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- #1,681
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
I have the same worries, Deb. We're pretty well set up to leave the animals on their own for a few days, but this will be a 7 day trip so I'll definitely need some help. I have some neighbors that love the animals, and even more, love the freebies that come with them, lol! However, I don't feel comfortable asking them to do everything that I do. Sooooo, we take great pains to have things set up so that it's minimal work for anyone. And, BONUS, the more we do the easier it is on US also.
We've already got auto waterers for almost every pen. I'll pick up a couple more and get them set up. The biggest chore is a new nipple water system for the quail - DH ordered parts for that last night. That will take care of ALL the watering duties and will take a huge load off. Waaaay back before I had the float waterers it could take 45 minutes to an hour to get water in each separate pen. The pastured critters have access to the pond, which is completely full, and a large trough with a float waterer on it too. Then there's the mini-pond in the front barnyard that helps too. It doesn't hold water indefinitely, but it will hold for 3 or 4 days. All the neighbors will have to do is check on the waterers and make sure nothing has sprung a leak.
Dogs have auto feeders. They won't be too happy about that though because they'll have to eat dry food while we're gone and they're accustomed to having a fresh meal most days, lol. Maddie, the LGD, is on her annual summer diet anyway. She just doesn't eat a lot in the summer.
Chickens are almost all free-ranging now, but the others will have gravity feeders set up for them. I'm considering setting up a deer feeder that will dispense corn for the free rangers so they won't feel so left out!
I'll pick up some round bales (need to do that anyway) and all the pastured goats and horses will have free access to a bale. Not sure they even need it because the grass is absolutely lush right now. Many times the horses don't even come up when it's feeding time.
The mama's and baby goats that are in the front barnyard will also have free access to hay and self-feeders full of alfalfa pellets.
I don't think anything will starve while we're gone. The neighbors won't have to do much more than just verify that all waterers are functioning and that the critters are healthy. I usually call my vet before I go on a trip and authorize the neighbors to call him out if there are any problems. He's fine with me paying him when I get back.
By golly - I think we can do this!
We've already got auto waterers for almost every pen. I'll pick up a couple more and get them set up. The biggest chore is a new nipple water system for the quail - DH ordered parts for that last night. That will take care of ALL the watering duties and will take a huge load off. Waaaay back before I had the float waterers it could take 45 minutes to an hour to get water in each separate pen. The pastured critters have access to the pond, which is completely full, and a large trough with a float waterer on it too. Then there's the mini-pond in the front barnyard that helps too. It doesn't hold water indefinitely, but it will hold for 3 or 4 days. All the neighbors will have to do is check on the waterers and make sure nothing has sprung a leak.
Dogs have auto feeders. They won't be too happy about that though because they'll have to eat dry food while we're gone and they're accustomed to having a fresh meal most days, lol. Maddie, the LGD, is on her annual summer diet anyway. She just doesn't eat a lot in the summer.
Chickens are almost all free-ranging now, but the others will have gravity feeders set up for them. I'm considering setting up a deer feeder that will dispense corn for the free rangers so they won't feel so left out!
I'll pick up some round bales (need to do that anyway) and all the pastured goats and horses will have free access to a bale. Not sure they even need it because the grass is absolutely lush right now. Many times the horses don't even come up when it's feeding time.
The mama's and baby goats that are in the front barnyard will also have free access to hay and self-feeders full of alfalfa pellets.
I don't think anything will starve while we're gone. The neighbors won't have to do much more than just verify that all waterers are functioning and that the critters are healthy. I usually call my vet before I go on a trip and authorize the neighbors to call him out if there are any problems. He's fine with me paying him when I get back.
By golly - I think we can do this!
