I recently had to temporarily take over the farming operations of my father. My father's feed was broken after the port of the cowshed had fallen on his feed. I wanted to help, so I decided to take care of the 9 cows he had at the moment. Each evening I spend one and a half hour making sure the cows had quality foods and where in good shape.
The process involves manually cutting potatoes and beets in an old mill. Soy, cereals, beer spent, minerals and other ingredients where added according to the age and weight of the cows. I added wheat straw to the stables on a daily basis.
I find this whole operation interesting from a therapeutic perspective. Each day you are forced to go outside. No matter if it rains, when it's cold or when you just want to sit on the bench laying in front of your television. You are forced to be active and go outside. You don't want your cows to be hungry. You have to feed them. Using the mill to cut the potatoes and beets, shuffling all the ingredients, walking around with the wheelbarrow from stable to stable, .. I found myself doing a fitness workout every single day and I didn't have the option of quitting king a day of.
It was the middle of the winter, the evenings where dark and cold. Normally, I would have spent my evenings on a warm bench inside. I was suddenly required to go outside after a long working day and spend some time with the cows. My dogs are a huge support and a great motivator (unfortunately they don't catch any mouses present in the stable😂).
Me, feeding the cows on a late and cold winter evening. My sheltie and Labrador are having some fun too.
I had a horse when I was younger. I know from previous experiences that there are some downsides involved in holding you're own hobbyist farm. You are very dependent on your animals. It takes time to take care for your animals. It is not easy to integrate the caring needs in your daily life. To combine it with work and a busy daily schedule takes planning. You need space and land to grow your animals. Getting food for your animals takes time and transportation can be expensive.
It is difficult to travel much. Finding somebody to do the work for you when you’re not there and vice versa could potentially bring a balance. It's a luxury if you have someone like that. I am thinking about buying an old friendly horse again one day for it's healing value it gives me.
I remembered learning about the purpose to have meaningful activities in a lesson when I was studying occupational therapy. The purpose of seeing your animals doing well, giving all you can to make sure they live a good life is absolutely something that can give purpose to one's life.
It is very rewarding to see a happy cow. I called this cow 'white princess'.