Do vacations and homesteading mix?

If we have to leave for any long term trips we hire a local person we trust to care for all out animals. It's worth the cost to pay them and I know we will still have all our animals when we return.

We've pondered this dilemma as well. We would be hobby or part-time farmers (yeah, I know I'll have to hand back my junior homesteader's card now for that admission!) and at our ages (mid 40's) by the time we realize the dream of having our own little farm, we'll probably be around retirement age too As much as I think how neat it would be to raise chickens, goats, rabbits, etc. I'm also thinking they may not work well with our goal of doing a bit of traveling. So, we've also talked about not raising animals (big rockpile's plan looks pretty darned good!) so that when the harvest is done we have some time to travel without worrying about how we'll deal with animals. We're pretty far away from having to make those decisions, but it's relieving to hear that others are facing the same dilemma!

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Ever tried? Ever failed? No Matter, try again, fail again. Fail better.

- Samuel Beckett

I have a lot of family near by, and we help each other out with chores as needed. It does make it easier for me to "but out" for a vacation ... when I can afford it.

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"Luck is the residue of design" - Branch Rickey

Like Chewie said..
Separate vacations! It works out very nicely for us and great for DS. I take him somewhere and DH does the farm stuff and then DH takes him somewhere and I stay home.
I dunno... we like it.

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The rockyes in the winter time out Co way not me

Our vacations have never consisted of more then 2 or 3 days at a time. So it's not hard for us to find someone to take care of what ever we might happen to have on the place which is mainly just chickens and the watch dog (sets and watches anybody come and go).

We consider ourselves as homesteaders as we have lived out in the country all of our lives but we are not ranchers, or big time farmers. We raise a big garden, have a few chickens for our own eggs, and finish a hog out whenever we need some more pork on the table. We buy half a beef from either my uncle or a nearby rancher occasionally for the freezer. Also, I try to do a lot of fishing and hunting which takes up more of my spare time then to take a vacation and go on some long trip somewhere.

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r.h. in oklahoma

Raised a country boy, and will die a country boy.

as a few have also said, i enjoy my homesteading lifestyle enough that leaving it isn't something i need to get away from. chores aren't a chore to me, i love my 'chores.' (ok, tonight with subzero temps and high winds, not so fun, but...) i am very content to be home.

I agree, I crossed the rockies south of Denver on a bike back in 83, in AUGUST, ran into snow and nearly froze up there. No way am I going to the rockies in the winter time! Since then I either go in the summer crossing up north across the basin or way south, on hwy 10.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

It's sub zero now, and I've been thinking about this the last few days and here's the results and a couple ideas:

If you live in the northern areas you actually NEED a vacation of some sort (even if it's just a weekend in town) during the winter months. Weeks on end of overcast, snow, wind and cold are not pleasant. During the spring and summer months it's not something you think about...too much fun on the farm. Planting, gathering in the produce, watching babies being born and playing in the field, picnics, swimming in the pond, fishing for a day...you get the idea.

So. Here's the plan. Chickens can live quite comfortably without human intervention if they have thawed water and plenty of food. Putting flakes of hay inthe coop gives them something to do. TWO waterers with water coming from a continuous source for one, and the other a backup of some sort...redundancy is your friend in this. Two feeders topped off. AND a neighbor who will go over every couple of days.

Pigs. Buy weaners in the spring. Slaughter in Fall. no problems with the vacation.

Goats. Since you're only using the milk for yourself, and not going to be raising goats for sale, or selling milk...how about working out a barter deal with a local goat dairy? (or a neighbor who has goats). You raise a pig for them and they provide you with X quarts of milk per week. OR:

Work on cultivating a neighbor/friend who will take your goats for the week or two you'll be away onto THEIR farm. The goats would be kept in a separate pen or stall/area most likely. They get the milk while you're away, and you bring your own feed, etc...AND you bring them something back from the vacation (or pay them..whatever works)

I'm telling ya. Right now Hawaii is looking REAL good! Heck. Even Kansas would be great...no offence, kansas.....

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"A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” - Ansel Adams
(and a lot of luck - Wisconsin Ann)
Rabbits anyone? RabbitTalk.com

I'm lucky to have my son living next door. He's a great helper with the animals and watches them when I need to get away.

We don't take vacations. I take what I call mini vacations when I get away for a day or two.

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Not going away isn't an option since DH's family lives on the opposite coast. We hire a house sitter well in advance and try to time it so she doesn't have to milk - although she is quite willing to do so.

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Wags Ranch Nigerians


"The Constitution says to promote the general welfare, not to provide welfare!" ~ Lt. Col Allen West

We vacation in summer.

Dogs run free on the invisible fence, a friend stops by a couple times a week and fills their water and food.

Goats get a fresh round bale before we go, are on an automatic water bowl which drips, and that makes a little puddle which makes water for the chickens who...

Don't get fed in the summer anyways, and can earn their keep by providing eggs which go to whoever is feeding the dogs twice a week.

Works great for up to two weeks at a time.

We let the kid goats take care of the milkers while we are gone. Not conventional but it works for us.

Pete

I can find people to help with the animals, but my wife does not trust anyone (except her dad) with the DOGS!! I don't mind not traveling if I don't have to, so I am sending my wife, and MIL on a cruise in January. We usually have to go on one vacation a year but told the wife I am to busy this year so MIL gladly took my place. I might just have to fly to orlando in a couple of weeks to support my Iowa Hawkeyes in their bowl game though.

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IOWA

I always thought that once we get onto our land it would be good to get someone renting a cabin/trailer/room or something. The rent could be cheap, but with chores connected (very specific so no one would feel taken advantage of). That way they would know the farm & animals and would be available when we were not around. It may be hard to find the right person, but that might depend on where you live and what else is available.

Peace - Cathryn

Heleand Scott Nearing were of Big Rockpile's opinion- you don't own animals, animals own you. They were vegan type vegetarians as a deliberate decision so they COULD travel in the winter.

My advice is, go see the Rocky Mountains, go camp in Canada and get it all out of your system before starting with animals. Once you are knee deep in homesteading there's always "something" that needs to be completed "before winter" or "before it gets too hot". As a result vacations are constantly getting put on the back burner.

Dh and I are both ex-army. We've done enough traveling to last a life time so feel quite content to stay and put down some roots now. But we did choose to settle in a place that had local attractions we enjoy - blue grass and old time mountain music and lots of other artsy stuff going on. An evening out in town about 20 miles away is as good as a vacation to us and we don't have to worry about the animals or finding someone to watch them.

So, get the big stuff out of the way and then choose a homestead place within driving distance of things you enjoy so you won't feel resentful if circumstances keep you from taking longer trips.

Pauline

I dun think so, lucy.

my grandparents were *homesteaders* for their entire 75+years. my grandmother only worked outside the home until marriage and my grandfather usually kept a part time job at least.

they owned 60 acres and house that was paid for with cash and farmed it including pigs, cows, etc. in the 20 something years I was priveleged to enjoy their company I saw them one time at christmas (we drove THERE) and one time at thanksgiving (my grandmother took the bus here). they never made it to a single wedding or birth including their own sons and grandchildren. jersey for personal use had to be milked everyday is the thing that kept them tied the most. and the fact that they were just dir poor with rarely to pennies to rub together. (and to proud to accept money from their son).

Realistically,

If you want to travel, don't raise livestock. Just raise crops. Then you can travel all winter if you want to. If you get into livestock, your travelling days are basically over. This is the voice of experience speaking...

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[COLOR="Blue"]Expect Little - That way you will be seldom disappointed.../COLOR]

We have a trusted animal like person take care of our animals when we are gone. It was a lot of easier when the kids were home, but we didn't travel much when they were around. Now I have one in school in Indiana and my son attends the University of Mississippi, so guess what? Now we want to travel to see them. Our slow time is winter, so it is easier.

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Hillbilly and Proud of It!

Many years ago, a friend moved in with us when he hit rough times. Fortunately he liked animals; had a dog himself, that lived here too. The one side benefit we never anticipated was having a built-in animal caretaker. We actually did quite a bit of traveling while he lived here; much more than we did before or since.

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Ever tried? Ever failed? No Matter, try again, fail again. Fail better.

- Samuel Beckett