How do you vacation when you have chickens?

[kuntrygirl]

I recently took a vacation and asked my neighbor to care for my animals. Well, let's just say she didn't feed them for 3 days nor did she provide them with clean water. NEVER AGAIN !!!!!!!

That's sad.....just....sad. Sad that some people have NO idea how to care for animals, or at least are to lazy too.

I was so upset, I didn't know what to do. My friends had to calm me down or else I would have gone to jail that day.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Can you imagine doing that to a child? I really don't see how that is any different.  I know they are animals, but they suffer the same nonetheless.

I knew something was strange when I drove up and ALL of my animals start running to the fence and the chickens, ducks and turkeys started flying over the fence and running to my truck. I thought that they just missed me. No, THEY WERE STARVING and wanted food!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SunnySkies]

I've heard of vacations....but I don't want anyone who has chickens or has been where there are chickens on my place, due to risk of disease, so hiring a farm sitter is out.

Besides, who wants to look after 100 animals :lol The cost to hire a farm sitter would probably exceed that of the trip for us now.

Where we used to live, there were no pet or farm sitters that would come to us, and the one time we went away (9 years ago), I had a friend come in, and I know she didn't come as I asked her to even though I paid her to come daily. That made me gun shy of hiring people to look after my pets and animals.

We haven't had a family vacation in, um, 9 years. I took the kids by myself across the country 3 years ago, but hubby stayed home to look after things.

We love staycations. That is when coops are built, the barn is reroofed, fences put up, bedrooms are painted, lol. Oh, wait, that is the list for the Thanskgiving staycation, lol.

 

[kuntrygirl]

i honestly think it's best to hire a petsitter, either someone who is insured and bonded, or at least someone who does it for a living.  Counting on family, friends, or neighbors can be sketchy.  If it's a favor, they aren't as inclined to take it seriously.  i changed pet sitters this year as my previous one was becoming unreliable.  My new pet sitter is wonderful.  She stays at my house when we're gone, sends daily texts and pictures to let me know everything is okay.  It is well worth the added vacation expense to know my critters are in good hands.  

I have been trying to hire a pet sitter for so many years. During that time, I only found 1 pet sitter that agreed to care for my animals. The only thing is, is that this person did have experience in dealing with the types of animals that I have and the number and I was concerned about that. And she wanted to charge $75.00 a day. With no experience, I don't know if $75.00 a day was fair to ask with no experience.

I'm glad that you have a great pet sitter. I wish that I could find one. How did you find your pet sitter? What made you choose her? And did she have experience in caring for the type of animals that you have?

I'm not going to give up on finding a pet sitter. I know someone is out there. I just don't know where. :/

I know that pet sitting prices are different for everyone but what is a good price when paying a pet sitter? I know it depends on the amount of duties, # of animals, etc. I will post the duties at my place and you all can tell me what would you all charge to pet sit at my house.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I've heard of vacations....but I don't want anyone who has chickens or has been where there are chickens on my place, due to risk of disease, so hiring a farm sitter is out.

Besides, who wants to look after 100 animals :lol The cost to hire a farm sitter would probably exceed that of the trip for us now.

Where we used to live, there were no pet or farm sitters that would come to us, and the one time we went away (9 years ago), I had a friend come in, and I know she didn't come as I asked her to even though I paid her to come daily. That made me gun shy of hiring people to look after my pets and animals.

We haven't had a family vacation in, um, 9 years. I took the kids by myself across the country 3 years ago, but hubby stayed home to look after things.

We love staycations. That is when coops are built, the barn is reroofed, fences put up, bedrooms are painted, lol. Oh, wait, that is the list for the Thanskgiving staycation, lol.

You said it right with that one.

Sorry that your husband could not go with you all on your vacation.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Here are the things a pet sitter would have to do when sitting for my animals.

GROUP #1
175 Chickens
19 Geese
19 BR Turkeys
120 Muscovy Ducks
9 Guineas
For this group, I have a feeder that holds 300 lbs of feed. I fill it up once a week. I also have (4) feeders that hold 5 gallons of feed. The feed is always mixed, so all the person has to do is scoop the feed out into 5 gallon buckets and carry to the feeding area which is about 20 - 30 feet from the feed storage building. Before I leave for vacation, I fill up ALL feeders. The person would never have to fill up the 300 lb feeder because it would be full before I left. They would only have to fill up the 5 gallon feeders 1 time per day when they could come out.

I have 6 pools that need to be emptied and filled with clean water one time per day so the ducks and geese can bath and play in. I also have waterers that have to be filled one time per day. I have a total of (10) 3 gallon waterers and (1) 10 gallon waterer. The 10 gallon waterer is good for 3 days.

And of course eggs have to be picked in the evening every day. The person pet sitting can keep all chicken eggs picked (if they enjoy farm fresh eggs). Eggs could be 10 - 12 dozen chicken eggs each day. If it's goose, turkey, duck and pea laying season, I keep all of those eggs.
************************************************************************************************************************
9 Peafowl (in 3 separate pens) - They have feeders that hold 3 1/2 gallons of feed. This lasts for about 1 week. They have 3 gallon waterers that last for 1 week and the water does not get dirty. All a person has to do is check on them to make sure that there were no accidents (spilled over) with the feeders or waterers. If so, re-fill with feed and water but there is never any accidents with their feeders and waterers.
************************************************************************************************************************
10 Sheep - The sheep graze every day and they also have access to hay all day every day. I feed them grain every other day. They have (3) 30 gallon waterers and (2) 10 gallon waterers that are lined up along the fence. They go through all of that water in about 5 days, so no need to water them. All they have to do is check to make sure water is still clean.
***********************************************************************************************************************
1 Goat - He has a 3 gallon feeder that is kept full. I refill once ever 3 days. He has access to hay all day every day. He also has a 30 gallon waterer that last him for weeks. However, I do check to make sure that he has clean water and that the ducks didn't go in in his pen and took a bath. That seldom happens. If the water is dirty, it will need to be dumped out and filled with clean water.
*************************************************************************************************************************
7 Rabbits - There feeders are filled before I leave and last for 1 week. Their waterers last for 2 days. Only have to fill with water ever other day but still need to check to make sure water and feed is full.
************************************************************************************************************************
2 outside cats - Feed once a day. They have large waterers that remain filled for 1 week so no need to provide water.
***********************************************************************************************************************

This would be a schedule for my animals if I took a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday vacation. I always make sure that all feeders and waterers are filled for ALL animals before I leave, so that person DOES NOT have to feed or water at all.

Thursday - If they want to go to pick their eggs, they can. If not, they do not have to go to my place at all on Thursday. The animals put themselves to bed. No need to lock up coops because I do not have any predators, so my animals are safe over night. So they are not required to do any work on this day.

Friday - will require a once a day visit to check on 5 gallon feeders for Group #1 and fill with feed if necessary. Check on and fill 3 gallon waterers. Empty out pools and refill with clean water. Put feed in feeder for outside cats and check to make sure that outside waterer is filled. If there was an accident and they need water, they will fill up the waterer. That never happens) Check on sheep, goat, peas and rabbits to see if they may have turned over their feeder or waterer and fill up if so. This seldom happens. The person will pick their eggs to take home with them. If they don't want the eggs, they will place in outside refrigerator.

Saturday - will require a once a day visit to check on 5 gallon feeders for Group #1 and fill with feed if necessary. They should definitely need feed on this day. Check on and fill 3 gallon waterers. Empty out pools and refill with clean water. Put feed in feeder for outside cats and check to make sure that outside waterer is filled. If there was an accident and they need water, they will fill up the waterer. Check on sheep, goat, peas and rabbits to see if they may have turned over their feeder or waterer and fill up if so. The sheep will require feeding which would be 5 gallons of feed poured in their feeder. The person will pick their eggs to take home with them. If they don't want the eggs, they will place in outside refrigerator.

Sunday - Really no need to come out because I will be back on Sunday evening. In the event, my plans change and there is a problem and I can't return, then they will repeat duties from Friday. (will require a once a day visit to check on 5 gallon feeders for Group #1 and fill with feed if necessary. Check on and fill 3 gallon waterers. Empty out pools and refill with clean water. Put feed in feeder for outside cats and check to make sure that outside waterer is filled. If there was an accident and they need water, they will fill up the waterer. Check on sheep, goat, peas and rabbits to see if they may have turned over their feeder or waterer and fill up if so.

** I have a water hose that is several hundred feet and it is connected to the house and runs to the chicken yard and remains in the chicken yard at all times, so they do not have to pull the hose from the house. All they have to do is turn on the water. All waterers and pools are in close proximity to one another so there is not a lot of walking required to get to point A to Point B, etc. etc. etc.

So this is my list for a pet sitter. Please tell me what you all would charge if you all had to do this once a day chore. What is a reasonable price to pay someone? The number of animals sounds like a lot but they are not dealing with the animals in terms of this large number. Its only pouring feed in a feeder and waterering. And if there is any medical emergency, they would always call me.

Thanks for your help.

(I think I covered everything.)

 

[OScarlet]

I have no idea... perhaps work out how many hours (be generous) it would take and pay $15/hour making sure that the person got at least $30 per visit or more if you are remote....??? It sounds like emptying the pools would be the biggest pain of the lot.

I guess it also depends on how well people are paid in your area. Here our vet assistant charges $25 a visit to just look after a few chickens that will take ten minutes and she is close by but we have a high cost of living.

I would be happier having someone who has animals (cats or dogs would be fine) or who works with animals looking after mine.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have no idea... perhaps work out how many hours (be generous) it would take and pay $15/hour making sure that the person got at least $30 per visit or more if you are remote....???  It sounds like emptying the pools would be the biggest pain of the lot.

I guess it also depends on how well people are paid in your area.  Here our vet assistant charges $25 a visit to just look after a few chickens that will take ten minutes and she is close by but we have a high cost of living.

I would be happier having someone who has animals (cats or dogs would be fine) or who works with animals looking after mine.

Ok.

And with the pools, all I do is empty it and set the hose in it and walk away to do my other chores. When the pool is full, I get the hose out and go to the next pool and do the next thing. So while the pools are filling up, I"m doing something else. I don't have to sit and wait at the pool until it's filled.

In my area, their are no farm sitters. There are only a few dog sitters and all they do is go to the person's house and feed and water 1 or 2 dogs and that's pretty much it. If I could get quotes from other farm sitters, I could get an idea.

Thank you for your input. Much appreciated.

 

[OScarlet]

I did a google search for 'farm sitter charge' and got a bunch of useful hits. Here is one thread about horse sitting. http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?188032-Rates-for-Farm-Sitting

 

[kuntrygirl]

I did a google search for 'farm sitter charge' and got a bunch of useful hits.  Here is one thread about horse sitting.  http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?188032-Rates-for-Farm-Sitting

Thanks. I'm checking it out now.