I'm playing in a realm, and I had just checked on all my animals last night, as I'd been gone from the game for a few days, and had been at another location a about 2000 blocks away for a few days before that. Everything was fine last night.

I took a long trip to my friends' place (10,000 blocks or more away, where they have refurbished a Woodland Mansion) and returned late last night. Today, when I return to the realm, EVERYTHING it seems has had some degree of despawning for no reason: horses, sheep, pigs, chickens and even a few doors. The animals are all in pens and have been fed and raised by me, the horses were saddled and my favorite had been ridden often, named twice (the nametag keeps disappearing, too, which is a separate issue), saddled and armored.

I had several different sheep of each of the four natural colors and now have a few browns, a white and a couple of grays. My horse corral has been decimated, and my favorite is also gone. My chicken and pig pens have a fraction of what they had just last night. Doors are missing from my place and my friends places as well and can't be replaced (I added this fact to a separate bug report that had already been filed on the issue.) And I'm not sure, but it sure looks like my village is deprived of more than a few villagers.

Is this because I went so far away from my farm? I ask because when my friend came to get me from the Woodland Mansion, when we got there her livestock was likewise missing.

I don't have this problem going to my second place only a couple of thousand blocks away, but does the greater distance have something to do with the despawning?