For whoever lives on a farm?

Question

what is it like living on one with the animals

Answer 1

I swear it is the funnest thing that I have ever done.  I can't imagine living anywhere else.  Yes it is hard work somtimes, but it is all worth it time and money.  I have to get up at 5:45 in the morning to do chores.  We raise beef cattle, it is so much fun, especially in the summer when I get to show the calves that we raise.  If you ever get the chance, or do live on a farm, a person really takes for granted how much space you can have to do any activities or ride bike, just whatever.  Showing calves is really fun taming the calf and becoming its friend.  It is really great, so if 4-H and FFA will be really fun next year!

Answer 2

Plain and simple, work and more work. The animals have to be fed everyday and the cow has to be milked every 12hours. The chickens have to have their eggs gathered, and all the critters have to have water. If that water is frozen , then its up  to me to break thru and that is a real chore. I love it though. I certaintly would not live anyother way. I depend on the animals and they depend on me. We have a great relationship. The rewards are great and the pay not so great. I grow all my own vegies and onions and alafalfa too, for the livestock, so I don`t have to buy all the hay.

Answer 3

I love your question, I'll star you; but I think my contacts won't be able to answer you.

Living here is absolutely great, I'm free, enjoy the nature, have a wonderful job. I do love it.

I was born here, my family owns the farm. My father started a dairy farm here at 1973 with only ten cows. I was born at 1975 (so, you know I'm 32) and went to school to a small town 5 minutes driving from here. I went to high school to the city, but always came on weekends. I studied Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine at university(it seems strange, but you'll understand soon), and came back to work at the dairy farm, by these time my father had bought some cows from Minnesota and Wisconsin. We went to Canada (Quebec) and bought more cows (we were more to live here), and I got married. My wife is from the small town, she works at a cheese factory from her family; sometimes I send milk to them.

Then, one of my 3 brothers got married too; and we started a poultry farm (it is here too).

I have two children, one boy and one girl, they love to live here; we can see many animals here: coyotes (many of them), owls, tlacuaches, rabitts, and amny others; besides those from the farm.

Then, another brother came from university and we started a new sheep farm; and the farm became an "Inc."

There is another brother at college, we are wondering what to star this time, probably a dairy goats farm.

As you can see, we love it. But there is more:

Right now, while I'm answering, I can see the cows been milked, just in front of me, I wish you could see them.

I have internet connection thanks to the "modern marvel" of cellular phones and Iusacell company (BAM, "Banda Ancha Móvil" or Mobile Broad Band), we don't have regular phone service here at the farm; we are located at central MÉXICO, at the state limits between Aguascalientes state and Jalisco state. From here I've gone driving to San Antonio, TX; and it takes about 12 hours to get there. And, by the way, we are not too differents, I visited some dairy farms at WI, OH, IN and MI last year,and there are not many differences (even their workers were mexicans too, just like the boys working here)

It has been a pleasure to answer.

Answer 4

Animals are fun but a lot of work. the babies are always the cutest of course. Animals don't always do what you want. it takes a long time to understand animals making them easier to handle.

Answer 5

Living on a ranch, in my case, is amazing. I would not trade it for anything in the world, except maybe more land to run my livestock on. I currently own horses and cattle, but dont have extra land for them to be on, so if you have not had the chance to be on a farm or ranch, you need to get off the couch and intern at one. There are many people who are willing to provide oppotunities to people who are expanding their knowledge.

Answer 6

A lot of work, mainly, however it is so rewarding that it is worth all the effort you have to put in.  If you have a pet you will understand, just multiply that by about 10,000. Imagine breaking the Ice on the pond 3 times a day, getting out in the ice and snow to feed whether you feel like it or not, find your chickens dead from the coyotes, finding your lamb killed by the neighbors pig...and sweating like one in the summer when you are working the herd in August and wait till you get to run down your goats when some fool runs off the road and through your fence...What is it like?  Heaven on earth! You have never tasted an egg till you eat one from a range hen!  Have you ever hand fed the bottle to a calf?  Baby pigs are more fun to play with than a cat...Yep...It's lot's of work but SO worth it! And yes, make a peacock mad and it will chase you!

Answer 7

Like Handyman says, it's a lot of work. Something always needs to be fixed or fed.  I only have horses on my farm, but they need to be taken care of 24/7/365.  There are no days off and you need to have the right clothes for bad weather and a cool hose for hot weather.

But I enjoy watching the horses in the pasture, getting to know them personally, and the satisfaction of having a place I am proud of.

Answer 8

I grew up on a dairy farm.  we had mostly cows, sometimes pigs, sometimes chickens, four dogs and about twenty cats.  I really enjoyed it growing up because I loved to play with the calves (baby cows), dogs and kittens.  When I was older, I joined 4-H (http://www.4husa.org/) and learned a lot about the responsibility that comes with caring for animals, as well as doing things for the community and having fun.  

Today, as an adult, I'm planning to take over my family farm when my parents retire.

(I do remember being afraid of the chickens, though, when I was very young.)

Answer 9

It's the best I'm 16 and have spent about 2/3 of my life on a farm or outside. Farming has been in my family as far back as I can trace. After my parents got devorced I moved off the the farm with my Mom and at first it was kinda nice, you know no more getting up at 4:00 to go out in 30 below weather to take care of the animals or going out at 1AM to chase after the cows in the woods in my pjs and untied/unlaced boots  because that one trouble maker broke down the fence again. But after awhile I realy missed it even the stuff I really hated. I gess the bad stuff just makes the good stuff all that much more worth while! Like watching the little calf you nursed back to health, grow in to a strong healthy cow and give birth to another little calf and provide milk for it and the family. Or haying in the swealtering heat in jeans and a long sleave shirt. But all your family and friends help out and you get to ride on the trailer and you borrow one of you brothers gloves so you can practice juggeling and you all stand up on the trailer while it's moving and pretend you're surfing. And then it get dark and the fire flys come out and it's the most magical sight you ever saw until your brother smooshes one all over his arm so it glows in the dark. So then 5 months later at 5 in the morning while your feeding the hay out to the cows you can look back, remember those times and take pride in the fact that your hard work is paying of.

Answer 10

It's both rewarding frustrating exciting and tiring all at once. We have 200 Angus cows who we calve out every year and raise the calves to market as fats. Plus we have 80 sows that farrow about twice a year and raise the hogs to finished weight as well. My kids show steers in the summer time, they of course are like pets. All the former show heifers are mostly all still friendly when you are working with them, which is sometimes an advantage and soemtimes not. It's rewarding to see a heifer calf born on the farm, raise it, retain it for a herd cow, and see it become a producing part of your herd. It's frustrating deal with animals who've tore down fence which you have to get back in, fix the fence and maybe go back the same day adn do the same thing....... it's frustrating to see a cow have her calf in a ditch and maybe a rain comes up and the calf drowns. The physical labor required is exhausting. Wathcing baby calves run in the pasture, tails up having a blast is cute. Watching your son win Grand Champion with his show steer is exciting.

Like all walks of life, it has it ups and downs. I didn't grow up on a farm, married into it, but honestly couldn't imagine doing anything else. I think it teaches kids responsibility and reality, confidence and humbleness and a million other things that I am not going to fill up my space listing off.

Answer 11

My place has 30 pigs, 13 horses, 40 chickens, 10 rabbits, 10 cats, and 2 dogs.....

I have hatched out baby chicks in my kitchen many times.  My Border Collie dog always lets me know when they start hatching. She will sit and watch the ones that get put in the pet carrier for hours on end.

Then there are the piglets....this year I expect to farrow a little over 200 piglets....if all goes well....the piglets are so much fun and I have had to bring in quite a few into the house to warm them up faster than the heat lamps will provide or to bottle feed a weak piglet.  I have raised a few in the house as well.  Last year I got a call from a guy who has feeder pigs...he said he had a piglet that was a few hours old that he saved from the sow who had savaged the rest of her litter...if I wanted the piglet to come and get it...so I did..

I raised her here in the house.  One night about 10 pm, when she was 4 days old she was running about the house oinking and carrying on back and forth between the office and her bed...bugging me...insisting that I come with her to her bed, so I followed her to her bed and she put her nose on the "tic toc" clock and oinked.  Well the clock had stopped ticking, so I wound it back up and put it in her bed and she promptly fell asleep on the ticking clock snuggled in with her stuffed animals....so I went back to the office amazed at the smartness of the 4 day old piglet....to know that she needed me to see what was wrong with her clock that it wasn't ticking.  I still have Anne.  She is a red pig and an orphan.  So her name is Little Orphan Anne.  And this fall she will raise some piglets of her own...

Then there are the baby horses...I have almost always been there when my mares have foaled.  The most incredible sound in the world to me is that first breath the foal takes as it slides out of the mare.

Feeding time around here is really noisy.  I have 5 replacement gilts in one of the large pens that are the nosiest piggies I have ever had!  I will look at them from the feed box and they will be stacked on top of each other fighting and wrestling each other...for what reason I don't know they have plenty of room at their 6 ft feed trough for several more piggies but they insist on seeing how tall they can get by standing on top of each other...hence all of the noise.  

The noise is coming from the ones on the bottom of the pile...

Then if they get scared or spooked they will "bark" and run into a corner all stacked up on top of each other with their little bodies stiff with fright and with their noses and ears pointing straight up in the air and only their little eyes will be looking around...then they will unfreeze, grunt and run off, bucking, and squealing....

Life on the farm or ranch with the animals, yes it is hard work but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have always had animals in my life and I hope I always will.