How do I cope with the emotional challenges of keeping livestock?

Keeping livestock is full of challenges - physical, financial, environmental and emotional.

Today, we will look at how to cope with the emotional challenges of keeping livestock.

Most emotional challenges are brought about by the other challenges, it is these that can have you on different emotional waves - joy, doubt, sadness, at times despair and thankfulness. They all crop up at various times and in different intensity.

For most people, keeping livestock is an emotional journey. We keep our sheep, cattle, alpacas, goats, llamas, chooks or deer because we like it, we have empathy for the animals and we like to see healthy, happy livestock that will hopefully provide some form of financial return.

It is keeping those animals happy and healthy that present us with challenging emotions and of course if they die, or it is time to send them away, there can be a time of sadness. 

Climate

To keep our livestock growing, reproducing and staying healthy, we need to meet their basic needs - food, water, shelter and enough space to exhibit normal patterns of behaviour. Most of the time, New Zealand is blessed with a reasonable temperate climate, which means we can anticipate when we are going to have a surplus or a deficit in feed according to the seasons. 

Over the past 10 years or so, the seasons haven’t been so predictable and many parts of New Zealand have been faced with devastating floods or very dry conditions. When we find it difficult to plan because the climate is not playing ball, stress levels can rise and sometimes it is hard to know what the best thing to do. If it is dry, do we sell all the stock that aren’t necessary, eg, older animals, young animals that might not be as well grown as we would normally sell, or do we feed out in the hope that it will rain? If there are floods, how do we decide which paddocks to utilise and do we sell stock to save what paddocks are left? 

If it gets to the point where you are just flummoxed and don’t know what the best answer is to talk to someone. The old saying a problem shared is a problem halved is so true.

Talk to other farmers for advice. Talk to your accountant, a livestock agent, your local vet, or an organisation like Rural Support. Having fresh eyes looking at what may seem insurmountable to you at the time, may become clearer with input from an independent party. Another saying “ can’t see the wood for the trees” is equally applicable and at times, your emotions may not be letting you see what is in front of you.

Birthing

Lambing, kidding and calving is another time of the year that can be emotionally challenging. 

While it is a time of new life and new beginnings, it can also be physically demanding, tiring and frustrating. There are times when the birthing mothers need help, or the house is suddenly filled with orphans, which can happen surprisingly quickly if a bad bout of weather goes through, or there is mis-mothering. It’s always difficult when you put time and energy into trying to save either the mother, the babies or both and it fails. Sometimes, no matter what you do, you don’t have a win. There may be a feeling of sadness or despondency in failure, but if you tried your best, that is all that can be asked for. Take time out to look after you - even if it's having a good soak in the bath, watching a funny programme or just doing nothing, a half hour distraction can work wonders and restore both emotional and energy levels. In busy times, making sure you keep up a good food intake is crucial. There will be times where it’s lunch or tea on the run, but don’t decrease your food intake as this will just make you feel worse.

The most important thing is that the feelings of being down don’t last too long. If they persist, there is no shame in seeking professional help with a counselor or therapist.  When you are having a bad run, whether it be from weather, finances, stock health or family dynamics, it is sometimes hard to see when and if it will come right. Once again, organisations like Rural Support can be life savers.  

Farming livestock has never and will never be easy. It challenges us in a way that no other lifestyle will, but so long as the feelings of happiness or contentment outweighs the down times our choice to live rurally and face the daily challenges hopefully won’t waver.

For more great information on looking after livestock check out our courses.