Snow. Snow. And more snow. The Crooked fence farm critters have displayed some interesting behaviors in the snow.

Luna and Savannah have reverted to puppyhood. They are playing with each other with the play growls and nip n runs. The 14in deep drifts slowed them down on a tiny bit!

Hammy is a different story. He sooo wants to follow and play with the dogs but 300lbs walking on crusty snow in stilettos doesn’t work too well  when ur naked (almost hairless) belly is only 4in off the ground. Yikes! Hams is 3 and the past 2 winters have had very little snow. This winter is a different story. Hams learned a very cold lesson when he followed me as u headed toward the chicken coop… as the dogs could walk on top of the snow crust, Hamilton’s legs broke thru with every step. There is a large drift near back gate into the “Back 9″n as we call the back 3rd of the property. As Hammy stab/walked toward the gate, the snow was deeper until he couldn’t move at all without his belly lying on top of the snow. Hammy stopped walking once he realized he predicament and then proceeded to try and walk backwards, even attempting to put his hooves back in the same holes he just made. Hammy made it just fine to the back door the whined his head off to be let back inside. I’m guessing he was pretty cold as he laid on his fluffy pillows for the rest of the day. No worries, dear readers, the Hams is just fine and has been sunbathing on the 50 degree day 3 days ago!

The chickens are just that…chicken. The 3 babies were initially excited to explore this sparkly white environment. That lasted about 20 minutes. The only footprints inside the chicken run are mine as I trudge in to bring fresh warm water and toss feed in the bowls. All the feeding vessels were relocated inside the coop building to keep the feed visible as it snowed. Never fear, these girls (and Doood) are warm. What is the preferred coat to wear in the artic cold? A down coat. These girls are all wrapped up in thick down coats. Truefully, I worry about them more in summer as they can’t take off their coats to cool off. Besides, chickens have survived thousands of years thru all seasons without human interference.

With 2 more snow events pending over the next week, these critters are all in lockdown. All the more reason for stimulating toys. Treat balls for both the chickens and the pig help with boredom. Bored chickens pluck feathers and eat those rare freshly laid eggs. A bored pig tosses furniture, empties kitchen cabinets, throws metal dog and pig bowls for the noise on the ceramic tile kitchen floor. None of this is behavior to be encouraged.

In the meantime, while we wait for spring thaw, we observe critter antics and try our best to keep them all entertained.

Just keep clucking…or oinking!