Curiosity question about animals

ChanceTheRapids · #1 01/26/13, 03:47 PM

I don't have land, but my family has a plan on acquiring land and a house w/o going into debt. But I got to thinking, if we were to find a REALLY good deal on a tract of land about 15-30 miles away, how possible is it to have animals on it?

Specifically, if we had a herd of cattle or a couple of pigs, or even some chickens, how realistic is it to only go out there and tend to the animals every couple of days?

A local guy has about 20 head of cattle in a field near my house, and I've helped him with a few things, but I am not sure how often he shows up to check on them. I know he has automatic waterers and the cattle have ample food. I'm just curious if this is even a possibility.

bassmaster17327 · #2 01/26/13, 04:12 PM

You just have to decide if it would be worth it for you personally. Would the food you raise be worth the time/expesive of driving out there

Callieslamb · #3 01/26/13, 04:39 PM

For how long? Could you afford to have them all disappear ? Will you fences keep the m in without a doubt? I wouldn't want my animals that far away even if I were going to check on them every day. Not that it can't be done, I just couldn't afford to lose the calf that got it's head stuck in the fence or the pig that got out and lost.

SFM in KY · #4 01/26/13, 05:26 PM

Also depends on location (hot summers, what happens if the water tank springs a leak and they don't have water for several days and in cold climates, what happens in a blizzard if the electricity goes off and the water freezes over for several days) ... how much acreage, what kind of shelter on the land, what kind of livestock.

ChanceTheRapids · #5 01/26/13, 05:46 PM

Drats, lost my reply.

All very good input, thanks everyone. The land would, ideally, eventually be used as the homestead (once a house could be built on it) but that may take some time. And I would feel terrible if I lost an animal thanks to my negligence of missing day to go out there.

Thanks again for the input everyone.

CaliannG · #6 01/26/13, 08:59 PM

There are some ranches out here where the spreads are a good bit apart. Especially the larger ones, with 200 acres here, and 400 acres there...and the owners live 200 miles away.

These people have "Ranch Managers" whose *job* it is to visit each spread 2 or 3 times a day.

But only the really large outfits can afford the kinds of losses that such things entail. If you are big, you have "loss percentages" that fall within "acceptable ranges".

But if you only have 10 cows? You want them close at hand. What if one of them starts labor right after you have left for the day, and by the time you come back the next day, both she and the calf are dead due to a mal-presentation that, if you had been there, would have taken you 5 minutes to fix? You have just lost 10% of your breeding stock and 10% of your calf crop...which are unacceptable percentages even for a large ranch.

Chickens? They do pretty well on their own....unless a fox, coyote, raccoon, possum, or weasel happens to get into their coop...then you might show up to an entire flock of dead chickens.

Goats and sheep? You get the problems you might have with the cattle, AND the problems you might have with the chickens.

So, unless you can run enough animals that you can absorb losses pretty well, I would wait until you can be on the property.

LittleRedHen · #7 01/27/13, 10:32 AM

I contemplated this very thing the last few months. It had an excellent set up with good neighbors who would have helped keep an eye on things. In the end I decided that anything gained would be negated by a theft or a death that could have been prevented if they were watched daily. So in the end I decided it wasn't a very good idea and it was only 10 minutes away but to go there would add up quickly in gas and time

bja105 · #8 01/27/13, 03:18 PM

Our 5 horses live on our land, which is 60 miles from home. I could accept a 40% loss, but the darn things are here every weekend.

We only visit on weekends, but it works out because our good neighbors make it work. The two Amish families next to us use our phone and freezer, and check on the house and horses for us. We have two stock tanks with electric heaters for water. The neighbors keep the water full, roll in a round bale as needed, and give a little grain if it is very cold. The horses have a run in shed and woods to get out of the wind, which they only use if it is very hot or very cold. We only feed them when the grass is not growing, which is November through March. It works well, because the neighbors are horse people, and they call me if there is anything I need to know. Usually he calls and tells me he has it taken care of.

In Spring, we will sell two horses and buy a few beef steers. I don't want a bull, and I can't count on timing a cow for AI if we only see her on weekends. We will probably overpay for a weaned steer, but feed will be free, at least the grass and hay is free.

We also have chickens and ducks, but they live at home. They can survive a weekend locked in the coop with full feeders, but I wouldn't trust them any longer. When we have meat chickens, we don't leave them for more than a day trip, since they need more care.

We would like to get goats, but not as absentees. I don't trust our fences and the neighbors have had coyote predation on their sheep. When we live here and have a barn, then we can have goats, sheep, rabbits, and breeding cows.

Miss Kay · #9 01/27/13, 06:48 PM

Animals would be a stretch but you could start your orchard and garden. Build a little tiny hut or cabin and then camp on weekends. We did that with our first farm and it was a blast. we looked forward to weekends so much that we sold our house in town and bought a fixer up trailer to live in until we could build. I would do it all over again if I was young.

lmrose · #10 01/27/13, 07:26 PM

I know there are folks who keep animals away from their homes but we could never do that. Too many things can happen. Fences break, cows or goats get out, coyotes kill livestock, animals give birth unexpectedly, water containers spill, injuries happen, thieves steal and the list goes on. I know My husband checks on our animals several times a day in the winter to be sure their water isn't frozen or to put them in the barn if the weather is severe or let them out on nice days. I couldn't imagine having them miles away and tending them every few days. It's not a good idea.