Do vacations and homesteading mix?

[Farmer_John]

My wife and I just purchased 10 acres of farm land. We'd really like to raise all of our own food. I'm tired of spending good money for tainted food and drugged up meat. We're planning on having chickens for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat, a couple of pigs each summer, and two goats for milk. My wife also wants to grow our own fruits and vegetables.

The problem is that neither one of us has seen the Rocky Mountains. My wife has never seen the ocean. I would love to go camping in Canada. We're really excited about starting a new life style, but do we have to give up an occasional vacation once we get livestock? My thought was to time things so that once every two years we could sell off our stock or slaughter it for the freezer, then go on a two week vacation and restock over the next month or two when we get back.

Has any one else faced this issue? Any ideas on how to strike a balance?

Thanks.

[chewie]

hmm. not sure about selling off your stock every couple years. its taken me over a full year to just get started with my goats, and if i thought of selling them in the next year or so, no way! some things take so long to get where you want to be, that starting over just isn't going to work out very well. IMHO.

some things you could plan to butcher/can/freeze before a trip. but, once you get to your place, plan to take a year or two to really get it going. by then, you may have found a neighbor trusty enough to trade some time or just pay them to watch over your place. i know of some who plan their trips when they have goats dried up.

us, we have rather stumbled across a situation that probably wouldn't work for most--we wind up taking our trips separately. it was never intentional, and someday i would like to go on a trip WITH hubby again, but right now he and i dont' have the means to do so. plus i have interests more in one area where his are in a totally diff. place, so we take turns doing things. i know it sounds nuts and some ppl hear that and think uh-oh, one step from being divorced, but nah, this is just working out for now. keep in mind we do alot together on daily basis too, and make day trips together plenty.

[Sonshine]

Our neighbor takes care of our chickens for the eggs they get while we're gone.

[Kmac15]

we have friends that were taking care of our animals for us but found out they are planning to sell and move closer to town. Not sure what we are going to do now.

[Lizza]

It's a problem. For something like a small flock of chickens it is usually not too big of a deal to find someone. To find someone to milk goats? Good luck. Selling is really not an option once you have good breeding stock. You can basically schedule vacations around when the least amount of work is (like now) when there is no one to milk and nothing to water every day like a half acre garden. Just basic feeding chores. Being away a long time would be hard at any time. I don't have any really good answers. I saw a "farm caretaker" advertised in a local paper to take care of the larger farm animals while you are away, I haven't called them but there may be something like that in your area?

[Jen H]

One of my neighbors and I trade off. They head out for a couple of weeks, I watch their hair sheep and horse. We head out, they watch our cashmere goats and chickens.

It works really, really well for us and our neighbors. We make sure and bring back goodies from wherever it is we've been, but that's the only payment. Perhaps you could work something similar out with a neighbor where you're moving?

[cc]

What is a vacation? DH and I have taken a couple of short weekends, leave Sat AM after feeding all the animals then be back Sunday PM to feed again. Horses don't like having to wait all day for their food but they are not without feeding any day. We have a neighbor who makes sure that everyone stays in the pasture and checks on them while we are gone. I just hate to impose on them to feed our animals along with theirs. If it was an emergency I am sure they would just as I would step in for them.

[Wisconsin Ann]

We traveled thousands of miles each year before we bought our little farm. Back and forth between Wisconsin and desert SW, Texas, Florida, West coast, New england. Had planned a 2month trip to alaska. All that changed after we got farm animals on the place. (our dogs would just get loaded into the van and go along )

That being said...we've found that while we can't travel as often or as long, we can still go for a week (maybe 2) at a time. You need to cultivate friends in the area your farm is in.

We recently went on a week long trip. Neighbor farmer drove over once a day(while he was tending to the beefcattle in the nearby field) to feed/water/check on all the chickens and turkeys (5 coops). We made it as easy as we could..Metal feed bins next to each coop. No complicated written instructions, just "fill the feeders. fill the waterers".

You'll have to time your vacations toward the Fall or Winter. Easier to find a local farmer who's got slightly more time. Or a teenager willing to do chores for Christmas money, etc. Spring will be planting time and time for babies to arrive

Milking is another whole issue. I used to farm sit for a friend, every year for 5 years, who had 110 sheep and 10 dairy goats (and llamas, chickens). Took me an hour to do chores morning and again at night...mainly because of the goats. A couple years of this and I found out that a neighbor was willing to milk the goats every night in exchange for the milk. WORKED FOR ME!!

so...don't give up your dreams. The farm will take a LOT of work and a LOT of money (stuff to be built, things needing repair, animals needing vet work). You may even find that you no longer WANT to go anywhere There's something about sitting on your own front porch, looking at your own big garden, listening to your own chickens clucking around....real peaceful.

[Callieslamb]

It would take you six months to start chicks and get them old enough to lay.

Look for a 4H kid in your area or a home school kid that needs some money. I have found them to be good helpers. When I leave on a short trip, my neighbor comes over and makes sure the chickens have water. She gets the eggs and her grandkids are exposed to "farming".

With good planning, it can be done so that hired help mostly has to check water, feed,etc. Look at your schedule and find a way. Going to the ocean in winter isn't a bad thing. You might have to limit the trip to 1 week at a time. It would be much easier to do.

[Yvonne's hubby]

there are several options for vacation time while tending the ol homestead. Summer is not one of them due to gardening season, other than maybe taking a couple days off, when i goats, chickens, garden along with the cows, I had a couple of neighbors that I could trust to handle our critters and we would be gone for 2 or 3 weeks on vacations. I loved going in the late fall, before the kidding season started. Shortly after first frost is good. canning is done, critters are pretty much in their vacation mode too. If you have older kids that can be left at home, they will be very familiar with taking care of the homestead. If not, you need to cultivate friendships with others in your area and exchange vacation times with them, you taking care of their place while they go, they can take care of yours while you are out and about.

[pookshollow]

If you have milk goats, you should be able to schedule their kidding so that they are both dry at the same time, or both nursing kids at the same time. That's when you can take a small vacation. It's just a matter of feed and water.

I'm lucky. I've found someone I know and trust not too far from here who does farmsitting, and she raises goats (a very well-respected breeder). If we ever want to get away, I can get her to come and see to the farm, and not worry.

[stanb999]

Homesteading will eliminate all excess income.... So vacations will be a thing of your suburban past.

[wendle]

First I choose my desired destination. Then I google it under images. I find a nice picture of the place and use it as my computer background for a few weeks. In the meantime I use the money that would have been spent on traveling, hotels, etc. and buy something useful for the farm. This way I can keep on enjoying my vacation for years to come, and I still get to look at the pictures.

[ErinP]

As other have mentioned, we have friends.

We have several neighbors/friends that we trade help with, including when someone is gone. It's a little more to juggle than someone who lives in town, but it's not a big deal.

[big rockpile]

When I started getting in Bad health we got rid off all our animals.I've thought about getting some more as matter fact did get some Chickens then sold them.

Like my wife says other people won't take care of them like you do.If you are wanting to go anywhere you really can't have animals.

So my place ios geard for hunting.Plus I take off don't have to worry about any animals.

big rockpile

[Rowdy]

It can be hard. I took almost two weeks of vacation in September, and I'm still a little behind because of it. I paid my brother to come check on things, feed the animals, etc, but during the two weeks I was away my to do list go pretty long.

Then there is the worry. Even with someone you fairly trust watching over things you have to kinda wonder if anything will happen.

At the same time though, I had a blast in Yellowstone and am glad I went.

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by Farmer_John

My wife and I just purchased 10 acres of farm land. We'd really like to raise all of our own food. I'm tired of spending good money for tainted food and drugged up meat. We're planning on having chickens for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat, a couple of pigs each summer, and two goats for milk. My wife also wants to grow our own fruits and vegetables.

The problem is that neither one of us has seen the Rocky Mountains. My wife has never seen the ocean. I would love to go camping in Canada. We're really excited about starting a new life style, but do we have to give up an occasional vacation once we get livestock? My thought was to time things so that once every two years we could sell off our stock or slaughter it for the freezer, then go on a two week vacation and restock over the next month or two when we get back.

Has any one else faced this issue? Any ideas on how to strike a balance?

Thanks.

Have lots of kids and in about 16-20 years you might be able to go to a local state park for a night.

[tab]

I second what Beeman says. The only way we can leave for more than a day is to have ds here. He's all grown up now but that has worked well since he turned about 17. He may be moving next door , , . Maybe adopt?
I also agree with Wendle and Rowdy.....it is tough to do.

[Helena]

Yes, it is difficult and a differnet lifestyle. Dogs can go to a kennel..no problem. We have a terrible time. About once a year we ask a fellow homesteader we have known for years to do our animals but he does live 15 miles one way so we don't ask often. He lives closer to town where we travel for work and shop and we do his animals probably 5 times a year for him..but that's not a problem for us. Both of us have goats, chicknes and cats and us also horses. Very hard to find time aways together for sure. We even have to plan our goats kidding around weddings, graduations and births of grandchildren. So it is very frustrating at times. We sometimes think of taking a break from the animals for a couple of years to travel and just enjoy the garden...but we never seem to be able to find homes for the horses and we have had some of our goats for over 10 years so they are like family and friends. So..there is a lot to consider. Even if you have friends to help you out..you can't expect them to help out on your schedule at times too. When our grandson in SC had to have unexpected surgery for a tumor on his brain and we drove 14 hours straight from PA our friend was more than happy to help...but what if he had been aways and we were responsible for his homestead too. Also, during the winter we never go away because of our wood heat for the house. Have no central heat so we don't dare go far because of the wood stoves. Would love to spend Christmas with the family in Sc but...it can't happen. So think things over..life is good on the homestead but it does have it's ups and downs too.

[highlands]

Homesteading? Vacations? We are on vacation. We live and work in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Other people come here to vacation. Why would I want to travel somewhere else?