Letting Animals Out While at Work?

[donrae]

Here, the horses, cows and goats are always "out". there's really no "in" for them

. They have stalls they can enter, but they're never locked in.

Chickens don't get to free range except on occasion. Too much chicken poop on the porch and in the hay barn. They live just fine in the runs/pens. They may clamor to get out, but hey, I live with three teenage boys. I'm used to ignoring clamor

.

 

[Beekissed]

If you work 8 hours a day, but the chickens and goats are clamoring to get out, while the rabbits need 3 hours a day outside, when do you do it? Do all the homesteading youtubers I see work from home? I can't imagine everyone leaves them outside unsupervised; I'd be worrying all day.

Most farmers have systems that are set up to allow for all their animals to be out in their appropriate pastures all day long, some all day and night long all year round. I have this kind of setup and have in the past as well. Mine free range all day, every day, season in and season out. They have dogs on guard to insure their safety. I go out of town for trips and they still get to free range. A person just has to have a good system and then trust the system. Mostly I trust God to keep them safe within that good system.

I used to raise meat rabbits in cages too but if I ever did rabbits again, they'd be out in tractors instead, with their feet on grass and soil for their lives. Able to experience the sun, the rain and the day and night. Back then I didn't think much about such things and was just doing it how everyone else did it, but I know better now and it just doesn't have to be that way.

 

[catcrazy37]

Can't believe this thread went on as long as it did! Still processing all the valuable info