[Haylo-peapod]

Oh to have a holiday!
 
I'm sure this view is shared by many a smallholder but due to the ties of our beloved animals it can be really tricky to find a satisfactory solution that won't cost the earth.
 
Well, I'm really hoping I may just have found a solution and thought I would share it with you all.
 
There is a company called Trusted Housesitters (http://www.trustedhousesitters.com/) where most of the housesitters will look after your home and animals for free. I was rather dubious at first (there's always a catch) but it seems as though most of the people registered are CRB checked and they all come with genuine references. You also get the chance to screen which housesitter(s) you want to come to your home.  Reading some of the reviews it seems as though a lot of the people that have used the service are as precious about their pets/animals/home as I am about mine (I didn't think that would be possible  ).
 
I have a strong feeling I'll be giving them a go later in the year and hope that it might also be a solution to some of the rest of you.
 
Has anyone else heard of them or tried them before? If so any feedback would be great.
 
Crikey - I sound like a sales rep - oops, sorry 
 
 

[Bionic]

Never used them but it does sound interesting.  I have saved it in my favourites and may have another look when I fancy/need a holiday.
Sally

[VSS]

Try http://www.smallholdingsittingservice.co.uk

Highly recommended.

[Mallows Flock]

www.somersetpetsittinganddogwalking.weebly.com is fabulous and does smallholder work... but then I am very biased.....Ii own the Company! Hahahahahaha!

[lachlanandmarcus]

An unbiased recommendation from me for those in Aberdeenshire (Royal Deeside area), esp those with horses -
http://www.deesidelivery.co.uk/
Although Colette concentrates on horses, she will also when doing them, look after all sorts of other creatures (I know she has milked next doors goats for example).
I know how thorough and competent she is as she did a month for us after my recent operation so I was there.
Couldnt recommend her highly enough.
 

[suziequeue]

Dan - can we have this as a sticky like the good abattoir guide?

[james]

I can give an unbiased review of Trusted Housesitters as a housesitter

My name is James and along with my partner Jemma, we do quite a bit of travelling, housesitting at the same time (us: http://www.thehousesittingcouple.com ) . Trusted Housesitters has been the main source of referrals to us, with a few of the other housesitting websites, Mind My House and House Carers, bringing in a few requests from time to time.

I'm very impressed with the TH setup. We've met some great people through it, looked after some lovely pets and home and in return they've been very happy as well. There's the obvious saving on things like kennels, but also because we both work from home (their home), we're around the house quite a lot to keep the pets company. A traditional petsitter might only pop in for half an hour to feed the animal, clean up any mess and then leave which can be quite lonely for any animal.

I have lots of experience with poultry and I know there are plenty on the site who have experience of horses, some with cattle and sheep experience as well so it's worth looking into.

I do think though it pays to be picky:

- Make sure the housesitters have references and police background checks. This isn't so much to sift through any criminals but more to show that ones that are serious about what they're doing. Getting references and checks done takes time and work; they're the people you want.
- There can be quite a few 'dreamy' people. We've had quite a few emails from other homeowners who have said they've taken someone on, perhaps in quite a rural location and after a few weeks the person has decided this wasn't right for them and gave up. Try to filter these people out as well.
- I would definitely be picky about taking on people to look after livestock. It sounds like something out of the good life, but not everybody likes getting their hands dirty.

Like I say we're housesitting for the next while, but if we do decide to stop and get a place we would definitely consider using TH as homeowners.