Quote Originally Posted by shootingstar View Post
I didn't know that pigs, cows and horses could be left on their own with shelter and adequate food for a few days.
Mostly just water. Shelter isn't necessary except in extreme weather; cattle and horses should be getting most or all of their food from pasture.

Beef cattle - or dairy cows in early pregnancy - are just like any other animals. Milk cows need to be milked twice a day - three times when they're treated with rBGH - and can't be left unattended.

There's been a lot in the news lately about the new generation of farmers. It's great when the grandparents have been able to hang on long enough for the grandchildren to take over the farm. Most everyone in the intervening generation had no interest in farming, sadly.