Overwhelmed and in over my head?

[mrszlopez]

i do a lot on my own too. my DH isnt really into the chickens. the only thing he really likes, is his two lambs. instead of a 4wheeler, his thing is xbox. every once & a while, he will put an escaped chick back into the brooder, but nothing really major. He goes out once a week to clean the goat pen &/or buy the goats (lambs) a new food bowl or something. The most important thing about owning animals & running a farm , to me is the gratification you get from taking care & bonding with the animals. knowing they depend on you & count on you to live is pretty difficult, but you have to be strong minded. It is not an easy thing to do. I go thru this once a week if not more .. hating everyone & everything, hating the life i live because "all i do is clean up dog **** & chicken crap everyday !!! i want all of these friggen animals out of my house by 5 tonight or im outta here !!!!".. theres lots of other things i scream out loud to anyone who is listening , but i wont list that stuff here lol

but i hope you feel better

 

[beak]

Close to our routine. We enjoy it except during the winter. During the winter it's not too fun.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
It sounds like maybe it'd be good to sit down and try to distinguish between animals that you love the *concept* of having, versus animals that you love the *reality* of having. And then maybe try to whittle down to just the second set.

This is mainly why I don't have goats, cows, etc etc here

-- although in my case it's kids and house/farm repairs rather than a 9-5 job.

Good luck, hang in there, do whatcha LOVE doing, not what you THINK you should love doing,

Pat

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I love watching the horses graze. (For 10 minutes before I have to go muck their stalls.)

I love giving gifts of goats milk soap and cheese.

I love filling cartons of pretty eggs and having as many as I could possibly use and giving some away.

I wish we had found our dream home right next door to a farm with horses grazing along their side of the fence.

I wish I had married a farmer

I wish I had just a little more energy.

 

[patandchickens]

Have you tried reconfiguring things so they require less work? One thing that leaps out at me is that unless you are very short on land, horses can live out 24/7 and almost all are healthier for it. This *radically* reduces horse chores.

If it is the idea of giving away goatsmilk products you love, more so than the activity of goatkeeping, I wonder whether there might be other less constantly-energy-intensive hobbies you would like as well (quilting, cooking, making herbal products, beekeeping?).

It is nice to wish to have more energy -- I think we all do

-- but "if wishes were horses..." so it may be more *helpful* to try to whittle down tasks to match the energy level you've actually got

Best of luck,

Pat

 

[SportTees]

Quote:
My Dh doesn't have anything to do with my animals either- having a farmer around would be great!!!

It gets hard sometimes and I think lets sell every animal on go on vacation!!

Other days I don't think I could live without them so grin and bare it because it will get better

 

[DiVon80]

I did just what you are doing except with dogs. I had a kennel/house full of Rotties. I took care of all the dogs,worked in a pet store. then had training classes at night, dog shows during the weekends. Bathing dogs could go thru a gal. of shampoo in one stroke of a water hose. Always doing the dog thing. Now I still have a really good dog are 2 but, its farm pets w/ benifits. HA! Its just a bad day for you. I have to admitt that after Katrina my dogs began dropping dead(Vet says the stress and fear) I went about a year with not very many. My evening chores took about 10 min.(That was feeding) Now I have all my feathered babies back and happy as can be. You only think you want to rid your self of them. I would let the husband do the job and work part time and concentrate on growing your own food. Think of the money you would not need. Its really ment for us to live on one salery. Thats what is wrong w/ society to day-it takes 2 paychecks and when one can't work they loose everything. Live off of one then if something happens you can alternate. Its just something to think about.

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Oh boy, I have those days too. The twice a day chores can be a real bummer. My husband is always griping about having to put animals away in the evening.

I think it's normal to get fed up now and then.

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Oooo I wanted to add that alot of times it helps me to break up the routine by doing it a different way or at night re-setting everything for the next morning. (Fill waterers and things the night before that way all you have to do is grain)...

 

[DiVon80]

Quote:
Just a little more check out farmers market to sell your surplus eggs ect. Make your soaps. Thats what I want to do Every sat. I plan on natural dog treats w/ lots of egg. Ha! You would be suprised how you can earn money at home. I am also a bead weaver. Sounds like you have a good start. My husband does freelance body and paint work on sight. Hes doing boats now also. You will realize you can only depend on your self.