01/24/2026
Winter on the homestead isn’t for the faint of heart. ❄️🐓🐄
Caring for animals in the winter takes a whole different level of grit and faithfulness. Frozen water buckets that have to be broken and refilled—again and again. Early mornings in the dark, bundled up head to toe, checking on all the animals before you even warm your own hands. Extra feed, extra bedding, extra worry when the wind howls or the temperatures drop too fast.
Animals still need clean water, full bellies, and watchful eyes no matter how cold it gets. Illness can sneak up quicker. Simple chores take twice as long. And some days, it feels like the cold seeps right down into your bones.
But there’s also something deeply humbling about it—showing up every day when it’s hard, when it would be easier to stay inside. It’s a quiet kind of love and responsibility. The kind no one sees unless they live it.
If you’re out there tending animals this winter—breaking ice, hauling feed, checking fences in the snow—you’re not alone. It’s tough work, and it matters. ❤️
👉 Question for you: What’s been the hardest part of caring for your animals this winter—or what tips or tricks do you use to make the job a little easier?
🥶My hardest part is keeping the waterers filled with fresh water and the poultry/quail as warm as possible. I rotate out the waterers by bringing one set in the house to thaw while I put out the fresh set. This saves time and I am not putting my hands in the water in the cold or having to carry multiple buckets. Also, I know this sounds silly, but I put straw in with my quail and cover their cages with old fitted flannel sheets to try to help keep them a little warmer. Luckily they are all in a nice enclosed barn, but it isn’t insulated.
