House Sitters For Smallholding Livestock - A-Breed-Apart

And who, pray tell, is going to keep the farm running while you sip something civilised in the south of France? Your well-meaning neighbour, who struggles to tell the difference between a Shetland pony and a Suffolk sheep? Your cousin, who thinks pigs are just oversized Labradors? No, what you need is a specialist farm sitter. Someone who not only understands the complexities of livestock care, but who can also handle the unexpected with the cool resolve of a seasoned country vet.

A professional farm sitter is not merely a warm body to scatter a few handfuls of grain about. They are the answer to your greatest rural dilemmas:

🔹 The Houdini Livestock Issue: Who else will retrieve your wayward goats from next door’s vegetable patch at dawn?

🔹 The "Not-So-Little" Health Scare: A trained eye will spot when Daisy the cow is looking peaky before things escalate into an all-night veterinary saga.

🔹 The Midnight Fox Raid: When something goes bump in the night, your farm sitter is on hand to protect your poultry and check the fences.

🔹 The Weather Woes: A storm’s brewing, the barn roof is rattling, and the hens are looking mutinous - who do you want in charge? Someone who can manage a crisis with gumboots on and a practical plan in hand, that’s who!

This is not the job for a standard pet sitter whose experience is limited to goldfish feeding and Labrador cuddling. It requires a level of skill, reliability, and good old-fashioned rural know-how - the type of person who doesn’t flinch at an early morning muck-out or a sudden lambing situation.

So, let’s talk about how to find the right person, what you need to look for, and how a good farm sitter can mean the difference between a relaxed getaway and a frantic rush home to rescue the livestock.

What Does a Farm Sitter Actually Do?

A live-in farm sitter takes care of your animals, land, and property while you’re away. Their duties will depend on the type of smallholding, estate, or farm you run, but in general, they’ll be responsible for:

🔹 Daily Feeding & Watering: Keeping everyone fed, watered, and happy,
🔹 Health Monitoring: Spotting signs of illness or injury before they escalate,
🔹 Livestock Handling: Moving, restraining, or treating animals when needed,
🔹 Cleaning & Maintenance: Keeping coops, stables, and pens in good order,
🔹 Security & Safety: Checking fences, gates, and ensuring predator deterrents are in place,
🔹 Emergency Response: Handling situations like illness, injury, or escaping livestock (because, let’s face it, animals love an adventure when you're not home).

A professional farm sitter should be comfortable dealing with all the above while also being handy with a pitchfork, a pair of wellies, and a bit of common sense.

What to Look for in a Farm Sitter

When choosing an ideal live-in pet sitter for your farm animals, consider the following:

🔹 Experience with Livestock: Have they worked with chickens, sheep, goats, or horses before?
🔹 Emergency Handling: Can they react quickly if a fox raids the coop or a goat falls ill?
🔹 Physical Fitness: As you'll well know, farm work is strenuous! Are they'll able to manage strenuous activity?
🔹 Trustworthiness & References: Have they cared for farms before? Ask for references.
🔹 Comfort with Rural Living: Can they handle isolation, early starts, and unpredictable conditions?
🔹 Basic Veterinary Knowledge: Not essential, but experience with worming, vaccinations, or lambing is a big plus.