We all know that old saying, if you are sick, get thy to bed and rest.. and that’s wonderful if that is a choice you can make, but what about if you are farming.

Maybe three times in eight years I have had a day that I was sick enough that I truly could not do the farm and DH stayed home from work or worked from home to look after me and the farm.. its a very rare day that I can’t manage home alone and the farm even while sick..

So here are a few of the different and in some cases very common things that I do to give a helping hand in regards to being sick and running the farm at the same time.

1st thing to do is a list, write down what has to be done that day, don’t think that in your fuzzy headed ah, that you will be able to remember if you did this or that because the first thing to do when sick and running the farm is break up the chores. This means that you have to use that list, because you don’t want to forget anyone, and yet it will allow you to take rests and naps in between.

So lets say on a typical morning round of chores, you are going to let the hounds out for morning potty time, feed the cats, water the cats and hounds, feed the hounds, back outside to let them run around, get dressed, haul water for the pasture, haul water for the barn, feed the barn critters, come back up, water the birds, feed the birds (doing all the pens), water and feed the rabbits and then comes extra’s, do you grooming, do you train, do you free range the birds, do you need to haul bedding, is it the day to clean a pen, or is it a good morning to wash the water buckets out, or hit the garden next etc.

Now that’s all well and good when you feel well but what about when you are really sick, trying to do all of that at once is enough to make you want to cry, that list is needed..

So the first thing on that list is to drop any and all extra’s, if you need to clean out the area around the water bucket, not that day, throw down some extra bedding and let it go for a few days while you deal with being sick, if the bucket is really dirty, ok, give it the scrub but if not, rinse it out and just refill that day..

Know who can be moved in that list, example the rabbits self-feeders hold two or three days worth of food, and their water dishes are the same, they get done daily but I know that if I move them from the morning chores to after lunch chore time, they will not suffer for it at all.

The pasture critters are a good example, depending on the time of the year, if they have pasture, and can self-water from the pond, them getting their extra ration is not very high on my list, yes it will get done but the pigs that can’t self-water will get put alot higher on that list as they can’t wait, and while down there, you might as well do the feed, but having said that, you don’t have to do the second round trip to give them the slop bucket, it can wait, they are watered and feed, the slop bucket can wait for the next round.

Break those chores into must do’s, example, hauling water is a must do, but feeding at the same time as hauling water is not a must do, you can haul water, come into the house, rest, have a tea, even have a hour nap, and then get back up and haul hay and do the feed on the second round.

If I am really sick I have been known to break it down per critter on each round, the other thing to remember when working is layering and mask’s, if you already got your lungs weakened by the cold, wear a mask so that you are not breathing in hay or straw dust,  As for layers, yes, if you are already running a fever, the work will make you sweat more and you will want to remove layers, remember that as soon as you stop, you can get a chill and it will make things worse, so keep your layers on or only remove what you have to, and change your socks when you get into the house each time, never wear damp socks while sick, what you would normally throw off while being well, will just make things worse when you already are under the weather.

Make a big pot of soup, whatever kind you like but something that will feed you for days for lunch and supper, and for me at least, I like to make a eggy pie for a easy breakfast if I don’t want soup (I like hot soup for breakfast so most time will have that), the eggy pie is one that makes its own very thin crust, its made out of eggs, milk and a bit of sugar, its really very much like a custard) and its heathy and very easy on the tummy, its excellent cold, so once made it can be used either hot or cold.

Learn your body, after you have a sleep and get up, how long do you typically have before you start to feel really bad again, while it might be great to call and talk to your mom, if you know that are at this stage in the cold or flu only going to be good for half an hour or an hour, the next round on the list has to come first.

Housework, some things can slide and others at least to me should not, keeping the bedding and the pillow cases clean should be on the hit list, if nothing else, change the pillow case daily, if possabe, try and get fresh air and sunshine into the bedroom and the whole house.

Now this is a me thing but when I don’t feel good, I love to simmer vinagar and spices on the stove, it may not do anything health wise in terms of cleaning the air but it helps my nose and I like the way it makes the house smell.

And I know this one seems like a silly thing to say but watch your hands -Lots, If you are already dipping down in terms of your immune system, and you are working with animals and in barns etc,  Wash your hands well and often.

So how do you figure out how to do your day when you are sick and home alone on the farm? Do you just do it and then go back to bed, or do you stagger things out and rest inbetween?