Winter Is Here For Real

So we live in Oklahoma. And Oklahoma is know for crazy weather. I’ve personally never packed away warm weather clothes, and I don’t put the cold weather stuff away until may. We have experienced freak chills, and even a light snow as late as May. But that is an oddity for sure. Anyways here we are, into January and the cold is consistent fir the time being. It was in the 70’s for Christmas. But we have had nights, and days well below freezing. So far all the animals are doing alright. But I’m not out there taking a lot of pictures. And we have had to make some adjustments.

We’ve had a few losses from the rabbits. Some of the kits have gotten out of their boxes before they were old enough to find their way back in. This litter did have 8. So they only go out to mom for a feeding once or twice a day. This mom seems to only feed once, they babies stay pretty full well past 12 hours. This is called “shelving” and is often done where there is predator pressure in the forum of rats and mice. Yep, rodents will eat baby rabbits. Eww.

I did have a couple of other bunches in the house. One we lost, and I’m still consulting with more experienced rabbits producers on what could have went wrong. The other bunch is thriving, and has gotten big enough that they are maintaining their own body heat, and able to return to the nest. And the rest have stayed warm enough even on the harshest days. We’ve had to bring the water bottles in and out multiple times some days. But having the rabbits, and chickens in the same small barn is keeping their space slightly warmer then it is outside. Even though it’s just a 3 sided carport. It’s impressive what a little wind protection can do.

The fact that we use wood heat, and have an older stove requires some diligence. We have to load it frequently to maintain a nice temperature on the coldest days. And I am reminded that often times people did not go comfortably through the winter, but simply warm enough to keep from freezing. It’s not like that here. But I do like sitting by the stove and soaking up the heat sometimes. Someday I’d like to have a rocking chair by the fire. I used to have a glider when our first two children were babies. But I’ve yet to have my own wooden rocking chair to enjoy.

Well that’s it for now. Maybe I’ll get the Christmas Tree taken down today. It has yet to make it to the top of the list. Things are like that sometimes when you have a bunch of young children, and a lot of animals. Stay cozy friends.