Bracing for the Chill: How We Prepare the Homestead for the Cold Months

As the leaves turn golden and the crispness in the air settles in, the hustle on our Kansas homestead takes on a new urgency. Morning chores now come with the bite of cold, signaling that fall has truly arrived. This year, we’re especially focused on staying ahead of the game with preparations. With a few new faces joining the farm family, every step matters to ensure everyone stays safe and cozy. Join us as we share our strategies for getting ready to face the winter season and how we’re keeping our homestead one step ahead of the cold snap.

Harvest Wrap-Up and Garden Clean-Up

As the summer growing season winds down, we’ve been busy gathering up the last of our harvest. We picked the final three cucumbers, an assortment of colorful peppers, and a few pumpkins and dumpling squashes. Closing up the garden for the colder months is always a bit bittersweet, but there’s a sense of relief, too, knowing the garden gets a rest—and so do we. With the harvest done, I opened the garden gates and let the chickens take over for their final clean-up duties. They’ll peck through the remnants, helping clear out any lingering pests and debris. Once everything turns brown and brittle, I’ll pull out the plants to compost or burn, officially tucking the garden in for winter.

Prepping the Animal Shelters and Making Winter Adjustments

Our animals are the heart of our homestead, so preparing their shelters for the cold is always a top priority. We started by cleaning out the chicken coop, duck house, and goat shelters, replacing old bedding with fresh material. The chickens enjoy the benefits of the deep litter method on their cement flooring, which helps insulate and keeps them cozy. The ducks, housed in an old storage shed, are messy as ever, so we replace their shavings often and will add straw soon for extra warmth. Our goats have two shelters—a walk-in shed and a repurposed dog house—both of which we refreshed with new bedding and will layer with straw for added fluff.

For our mare, Vegas, we made a temporary adjustment. Her stock tank has been leaking, so we’ve set up large containers for her water supply until we can reseal or replace the tank. Additionally, this year we took a new step in preparing for spring: we banded our Ancona ducks. After our last hatch in August, we identified and banded the males for our future breeding program, making it easier to sort them for either new homes or the freezer here in the next couple weeks. These preparations ensure that all our animals are ready to face the chill ahead as well as responsible animal husbandry!

Winterizing the Water Supply

Water is a necessity year-round, but it becomes even more crucial as winter approaches—especially for our animals like our mare, Vegas. Recently, her stock tank has developed a steady leak, so we’re making it a priority to repair it before it’s time to add water heaters for the colder months. For now, we’ve drained the tank and replaced it with smaller containers that hold enough water to keep her hydrated throughout the day. Once we got the leak fixed…spoiler alert…it didnt fix so…theres that, but for now we put the plug heater in we just have a leak at the seam till we can get a new one.

Preparing Our Mama Bear Fisher Wood Stove for Winter

As the chilly winds begin to blow and the first hints of frost touch our homestead, it’s time to turn our attention to our lifeline for warmth: the Mama Bear Fisher wood stove. This trusty stove not only heats our home but also brings a sense of comfort and coziness to our small sanctuary. Cleaning it up for the cold months is a ritual that we take seriously. We carefully remove the ash, inspect the stove pipe for any blockages while using our handy drill powered chimney sweeper, and give the exterior a good scrub and polish, ensuring it’s ready to provide us with reliable heat during the long winter nights. Using our kindling cracker tool we gather lots of kindling and store it in a chest on the porch with our wood we stacked. With a well-maintained stove, we can embrace the season, knowing that our home will be warm and inviting, even as the temperatures drop outside. Even if I complain about it being to hot in the house to my husband it definetly gives peace of mind knowing we have warmth for us and if we loose power we still have that and are able to cook on the wood stove if need be (which is so fun).

Wrap Up Recap

As we wrap up our preparations, there’s a comforting sense of readiness on the homestead. We’ve secured our garden, prepped the animal shelters, and made adjustments to our water setup, and finally prepped the wood stove, all with the goal of staying a step ahead of winter’s chill. It’s always a bit of work, but knowing that our farm family will be safe and cozy through the season makes it worthwhile. With each winter we face, we grow a little more seasoned, a little more resilient. Thanks for joining us on this journey—here’s to a warm and well-prepared season ahead!

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