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Allison Lee
Smallholding Correspondent
1:00 AM 18th January 2025
lifestyle

Winter Months On A Smallholding

The winter months often bring uncertainty for the smallholder. While I love the changing seasons, the weather in the UK can be extremely changeable at the best of times. The weather at the end of 2024 had been kind to us. Certainly, in North Yorkshire, where I now live, we had considerably less rain than we had this time last year when I had my smallholding in West Yorkshire. However, I am always conscious that things can change overnight, which is exactly what they did at the beginning of January!

As we embark on a new year, I am always ready for the inevitable rain, snow, sleet and wind, but, after an unseasonably mild December, I wasn’t expecting the snow quite so early!

Luckily, the barns were stocked with hay and straw, and a new order had been collected from the feed merchant, so I was certain that I had enough food to get the animals through any difficult days when the grass was covered in snow or churned up into a muddy mess.

All the animals must have somewhere warm and dry to escape from the harsh elements of winter, and extra care must be taken to ensure shelters are free from draughts and that they are dry and comfortable. I seem to constantly check the weather forecast, planning my days so that shelters are mucked out on dry days and checked before any high winds, rain or snow are due.

My little micropigs particularly love to be warm and snug, and when the weather is especially bad, they rarely venture outdoors unless they need to relieve themselves. Despite their reputation for being dirty animals, they are, in fact, exceptionally clean, and I have never seen any of my pigs soil their beds in the five years that I have owned them. They love to bed on straw, and I also provide them with blankets for added protection because I am soft and love to see them warm and comfortable!

Although the sheep are hardy and would survive outside, they still have field shelters to escape the driving rain, snow and high winds. Without the shelters, I am sure they would hide behind the hedgerows, but the shelters give them added protection and give me peace of mind.



It is vital that shelters, fences, and hedges are checked every day in the winter months to ensure that nothing has been damaged by high winds or heavy snowfall. Remedying a problem early on is much easier than hunting down sheep or goats that have escaped through broken fences and could easily be making a new home on a different smallholding!

You can find Allison on Instagram countryliving_writer or visit her website here