Technology Management for Traveling

Travel

One of the biggest questions I had before moving onto acreage (especially only previously having fish and hamsters as pets) is how does one travel? Both my husband's and I's parents live out of state and one has a vacation home in Hawaii, so we have three states we want to visit as frequently as possible, and generally have at least one out of state friend we'd like to visit each year too. We have conferences (career related and homestead related), camping, etc. That's a lot of travel!

My online search revealed, a lot of people have this question, and a lot of the answers are either to pay a lot of money for a farm sitter or (the larger reality, it seems) to travel without at least one member of your family (as in a spouse or older child), or live near family who can take care of your animals or neighbors who are willing to swap with you.

There are multiple pros and cons to each of these but the option we choose was another way that generally was frowned upon by the interwebs (likely because if you don't spend the money on your systems and have a backup plan when inevitably it goes wrong, then you're neglecting your livestock): technology.

We have automatic doors, waterers, and feeders. We have electric fencing and can monitor temperature. We have cameras in every coop and run, sometimes from multiple angles. My husband is very consistent in actually monitoring said cameras. We have a neighbor / family member who can come over when something goes wrong.

Pros are not having to rely on someone being there daily. We can also use this technology to make homesteading on a daily basis successful versus (as much of) a scramble to get all the daily chores done. I can go out mid morning after the kids have had breakfast and are happy to go outside (especially in the winter when early morning is frigid) because the coop doors automatically opened and food was available without me stepping foot from the wood stove. I also can check if everyone made it into the coop without leaving a dinner party or going outside in the dark. Cons are that you're never disconnected from your homestead (since you do actually have to check the cameras!) and the initial expense is a lot (including "small" things like extension cords and outdoor multi way plugs). You also have to have an internet connection, which we don't always have (my parents live in Alaska and if we are traveling remote then there's not always internet. Camping in the woods we frequently don't have internet as well. I'm also discovering the con of maintenance. A camera goes down and you have to trouble shoot. A woodchip gets into your auto door and our duck door can't figure out if it's open or closed and needs a reset. The farm sitter comes to collect eggs and accidentally unplugs something. The power goes out as soon as you leave town. Rain proof doesn't always mean rain proof. All of these are additional chores, essentially, and create so many things to track before and during vacation.

Is it worth it? I think so 99% of the time. But the week leading up to an Alaskan vacation, where the first several days will be with minimal or no internet access and I'm realizing my meat chickens need a larger run so I'm frantically building that while also realizing I need electricity and cameras etc. I suddenly realize maybe I should pay for a daily farm sitter instead.