Barns are like Babies

The temperature went above zero today for the first time in weeks.  This means that it was barn/coop cleaning day.  Winter barns are like babies; you do not have much control over when to clean them and there is a lot of poop involved.  Today, being an already busy day, was not ideal for barn maintenance but who can argue with Mother Nature?

We started the day shoveling snow.  With the forecast of warm afternoon temperatures I did not want to face lifting snow as heavy as bricks if I left clearing the pathways and steps too late.  After Ian snowplowed the driveway, the boys and I (mostly I) shoveled for an hour.  Then they insisted I take them on a sled ride while we waited for the bus.  One horse open sleigh, indeed.

So cute but heavy.  They are growing so fast!

 Today's second event was attending Liam's Christmas concert at school.  Liam was a star and we were very proud.  It doesn't matter how you package it, kiddos singing Christmas songs in French is super cute. 

After returning home and getting Seamus down for nap, I spent an hour running errands (Ian works from home so Seamus was not alone in the house) and then I raced back to muck the chicken coop.

Airing out that stinky coop!

Winter mucking is hard work.  The ducks, while I love them, are oh so messy.  In the summer, I simply keep their water bucket outside.  This is not possible in the winter and the ducks rejoice in splashing water around inside the coop.  The problem with this is that the spilled water subsequently freezes, requiring me, on coop cleaning day, to chip away at a frozen slurry of ice and poop covering the floor under the water bucket.  Ugh.

Frozen ice-poop slurry.  Ew.

There are more chickens and ducks outside today than there have been in weeks!

No more ice.

All clean and dry, for now.

I finished mucking just in time for Seamus to wake up.  I then had to spend half an hour negotiating with him to accompany me back outside so that I could scoop the poop in Charlie's barn before the sun set (seriously he's two!).  We finally made the deal that if he came out voluntarily, we would make Rice Krispy squares when we came back in.  So, the barn got mucked.

Seamus sitting on the door to the hay loft. 
After yesterday's adventures, it is too full of hay from him to go in.

He dressed for the occasion.  See his chicken hat?

I was just pressing the squares into the pan when it was time to go meet Liam's bus.  Then it was making dinner while constantly policing to keep the boys from taking (and accidentally smashing) the ornaments off the Christmas tree.  I also received a call from the farm vet about NGDs - more on that in a future post.  Finally, it was kiddo bath time and (thank goodness) bed time.

I will not be far behind - I am exhausted.  What a day!