Icicle

It's about 2 meters long on a chain hanging on a roof gutter. Looks a lot colder than it really is. Sad day, I had to "finish off" one of our elder hens that had been sick for several days. She seemed to have picked up before the snow came but I suspect she couldn't cope with the cold. She probably would have died naturally within an hour but I couldn't watch her suffering. Hate this part of keeping animals - it's said that one shouldn't keep "farm" animals if one isn't prepared to slaughter & eat them. Understand the thought but it's not our view. We try to offer the hens the best possible life and are happy when we get an egg in return. Many hens have just enough room to turn around in their 0.06sq meters , each of ours has 500sq meters in the garden & unlimited scratching ground in the forest. I know which I would prefer even if there are dangers - foxes, birds of prey, disease, tractors...