Success & Failure After the Deep Freeze

Prior to the deep freeze that rolled through our area, bringing 10 inches of snow and temperatures in the single digits, we listened to a gentleman at our bee club meeting tell us about a technique he used to save all of his citrus trees from temperatures in the low 20's from the year before.  We've always piled mulch real deep around the base of the trunk.  That didn't work out so well.  We didn't lose the trees, but it hurt them so badly, the next year we had no blooms, thus, no citrus.  We had to prune back all the dead branches.

I was interested in this man's tactics as his trees were loaded with satsumas and oranges where our poor trees were barren.  This guy purchased tarps at tractor supply and covered the entire tree.  Then, he ran extension cords to each tree and put a heat lamp under the tarp.  That's it!  So we endeavored to do likewise.  Note to self:  Purchase tarps in advance of the freeze.  Don't wait until the last minute because the shelves will be bare.  

Let's look at each of our three citrus trees.  We had more, but had lost them in previous freezes.  Here below is a small satsuma tree.  It's only about 3 1/2 feet tall, so what I did was turn a heavy plastic trash can over it and put a heat lamp underneath.  Look at the results.  The heavy trash can did a pretty good job of keeping the heat inside.  The uppermost limbs and leaves are dead, but there is green growth toward the bottom where the heat lamp was positioned.

Looking more closely at the bottom of the satsuma tree, you can see fresh, new, green growth along with LOTS of blossoms.  We WILL have satsumas this fall!

Here is our navel orange tree.  As I told you, it is big.  Too big, in fact, to get the tarp over it and fastened tightly at the bottom.  We did the best we could.  I wonder if it would be beneficial to prune the tree back to ensure the ability for the tarp to completely go over and seal good with bungee cords at the bottom.  We were able to put the heat lamp underneath, but from a distance, the navel orange tree looks bleak.  We may have to chop it down.

Not so fast, my friend.  As you look closer, there is green growth coming out of the central trunk!  That's great news.

Looking closer, you can make out orange blossoms.  What a nice fragrance!  We'll have oranges this winter.

Well, things are looking pretty good.  Let's check in on the tangerine tree.  It had been hurt badly by the previous freeze, so it was smaller.  We wrapped it completely with a tarp and put a heat lamp under the tarp.  Uh Oh!  There's no growth.  This thing is toast.

We'll have no tangerines this fall.  These were so tart and tasty.  Their color was what I describe as "electric orange."  We'll have to buy another to replace this one.  I'll chop this one down.  Things were looking pretty good with our new freeze protection protocol.  However, I try to be a glass half full kind of guy.  And like ol' Meatloaf sang, "Two outta three ain't bad."

Prepping for the Arctic Blast

The Arctic Blast sounds like a new slush that they might offer at Sonic, but we're taking it as seriously as we know how.  They are predicting cold weather.  The last time Tricia looked at her phone, she told me that they said it would be 9 degrees in Jennings.  9 degrees.  At that temperature, I don't know if it even pays off to cover plants, but I've got some tarps.  We might as well try.

The turnips that I had planted may be a lost cause as I didn't have quite enough tarps for them.  The greens were going to be for me.  The turnip roots for the cows.  We'll see if they survive.  Under the blue tarps you see is the spinach and radishes and some mustard greens.

The cilantro and the green onions are going to be left uncovered.  I don't know if they will survive.  The broccoli and brussels sprouts are covered.

The swiss chard, kale, kohlrabi and cabbage are all covered up, too.

Here is my new experiment.  Last time it reached the low 20's I lost two tangerine trees and a satsuma.  The navel orange tree and the tangerine that survived took 2 years to recover.  While the navel orange produced again this year, the surviving tangerine did not.  I had them covered, too.

This year I tried something.  In addition to covering them, I ran heat lamps to each one.  This is the heat lamp under the tangerine tree.

The new satsuma tree was small enough for me to flip the garbage can over it with the heat lamp inside.  Who knows?  It may make it so warm under there that it cooks the little tree.

And finally, here is the heat lamp under the covered up navel orange tree.  This is the one that I had just picked all the fruit off of it.

Will they make it?  Only time will tell.  I'll uncover them in a few days and we will report if the heat lamps did the job.

While we were out walking to the barn to do the evening chores, we began to hear sirens.  One after the other.  They turned off the main road and onto ours and stopped at our next door neighbor's house.  We could see flames and then the firemen jumped out and started spraying things down with water.

We didn't want to be nosy neighbors, so we didn't walk over.  The firemen had it under control quickly.  It didn't seem to have spread to their home.  It looked like it was confined to a barn behind his house.  I'll find out for sure, but I didn't see his heat lamps on his chickens like he always has on.  If I had to guess, it could be that he moved his birds into the barn and somehow the heat lamp caught the barn on fire.

No one was injured and their home was saved.  It's a good thing to live exactly one mile away from the Hathaway Rural Volunteer Fire Department.  They were on site in three shakes of a billy goat's tail and got it put out quickly.

Making the Most of It

Our tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant that we planted from seed at the end of December continue to grow.  In previous years, we struggled with them getting long and "leggy."  We solved it this year simply by putting the grow light real close to the young plants.  It is high time to get them outside.  We need to harden them off to get ready for transplanting into the garden.  They need to get exposed to a little cool, a little wind, and definitely more sun.  How will we do that?  Temps are still too cold overnight, and we don't have a greenhouse.

Young Plants in the Foyer

Tricia had a great idea.  We have a chicken tractor that isn't being used to raise chickens in for at least another month.  We can use it to raise plants in until it is time to put them in the garden.  How will we convert a chicken tractor into a greenhouse?

We found a heavy-duty plastic tarp that allows sunshine in, but stops the wind while searching the Internet.  After quick measurements, we found one that matched the dimensions perfectly.  In two days it came to the front door.  We rolled it out and fastened it to the sides of the chicken tractor with zip ties.  This thing is beginning to look like a greenhouse!

We moved the plastic table into the greenhouse that we normally use to cut up our chickens after butchering.  Seemed only fitting while we are finding dual purposes for things.  The trays of plants fit on it perfectly.  The ends were closed it to keep out the weather and we anchored it to the ground so the wind wouldn't blow it over.  Grow lights were hung from the roof on a chain so that we could adjust the height. 

The garden hose nozzle was set to mist and we watered the plants.

At night the greenhouse is aglow with light.  This evening the temperatures dipped down into the 30's so we wondered what we were going to do.  We decided while we are using items previously used only for raising chickens, we might as well use the heat lamps that we normally use to keep the baby chicks warm in the brooder.

Ordinarily, on a cold night like tonight, I'd bring all the plants in since they would be in a cold frame on the back patio.  Tonight since they are protected in our new makeshift greenhouse, I'll take a chance and leave them outside.  If I can get them through another couple of weeks, I'll transplant them into the garden, leaving the greenhouse/chicken tractor vacant.  Then we'll order the chicks!

Trying to Save a Muddy Chicken

The month of September was abnormally wet.  The rains fell every day and turned a water-soaked landscape into a swampy morass.  Goats don't like to get their feet wet, and you can tell they are unhappy.  After healing Annie up from hoof rot, she's been mostly staying in the barn.  The cows are usually okay with the rain, but the onslaught of swarms of mosquitoes that like the tall grass have chased the cows out of the grass.  They tromp around in the mud, creating deep holes.  You can tell they are miserable.

Tricia went out to do chores yesterday and discovered a barred rock hen that was stuck in the mud.  It couldn't get out and was very weak.  She had struggled and was absolutely covered in mud.  Tricia sprayed her off with a water hose to get the mud off, but the poor hen was water-logged, shivering, and weak.  We thought she may die.

I picked her up and put her in a bucket and brought her to the back patio for 'therapy.' 

Water-logged chicken

I put a heat lamp over the bucket to warm her up.  Even though it is hot and humid outside, the bird is weak and cold and needs to be warmed and dried.  I have to be real careful as I don't want to put the heat lamp too close or else I'll burn the chicken.  Too far and it won't help her.  We positioned the light where we felt it was best and continued checking on her for several hours.

After just a little while, you could see the chicken starting to perk up.  We did notice, however, the cats taking great interest in the chicken in the bucket.  They were circling the bucket like vultures.  We had to keep a close watch on the bird.

Just before going to bed, I checked on the bird again.  It wasn't perfect, but it was much better than when we brought it in.  I brought her back out to the pasture an let her roost where the others were settling in for the night. The jury is still out on whether the hen will survive, but we gave it a good try. 

Bringing Back Sally From the Abyss

After rains we catch three or four hundred gallons of rainwater.  I turn the water off that feeds the cows' water troughs and fill their trough with the rainwater until we've exhausted the supply of rainwater.  There is a risk to doing this, though.  By the time I get home in the afternoon, the cows have been drinking a lot of water and have reduced the water level in the trough by about a third. This is not a problem for the cows as they can crane their necks down inside the trough and drink to their hearts' content.

The problem is the chickens.  Normally, they hop up on the edge of the cattle trough and dip their beaks down in the water to drink.  Except when the water level is only 2/3's full, sometimes chickens fall into the water and can't get out.  Most of the time, the dogs will hear the chickens thrashing about and will bark and alert us. Sometimes though, they don't.  One evening I came in and found Sally, the hen, floating in the trough.

I picked her up and sat her down on the ground.  She fell over on her side very, very weak.  She stunk, too.  Wet chickens stink! Even though it was warm outside at around 80 degrees, the hen was cold to the touch and she was shaking. Hypothermia.  She had been in the trough long enough to where she was unable to maintain her body temperature.  We've learned that unless action is taken, the hen will die.

Here's what we do:  We dry her off with a towel and bring her into the garage and put her in a big molasses tub.  This keeps wind from chilling her wet feathers. Then we put a heat lamp over her.  Not too close, but not too far away, either.  At first she couldn't even stand on her legs.  Over the course of about 20 minutes, she was up on her feet!

About 10 minutes later, I heard her clucking and standing erect.

Ten minutes later she had knocked the heat lamp to the side and was perched on the side of the molasses tub, presumably to roost there for the night.  That signaled me that we were successful in bringing Sally back from the brink of death.  She is out on the pasture now eating worms.  Had we not taken immediate action she would be about a foot deep in the garden feeding worms.

Can a Chicken Get Hypothermia?

Saturday morning before milking, I went about the normal chores, feeding all the other animals, switching the cows from one paddock to a fresh one.  Then I went about checking water troughs, ensuring that they were all filled with water.  We have one main 150 gallon water trough and have two 'makeshift' 30 gallon water troughs made with old molasses/mineral tubs.

As I walk by one, I noticed that it was about 3/4 full, but then stopped suddenly. There was a chicken floating in it!  At first I thought she was dead, but once I removed her from the water, I could tell that she was still barely alive, although her eyes weren't opened.  She was shaking and barely able to stand.  I sat her in the sunshine while we milked the cows, hoping to warm her up.  Chickens aren't too smart.  They fly up ungracefully to the edge of the water trough to get a drink, lean over to drink and some inevitably fall in and die if you don't get to them quickly enough.

I'm no veterinarian, but I would assume that the barred rock hen was suffering from hypothermia. Hypothermia is the condition of having an abnormally low body temperature, typically one that is dangerously low.  This can happen even in warm weather.  Trouble is, about twenty minutes later, once we finished milking, she was not any better.  I knew we must get her some medical attention to save her life.  Fortunately, the doctor was in.  I put the pitiful creature into an empty molasses tub and brought her into the garage.

"Give me your huddled masses..."

I positioned a heat lamp approximately 18 inches above the hen.  I didn't want it to be too close to her as it would burn her and warm her up too fast.  I didn't want it to be too far away though or it wouldn't warm her up.  Up to this point, I wasn't sure if Sally HennyPenny was going to make it.  I had another project going in the garage as we were painting the walls, so I kept a close eye on her.  In about 10 minutes, I checked in and the old gal was looking a little more perky than before.  Still a little wet, but I knew she'd make it.

Heatin' up some chicken

In ten more minutes, she wasn't hunched over shivering anymore and her eyes were wide open.

In about ten more minutes, I heard a big commotion and the hen flew up out of the tub with the heat lamp and was scurrying around the garage.  I caught the old girl and walked her back outside toward the pasture fence.  I set her down on the bridge to make sure she was good to go and yes, she was.

Her buddies were in the muddy waiting room across the fence waiting for her and they were happy she had recovered from her close call.

Birds of a feather flock together

Hopefully, old gal will have learned a lesson and won't fall in the water trough again. We've just had 21 inches of rain in a week's time.  There's plenty of water still on the ground.  She doesn't need to even go to the water trough to drink.  I can't figure out her thinking there, but... she's a chicken. Fortunately the lifeguard got to her in time and performed emergency medical services promptly so that she'll live to see another day and lay more eggs.