Who watches your animals when on vacation?

r2dab2da · #1 07/01/08, 09:29 PM

Hi everyone,
I've been lurking, reading and learning from all of you for a few days now. We're planning to move to 10 acres and have always wanted a small farm.

Who watches and tends to your animals while you go on vacation? If you actually do get to go away, how long do you go for? can some animals get by for a long weekend?

Sorry if this question sounds so ignorant. There will be more! I have lots!
Thanks,
Rowena

deaconjim · #2 07/01/08, 09:31 PM

We've just returned from a two week trip to the west, and we are blessed with some very good HT friends who live nearby who took great care of our animals (not to mention mowing the lawn!). I hope we can return the favor someday.

Kmac15 · #3 07/01/08, 09:37 PM

we have a family with 2 teenage children that always need a little extra money LOL

The mom or dad drives them here (to young to drive yet) and supervises the chores, it includes collecting the eggs, which they get to keep.

We go off for up to one week, but do the chores our selves on the day we leave and the day we get back

It would cost us $18 a day to board the outside dog and they do all the chores including playing with the dog for 30 minutes for $20 a day

Shadow · #4 07/01/08, 09:39 PM

Homesteaders who have animals don't get much vacation time. Next door neighbors have a couple hundred head of cows twenty five plus years I havew known them they have been gone over night twice. Animals have needs 7/24, you can not go off and leave your children and they eventually get older smarter and you can sometimes leave they by their selves, animals never get smarter and they can get in more trouble than you can immagine. Thats why we have 120 acres and no animals, tried children and they were a lot of care so me and the wife decided no animals.

CowgirlGloria · #5 07/01/08, 09:44 PM

We get away to see family once in awhile for a week or so. When we do, a neighbor takes care of our animals. In return, we take care of their animals when they must travel.

We have dairy goats, chickens, horses, and dogs, as do our neighbors.

r2dab2da · #6 07/01/08, 10:01 PM

Wow you guys are fast. Thanks so much!

MariaAZ · #7 07/01/08, 11:27 PM

Many years ago we had a friend and his dog stay with us for awhile. He would take care of our critters so we could go on vacations, and it was lovely as he did a great job. The last vacation we were on was over 5 years ago, and the friend took care of the animals. He moved out of state shortly after, and we haven't gone anywhere (not even overnight) since. DH loves to travel so he goes and I stay home and pet sit. It's ok with me though, I'm not big on traveling.

However, sometimes I think how neat it was to have a built-in critter sitter again!

Minelson · #8 07/01/08, 11:35 PM

I have a friend who loves my animals and takes the greatest care of them. I am blessed

But I still don't like to go anywhere for more than a few days. Whenever I go anywhere I feel like I'm in a hurry to just get back home! So I don't leave very often....which is fine with me.

Judy in IN · #9 07/02/08, 05:14 AM

What kind of animals are we talking about?

If you've got cattle or horses, brush goats or sheep, you can put a float on the water tank, and go on vacation in the summer when there's pasture.

For chickens, you can have a big waterer, or more than one, and find a neighbor who wants the eggs for free. That's if you free feed, of course.

If you are milking, or have rabbits, I'd say you're stuck, unless you can find someone good at those things, and pay them.

brosil · #10 07/02/08, 05:56 AM

4-H kids mostly. One of our friends from bowling sometimes or my cousins watch from time to time.

SFM in KY · #11 07/02/08, 06:20 AM

I'm third generation of a ranching family and vacations are usually not practical for most unless you have farm/ranch neighbors ... or enough family that you can divide up the vacation time.

As a child, we usually managed one 3-day weekend per summer as a "vacation" ... we had no house pets, range cattle and pasture horses were fine for a few days and we could leave out "extra" food for the farm dog and barn cats.

As an adult, with confined animals that required twice-daily care, vacations are possible if we have reliable and experienced help and even then I'm not very comfortable leaving for more than a day or two at a time. Most of the vacations I've had as an adult ... when we had a significant number of animals ... have been divided. If DH needs to go somewhere/ do something I stay home ... if I need to go somewhere, he stays home.

reese · #12 07/02/08, 06:47 AM

Vacation?! What's that?!

No, really, we don't take vacations.

Reese

Beltane · #13 07/02/08, 06:48 AM

We vacation at home.

My mother and sister watch our eight greyhounds when we visit my husband's parents on the Cape during the holidays and my neighbor/tenant takes care of the farm animals. We are truely blessed.

Callieslamb · #14 07/02/08, 07:21 AM

I have a lovely neighbor that loves fresh eggs and berries. She brings her grandkids down to the "farm" and they care for the chickens for me. I can leave them for about three days at at time without someone watching them but don't like to. This month, the neighbor is going to vacation and I will watch her dog, cat, hamster, etc for her and water her flowers.

I have tried hiring it out, but haven't been fortunate in those I have hired - and I only have simple chores that need done. Even teenagers needing the money would need to be closely screened for work ethic and thoroughness.

This issue has stopped us from getting more animals at this time. We wish it were different, but reality is that we just can't be here all the time.

Scrounger · #15 07/02/08, 08:08 AM

We don't take a "vacation" but, when we need to be gone for a couple days, then our neighbor helps out. I have family nearby, but they are afraid to be seen on my place.
Thankfully, the neighbor is a better neighbor then anyone could ever hope for.

FreeRanger · #16 07/02/08, 08:29 AM

The livestock is not a problem. We have been gone for up to 12 days with sheep, chickens and turkeys. It's the dogs that are the problem.

Give the sheep a big enough pasture (with good fencing) two water tanks (one with a hose and float valve).

Give the poultry free range with MANY water sources. We have plenty of hanging feeds and free feed them. If you lock up the poultry. Make sure you give multiple water sources. Throw the eggs out when you get home or feed them to the dogs.

Working cats can provide for themselves (we free feed them anyway). Working dogs need daily attention so you must hire someone for them.

So for us, it's them dogs that are the problem, not the livestock.

Earthbound · #17 07/02/08, 09:15 AM

We don't take vacations either, last day away from home was 7 years ago for an overnighter and we did'nt have chickens then.
corry

chickenista · #18 07/02/08, 12:12 PM

We don't vacation either. BUT... We do go places separately. Recently I had to go back up the mountain for a family crisis and DH stayed home and cared for the farm. I will go back again in a week or so.
And I hope that DH can take DS and go home to his family for a bit maybe while I stay home. we do not any folks here that could/would care for our animals.. though at our old place we had friends that lived off the grid and they LOVED!!!! to come stay while we went away.. hot showers, refrigeration and the holy grail.... TV!!!!

RiverPines · #19 07/02/08, 12:16 PM

We also don't take vacations. We don't go anywhere for longer than we can, a few hours at a time.

michiganfarmer · #20 07/02/08, 12:24 PM

We almost never go anywhere, but when we do, my dad and I trade back and forth