least.  It's a nice peaceful day.  I really hope it won't be as bad as they say...The horses and sheep will also have to be locked in the barn.  The wind chills will just be too dangerous for noses and ear tips. 

 

Wish us luck. I really don't know what -65F is, but I'm not looking forward to finding out.

From NOAA:

Forecast models remain consistent in carrying the polar vortex into the
northern tier of the U.S. while carrying it eastward in time. Many
locations may see their temperature readings drop to near record values.
By Sunday, afternoon temperatures across the Northern Plains/Upper Midwest
may linger in the negative 10s/20s with lows plummeting that night to near
-30 Fahrenheit. The broad pressure gradient setting up over the region
will allow gusty winds to persist which will lower wind chill temperatures
to very dangerous levels. Incredibly, it may feel as cold as -50 to -60 on
Sunday night over sections of the north-central states with the frigid air
remaining in place into early next week.

856 AM CST SAT JAN 4 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA... AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A DANGEROUS AND HISTORIC COLD AIR OUTBREAK WILL ARRIVE TONIGHT.
WIND CHILLS WILL FALL TO BETWEEN 35 AND 45 BELOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. A
WIND CHILL WARNING GOES INTO EFFECT AT 6 PM THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THE DANGEROUS AND HISTORIC COLD AIR OUTBREAK WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. THE COMBINATION OF EXTREMELY COLD AIR
TEMPERATURES AND GUSTY WEST WINDS SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING
WILL BRING WIND CHILL VALUES OF 45 TO 65 BELOW ZERO. THE WIND
CHILL WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL NOON TUESDAY.

PATCHY BLOWING SNOW IS FORECAST THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK DUE TO
GUSTY WEST NORTHWEST WINDS.