I saw this lovely sit tonight in one of my favorite countries but when I saw the amount of pets the homeowners had I quickly scrolled on! As a sitter, and I’m sure many other sitters also feel the same, they have a limit on the amount of pets they are willing to look after. My limit is usually 2 dogs or 2 cats plus fish. Fortunately for the homeowners, they have a number of applications so far. To each their own, but I don’t think looking after 20+ pets would be an enjoyable experience regardless of the home and location. What do other sitters think?
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@Globetrotter, unless other factors were breathtakingly compelling then it’d be an immediate and hard pass for us. Sounds like a job, indeed heck of a job 
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I assume it’s not 18 chickens and a dog and a cat. That would be doable for a couple. I took care of chickens. If it’s other type of farm animals that is a lot of work. Maybe it would be desirable for a couple thinking about starting a farm and wants to know what it would be like before they decide to purchase farm land or not.
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No way for me, but there are many hardier souls than mine.
I figure these sorts of listings are self-correcting — either someone pursues them or not. Someone could list a zoo, but no one has to apply.
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It depends on what animals they have. If it is 20 fish, then no problem. 20 dogs or cats would be a different story.
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I did do one farm sit like this and have another one scheduled this summer. When everything aligns, sometimes all I want is to be taking care of many types of animals in a gorgeous setting. A lot of work, but also fulfilling for me. Guess I’m a bit of a farm girl at heart.
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No it’s 5 dogs plus the remainder are cats and a mouse!
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That grouping would be a no from me.
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I would do it if the ad stated something like “I rescue animals and need a break” or “I have lots of pets but need to take care of my sick mother who lives in another area”. Then I would tell my family we are going to help someone out while visiting a new city. My kids are all teenagers and could probably handle any petsit on their own now. 20 pets we could split up 4 animals per person.
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For me it would depend on the animals.
I’ve looked after 23 alpacas, 2 dogs & 3 cats at one sit on my own which was very doable & enjoyable. Also had sits with a lot of chickens plus a dog and/or cats. But I’ve also seen the occasional sit with several dogs which I wouldn’t touch!
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That sounds like a lot of hard work and responsibilities!
We’re currently looking after 5 indoor cats and it’s a pleasure. 5 dogs plus 15+ cats and a mouse is a whole other story! But, you say they have applicants? It just goes to show, there’s a sitter for every scenario.
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When I see listings that somewhat baffle me (especially when they also clearly break T’s & C’s) and I see that they also have applicants, I often wonder how many of these applicants actually read the listing and carefully considered everything before applying? Are they applying because they legit think it’s a fantastic opportunity (whatever floats your boat, I suppose) or are they applying without fully realising the responsibilities or without intention to actually fulfill them? Or are they new, don’t know any better and don’t realise there are many less intense & questionable listings out there??
Don’t mind me, just wondering what goes on in people’s minds 
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I’ve sat for 20 plus cats, but most of them were outdoor, and just needed feeding. 5 dogs plus cats would be very hard work.
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For me, 1 pet could be harder work than 20 (for instance 1 diabetic cat with seizures vs a herd of sheep in the field) so the tasks involved and how timeconsuming they are is what is important to me. I’d rather use one hour with a wheelbarrow and a hose than little tasks throughout the day that locks me to the home.
I do worry also of the local impact and sustainability of local wages if one can get free labor with people paying to work (or get housing). In worst case I could take the food off the table for a local farm worker, for instance. So that is also a reason for me not to take on what I consider is «a job». The same reason as when I wouldn’t like a local cleaner/ gardener to be cancelled. Not that it has happened yet - my hosts have cleaned themselves as far as I know and so have I. 
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Depends on the types of pets and how many of each type and whether/how many had special needs (meds, etc.)…
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We’ve cared for a colony of 12 outdoor cats with 2 pet cats and a dog too. Honestly, the colony of cats were incredibly EASY to look after, we’d do it again, no problem, lovely HO. But it depends on what the set-up is… and where they poop! The colony of cats mainly pooped elsewhere in the surrounding fields.
We have a limit of 2 small/medium dogs OR 3 cats… but we have broken our own rule many many times!!!
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Just saw one with 24 sled dogs (Huskies) and 4 llamas. That would be a pass for me but they have had several previous sitters
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We did a sit for one dog and twenty sheep once, and recently did a sit for eight cats - both were enjoyable and very easy.
Having said that, Two dogs ( Three tiny dogs at a push ) is our limit.
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I’ve sat 5 small dogs (chihuahuas and Pomeranians) and they were adorable. I walked all five on my own. Four on the lead and I had to carry one because he was too weak and just let him walk a little. It was a bit of a mess with the leads getting all twisted but it was fun. I was supposed to walk them in twos but they all were so excited that I didn’t have the heart to let them behind. Sometimes, the weak one (Titan, poor thing) didn’t want to come.
I have also sat five cats and four cats plus a mid size dog.
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It depends on the animals. I recently did 11 animals as a solo sitter and it was very easy. 6 cats, 4 chickens and a gecko. The only one that took much care was one elderly cat - the others were outside or snoozing indoors all day. The chickens had auto feeder and coop door so just needed checking and fresh water once a day ( and collecting delicious eggs), the gecko needed food and water once a day. About 20 mins a day in total to feed and water everyone and clean the litter trays, that were mostly just used by the older cat.
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