Three Ways to Prepare Your Homestead for a Natural Disaster

No one wants to experience a natural disaster. Unfortunately, many of us have to at some point in our lives.

It's one thing to deal with it when you have just your home, family, and maybe a pet or two. Relocating is challenging, but not impossible.

It's another thing when you have a homestead with livestock or other animals.

This is when a natural disaster becomes more challenging.

There are several things you can do to be prepared for a natural disaster.

Like all prepping, it's good to think of these things in advance so you're not out of luck when they happen unexpectedly.

Before we share the three tips for homestead preparation, let's talk about what's most important first.

Prepare Your Homestead: The Safety of Your Family is First

Before all else, make sure you have plans in place to keep your family safe. This includes your home.

Ultimately, these are the most important parts of your homestead, so they must come first in your preparations.

This would include having the best homestead water filtration system and plenty of food.

It's a good idea to get your family involved in helping prepare for coming natural disasters.

You can give everyone jobs in advance so they know how to secure your homestead.

But, never sacrifice their safety during an emergency. It would be terrible to lose a barn or horse, but the bigger tragedy would be to lose a family member.

With that in mind, let's talk about how you can start preparing your homestead.

Disaster Preparation #1: Animal Shelter and Housing

Start preparing for a situation where your animals may need a safe or dry location. Having extra housing for animals is a good idea.

Something close to your home is best. For example, an enclosed hutch or crawl space next to your home.

You want to make sure it's not near a water source in case there is flooding.

When bad weather is coming, it's also a good idea to cover the shelter with plastic to keep it as dry as possible. Investing in a few tarps is a good idea.

For larger animals, like horses and cows, keeping them inside as much as possible is a good idea. If you have a barn, make sure they're inside.

Having some sort of raised shelter isn't a bad idea, either. If the animals can get to higher ground, there’s less worry of flooding.

Perhaps a mound in a barn or shelter is something to consider.

Disaster Preparation #2: Stock Up on Food and Water

Make sure you are always stocked up on food and water for your homestead animals.

If there's a situation where you have to leave your animals or can't get to them for a few days, you want to make sure they have plenty of food to eat and water to drink.

Wintertime is also a hard time for animals on a homestead. During a blizzard or very cold day, animals should have plenty of straw, feed, and treats to maintain warmth and nutrition.

Keep rain barrels or other temperature-controlled water-containing devices close to your animals and be sure they have access to as much water as they might need.

By always having extra food and water on hand, you'll never have to worry about running out during a natural disaster.

Disaster Preparation #3: Keep a Supply of Necessities

This list of supplies will differ for each homesteading family. It depends on what animals you have and how you use your homestead.

You may want to have an animal first aid kit on hand. Or some fence supplies in case a strong wind knocks over your horse container.

Other ideas include extra gloves, tools, boots, and nails.

Start thinking about what you would need for your homestead. Then decide where you’ll store those items.

Your entire family should know where to find them so they can help during emergency situations.

Prepare Your Homestead: It's Important

If you are a homesteader, it's necessary to think about natural disasters and how they may affect your homestead.

Act now so that if the time ever comes, you are prepared. You'll be glad you planned in advance.

Did you prepare your homestead during a natural disaster in the past? If so, please share your tips in the comments.