Those "amazing farm sitters" make all the difference in the world. We currently have 23 chickens, 5 muscovy ducks, 9 "mutt" ducks, 1 sheep, and 9 goats. I can set things up so we can get away for about a week, in Spring or Autumn, only needing someone to come collect eggs each day (so the chickens don't eat them & they don't attract snakes). We have a couple friends who are willing to do that, though not daily for a whole week, and 1 of them can check on the 4leggers. So we rotate, so that the one who lives furthest away only needs to come once or twice - but she's the only one who knows anything about the 4leggers. The best thing is that we *can* get away; 2nd best thing about this arrangement is they do it for just the eggs they collect, in payment.
The downsides for us, are that with only a couple friends available, we have to be very careful not to leave them(or us) feeling like we're taking undue advantage of them, and there have been a couple instances where one of them wasn't able to come when they were supposed to, or when something off the wall happened that they didn't know how to address. My mom, who lives 9hrs away, is in poor health, and a simple fall could kill her, if she lands wrong, so we're trying hard not to go anywhere, just in case. But, we also have 3 indoor dogs, who are all very attached to their humans, and don't do well, if we're gone from them, more than a day. So, we work hard at finding ways to take them. Two are small, and easy to travel with, particularly in finding hotels that will allow them. The 3rd one is an Irish Wolfhound. Few hotels will allow a dog that size, and most of our friends and family have things in their homes that her tail will destroy, just walking by - if she were to get the zoomies, their belongings would be destroyed. "Oh, what's that? An irreplaceable, antique, heirloom vase that my dog's tail just nonchalantly swished off the shelf?" 'Oops - I'm so sorry' just isn't going to cut it...
Our only other solutions are not being away more than 2 nights, or only one of us being gone, so the other can take care of the farm & dogs. This coming autumn, for example, we have a family wedding to attend, in the Chicago area. Rather than trying to find someone to help on the farm and boarding the 3 dogs, we plan to find a pet friendly hotel, only stay 2 nights, and I'll stay at the hotel with the dogs, while John goes to the wedding, and my daughters, who live in the area, can come visit me, at the hotel. This past Autumn, my son, in Central IL (still over 5hrs away), had 2 separate events, 2weeks apart, that we wanted us to attend. I went to the first, while John stayed home, then John went to the 2nd, while I stayed home. It's not ideal, and can be sad and frustrating, but it's efficient.
A Christian & devoted Patriot, wife, soap maker, herbalist, formerly a homeschooler, baker, truck driver, and more. I was born in the South, but actually grew up around the Great Lakes. Both of my childhood families had big, lush gardens,& preserved everything they could for the winter. I carried that into my own life. But, change happens and for over a decade, it just wasn't an option. Now, retired in the Ozarks, on 29 heavily wooded acres of mostly ravines, our best crops are nearly inaccessible wild blackberries, rocks, wild herbs, and ticks. We're utilizing our burgeoning small-livestock collection, straw bales, raised beds, and containers to build soil, and a better, healthier life for ourselves and our beloved critters, who provide us with eggs, meat, milk, fiber, honey, beeswax, fertilizer, tick control, brush control, 'lawn' mowing, loads of entertainment, and even help turn the compost. 
