EXTREME weather and what it looks like to prepare the farm

With winter here, and extreme weather setting in, I wanted to tell you how we prepare the animals and ourselves for the elements.

This winter has been fairly mild here in Connecticut up until recently. Last week we had our first big snow fall of 15″. (The meteorologists predicted only 3-6″) Then for a couple of days we had really cold temperatures, with the wind chill added, temperatures were around 0 degrees.

Starting later this evening, we are anticipating even colder temperatures of 0 degrees with windchills ranging anywhere from -10 to -30 degrees in portions of Connecticut. I addition, we may be getting another snow storm on Sunday into Monday. Between the extremely cold temperatures and wind chills, and the impending snow, The farm needs to be properly prepared to ensure the animals stay warm and dry.

While we already have draft free shelters in place, there are many other things that the animals need to stay warm.

All of the animals need dry clean bedding. With temperatures this cold, in addition to shaving, I like to add a layer of hay to give them some soft and fluffy bedding to lay on. With three barns to prepare, and snow still on the ground, the wheel barrow is the only way to transport bedding and hay to the barns. For the chicks that are in the brooder in the chicken coop, they still need a heat lamp to stay warm so I am constantly monitoring the temperature to make sure that they stay warm enough.

The most important thing an animal needs to maintain body heat is fresh water and food. For the goats and cow, their rumen must always be working. If ruminants body temperature drops too low, their rumen will stop working which causes their digestive system to stop working and their body temperature to continue to fall. To ensure everyone maintains body temperature, I have changed my feeding routine from twice a day (morning and evening) to three times a day so they are getting breakfast, lunch and dinner. To accommodate this, I had to stock each barn with hay. A portion of yesterday was spent picking up a whole load of square bales to stock each barn with enough hay for 2 weeks so that I don’t have to carry hay in the extreme cold and snow to all of the barns.

My does (female goats) continue to get their morning grain mixture of grain, alfalfa and black oil sunflower seeds. Most of them are pregnant and need the extra nutrients in addition to hay. For lunch they get alfalfa and for dinner they get hay.

For the bucks and cow, They get hay in the morning. Lunch I feed them a mixture of grain, alfalfa, and black oil sunflower seeds. For dinner they get hay.

The ducks, chickens and turkeys usually get grain for dinner. In this extreme weather, they get fed a smaller portion of grain for lunch and their normal feeding in the evening.

The alpacas are amazingly hardy having such thick fibre but I still adjusted their feedings from two times a day to three. They get hay the morning, alfalfa for lunch and hay and grain for dinner.

An interesting fact!

Animals can dehydrate just as quickly in the winter cold as they do in the summer heat. For this reason, it is incredibly important for the animals to have fresh not frozen water. Goats are incredibly picky when it comes to water. If a piece of hay or dirt get into the water, they will refuse to drink out of it. For this reason, I do not use heated waterers for them. Instead, I change out their water multiple times a day just as I would if it wasn’t cold out. For the cow, I have a heater in the water to prevent it from freezing. The chickens and turkeys have a heated water container in the coop. For the ducks, I prefer to change out their water multiple times a day because they are always getting in the dish and making a big mess. For the alpacas, for the extreme cold, I will run an extention cord and plug in a heated water bucket. Usually for them, as long as it doesn’t freeze, they get new water once a day. (They keep their water very clean)

I have spent the better half of the last two days, preparing the barns for the impending cold and snow. Everyone is happy and warm in their barns, and they are ready for the weekend. It feels so good to know that the animals are ready for the weather and although I will check on them many times throughout each day even when its snowing or temperatures are below 0, I know that they have everything they need.

Preparing the house for the extreme cold and snow is not as much work. The most important things I do is make sure the generator has gas so we are prepared if the lights go out and bring in enough firewood for 3-4 days.

This morning as I write this, the farm and home are all prepared and ready for the weather this weekend brings. Although I am tired and my muscles are sore, my heart is full and I’m at peace knowing we are ready. Today, we are back to our normal day of farm chores, and homeschool but this weekend, I am excited to be able to cozy up with my kiddos, read books together next to the fire and thank God for all of his many blessings.