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Tuesday, December 4

Understanding the Chickens Weather Forecast


Cold hens 1



Cold hens 2
It is going to be a very cold night! The gals are cuddled together in a pile in an effort to keep warm. Ernest remains at the opposite end of the henhouse, next to the door.
I was talking about this with my neighbour who explained that penguins also keep warm this way.
The emperor penguins secret is huddling. Really just an extension of the "be big" method of surviving extreme cold. Emperor penguins have developed a social behaviour that when it gets cold, they huddle together in groups that may comprise several thousand penguins. That way for most of the group, where their feathers end, instead of all of them having to face the biting wind and relentless cold, most of them have another warm penguin blanket to shield them instead. The surface area of the group is greatly reduced and a great deal of warmth and body fat conserved. Of course it's not quite so great for the individuals on the outside of the group as they only have a part of their body protected and warmed by the other penguins. So there is a continual movement of penguins from the outside of the group to the centre so displacing the warmer and more protected penguins to the outside where they will take their turn in the worst places against the wind and raw cold.”

Fascinating!
We learn something new every day!
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9 comments:

  1. important to know the weather for creatures and crops!

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  2. Aaah, they look lovely all huddled up.
    I think I need a warm penguin blanket myself tonight...

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  3. As I mentioned on F/B, they seem to be better weather forecasters than the ones on TV! Stay warm and dry!

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  4. Truly, I think animals of all breeds are much smarter than we give them credit for ~ wonderful photos ~ (A Creative Harbor) ^_^

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  5. Lovely pics, they look so cosy huddles together.
    I saw a programme about penguins, watched them on live tv huddling and taking their turn on the outside, it was great. We humans could learn a great deal about co-operation from it!

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  6. Animals usually can tell about the weather situation before the humans could.



    Chewed UP
    Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

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  7. Huddle and cuddle, definitely the best way to keep warm. The films of emperor penguins with the icy wind howling across the ice is heart-rending.

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Thank you for your comments, always nice to know somebody has taken the time to let me know what they think.