Yes, You Can Still Go on Vacation When You Have A Farm. Here’s How.

Learning how to go on vacation when you have a farm is tricky. Owning a small farm with animals doesn’t mean you have to give up the things you love to do. Yes, it will take more planning than just packing your bags, but with a little organization you’ll be on the road again.

When we wanted to start raising and growing our own food, the one thing holding me back was our love of travel. Living only four hours from Florida’s beautiful beaches meant we visited the coast often. That was something I didn’t want to give up. Turns out, we didn’t have to.

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A Farm to Enrich your life, Not Consume It

If you are wanting a small farm to enrich your life and your food quality, you can do it without giving up the things you love. The fear of being tied down to your lifestyle can be paralyzing. Raising animals takes daily time and commitment. Growing a garden also takes maintenance and time. In today’s world finding the margin to give to those things is hard. This is why convenience food is so popular. But the truth is, raising and growing your own food can fit into a a busy lifestyle. Not only will it fit, it will make it so much better. You will find so much satisfaction in growing something in the dirt, or successfully raising an animal. Growing and raising food is a very basic trait of what it means to be human. You’ll also have more food security having learned the skills you need to survive. You can do this and still take vacations. With a lot of thought, and a little planning you’ll can get the best of both worlds.

Being Choosy with Your Animals

This is the biggest thing you can do to maintain your lifestyle while still raising your own food. Homesteaders by nature want to raise all the animals, but that just isn’t realistic if you work full time and live an active lifestyle. If you are wanting to take vacations with a farm, this is something you really need to put thought into. Consider the animals you would use the most around your home. Also, think about the space that you have to raise animals in, the maintenance of the animals you want to raise, and the realistic time you have to devote to the animals. For example, if fresh milk is important to you and your family, a dairy cow may be your first choice. Dairy animals take a lot of commitment and must be milked daily. This may not fit into your lifestyle. Chickens would be a lower maintenance animal. They produce eggs and meat, take up less space, and only require water and feeding. They are also acceptable in some HOAs, and produce a nice manure for you garden. The point is to really research the care required verses the benefit of the animal prior to jumping in.

Setting Up Your System to Vacation

Setting up systems on your farm is one of the most important things you can do to keep some freedom. This can cost a little more up front, but will save you in time over the long run. Having good systems in place for watering, feeding, and ranging ensures that your animals are happy while you are away from home.

Animal Water

• Waterers: The most important resource our farm animals need is access to is water. Large waterers are a must if you are away from your property for an extended period of time. These can be purchased online and are specific to the type of animals you raise. I have a previous post about our DIY Pig Waterer . It is very easy to make, and gives our animals access to clean water for several days at a time. Providing chickens with water can be done in many different ways as well. These large waterers are what we use on our farm, but there are also many DIY tutorials out there. For larger livestock a water trough with a float valve attached to a hose will ensure that your water is refilled when it gets too low. If you have a small pond on your property that’s even better.

Animal Feeders

• Feeders: If you are going on vacation with a farm, providing adequate food for your animals while you are away is important as well. If you have livestock like cow that graze on pasture, this isn’t as much of an issue. I tend to choose animals that graze well because they are more self sufficient and fit into our busy lives. Check out my post about our American Guinea Hogs. However, not all animals will forage well. Large feeders are a must if you are going to be away from your farm. This large chicken feeder is what I personally use, and will last my flock for several days if needed. They are also rodent proof, which is a real problem with leaving a larger quantity of food freely accessible. The major problem I’ve found with this feeder is the feed getting stuck in the angle of the feeder. The angle is in place to prevent the rodents, however at times the feed has to be manually pushed down. Large pig feeders are also available if you have a breed that doesn’t forage well. Make sure to install any feeder before you plan to leave and watch your animals closely to make sure they know how to use the feeder. Give them a week or so to adjust. I use a feeding trough on my farm. I find that the pigs will over eat if given free access to food. However, the feeding trough requires someone to come and feed the pigs daily.

Garden Irrigation

• Irrigation: The garden can be the hardest to plan for when going on a vacation with a small farm. Having a garden requires constant maintenance if you want to produce an abundance of food. There’s an old saying that goes ” you can have a garden, and you can travel, but you can’t do both”. The garden is often times more work than the livestock. Unfortunately if you are going to be away for an extended period of time, your garden will most likely take a hit. However, you can safely leave for a few days if you time things right, and have an irrigation system in place. Your garden won’t thrive without some type of water source. Fortunately there are many different options on the market. My favorite is a soaker hose with a timer system. The hose can be placed right at the base of your plants ensuring the water reaches the roots. Attach your hose to a timer which cuts on and off automatically, and you’ll have happy plants with less maintenance. There are also overhead sprinklers on the market that will reach a long distance around your garden.

Chicken Care

• Egg collection: Lets not forget about those beautiful farm-fresh eggs you’ve worked so hard to get. Leaving them in the nesting boxes for a couple of days will attract pests you don’t want in your coop. They will also ruin from the elements. Even worse, they can entice a curious chicken into egg eating. This is a contagious trait you don’t want spreading throughout your flock. It’s best to have the eggs collected while you’re away, but that isn’t always an option. A slanted laying box may be the answer if you don’t have a friend to collect eggs for you. When the chicken lays the egg, it safely rolls out of the nest and into a closed box system. This protects the egg from predators, or an egg eating chicken. Your eggs will remain safely in the box until they are collected.

• Automatic Chicken Door: If you are going on vacation with a small farm, your chickens will still need to go outside the coop. This little automatic chicken door has been the single best investment we’ve made in the systems on our farm. The door is set to sunrise and sunset, and will save you from letting your chickens out every morning. Chickens will naturally return to the coop at dusk every evening. After the sun goes down, the door will automatically close locking them safely inside. It’s perfect for late night sporting events, dates, or vacations.

Boredom Busters

Leaving animals in a confined space for an extended period of time can have some negative consequences. This is especially true for chickens. Chickens will pick on each other and resort to some pretty violent behaviors if they are too bored. Boredom busters are a great idea for your coop if you plan on leaving them in it for a trip. This can be hanging vegetables, a swing, or even a new log to perch on. My favorite thing to do when I am leaving my chickens is to give them a fresh bale of straw. They enjoy scratching around in the straw for hours, and it’s a great way to keep them entertained while you go on vacation.

Get Help From Neighbors and Friends to go on Vacation

Going on vacation when you have a farm will still take some help Even if you have systems in place, you will still need someone to check in on your animals. Things happen when you’re away that will require intervention. This is where a good friend or neighbor can be very valuable. If you are leaving for a long weekend, maybe have someone check in. Offer them some produce or eggs for their time. If you are leaving for an extended amount of time, hiring a farm sitter is probably your best option. Ask around and get the references of someone who is trustworthy and knows how to care for farm animals. A sitter will cost more money, but it will be worth it in the long run for your peace of mind.

Plan Your Vacation at the Times Your Farm is Less Busy

The final tip for vacationing when you have a farm is to plan your trips when your farm is less busy. For example: We raise meat chickens on pasture in the spring and summer. This is very labor intensive and requires daily moving of the birds. Our garden is also very difficult to leave when it is thriving. Trips in the fall, winter, and very early spring are easier for our family. There isn’t as much farm maintenance happening. Look at your lifestyle, and when you can safely leave the farm. Try to schedule your vacations then. You will have more peace and be able to relax knowing your farm is alright.

I hope this inspires you to move ahead with starting your little farm. Not only will it fit into your life, it will completely change it for the better!