How hard can it really be?? Rant!

[bhawk-23]

I have 2 updates:

First, said sitter got more chicks
But, she also said she is moving so there is an upside.

Second, my son found me a sitter! It's his really good friend's aunt. She moved here recently and when Andrew was telling her about my situation and what happened she was thrilled to offer her services! Turns out she loves chickens and has had them before. She lives close but does not have a flock nor know anyone that does. This will work perfectly, especially if my chicken's test comes back positive for MG. I am going to ask her to come over to meet my girls.

I think it was a necessary move and she misses her land and animals so it may even be a win for my dogs. IF I can get my EM pup ok with being alone outside of her crate. Right now she can go about 2 hours before being destructive.

Also, we've known this family for years. They have always treated my son like their own.

 

[MixedFlock23]

Hurray for a new sitter! I too live in Illinois and pay my next door neighbor $10/day to care for our chickens, 3 cats, and bunny. It takes me about 10 minutes to do my morning chores and less than 5 minutes to then double check the critters and collect eggs in the evening. She also collects eggs and keeps them as part of her pay. (just over a dozen eggs daily-- so if sold for $4/dozen, she's making about $60/hour, which seems like more than enough to me.)
I hope your flock recovers completely from whatever ailment they got (probably from her shoes). I am so happy for you and your chickens and the new sitter.

 

[Alagirl]

I have 2 updates:

First, said sitter got more chicks
But, she also said she is moving so there is an upside.

Second, my son found me a sitter! It's his really good friend's aunt. She moved here recently and when Andrew was telling her about my situation and what happened she was thrilled to offer her services! Turns out she loves chickens and has had them before. She lives close but does not have a flock nor know anyone that does. This will work perfectly, especially if my chicken's test comes back positive for MG. I am going to ask her to come over to meet my girls.

I think it was a necessary move and she misses her land and animals so it may even be a win for my dogs. IF I can get my EM pup ok with being alone outside of her crate. Right now she can go about 2 hours before being destructive.

Also, we've known this family for years. They have always treated my son like their own.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

 

[Shanaleeann]

Wow! She really shouldn't have gotten paid. The agreed upon compensation was for agreed upon work, which she didn't really hold up her end of that bargain, so...

 

[DuneDucks]

Okay the sitter has been harped on enough, so I won't add on there, but after reading a few similar comments I do think I would contest the idea of eggs as payment. If you have experience selling eggs and know there's demand in your community then that's one thing. But randomly googling the price of eggs and saying "I'm basically paying X more per hour!" seems a bit disingenuous.

First of all, collecting eggs that might spoil or attract predators is a favor to you. Some might even consider that task an additional chore, not a reward. Secondly, the process of selling the eggs is a job in itself. Unless they had buyer lined up and ready to come pick up the eggs most people probably wouldn't even find it worth it. Considering the time it would take to post an ad/find a buyer, and then the gas it would take to deliver, I personally couldn't see the profit margin over a couple dozen eggs being anything but negligible. Selling to random people online is not something everybody is comfortable with either.

And to be clear I'm speaking generally here, not trying to call out any one person.

 

[MixedFlock23]

Okay the sitter has been harped on enough, so I won't add on there, but after reading a few similar comments I do think I would contest the idea of eggs as payment. If you have experience selling eggs and know there's demand in your community then that's one thing. But randomly googling the price of eggs and saying "I'm basically paying X more per hour!" seems a bit disingenuous.

First of all, collecting eggs that might spoil or attract predators is a favor to you. Some might even consider that task an additional chore, not a reward. Secondly, the process of selling the eggs is a job in itself. Unless they had buyer lined up and ready to come pick up the eggs most people probably wouldn't even find it worth it. Considering the time it would take to post an ad/find a buyer, and then the gas it would take to deliver, I personally couldn't see the profit margin over a couple dozen eggs being anything but negligible. Selling to random people online is not something everybody is comfortable with either.

And to be clear I'm speaking generally here, not trying to call out any one person.

Fair enough, my neighbor friend makes approximately $42 per hour and gets a dozen free eggs daily when she cares for my critters. My neighbor/friend also says she would care for my animals for free too, but I pay her because I believe that's the right thing to do.
(I see you're not calling out me specifically.)
I commented earlier to say I pay the same rate and live in the same general geographical area since so many people said she was underpaying (and maybe perhaps implying she got what she paid for? idk). Obvisously it depends where you live as to what the going rate is, but since it was part of the agreed upon arrangement, it seems like we can count is as pay. I also trade babysitting with friends as "payment" though. Regardless of payment methods & amounts, I'm sure sorry that OP had such a rough first time sitter experience and I was only trying to help by saying I pay the same way since there was much chatter on the rate.

 

[DuneDucks]

Regardless of payment methods & amounts, I'm sure sorry that OP had such a rough first time sitter experience and I was only trying to help by saying I pay the same way since there was much chatter on the rate.

Yeah sorry if it seemed that was directed at you. You had the latest comment, but it seems like a fairly common sentiment around here. I've actually been thinking about this thread from time to time while going about my morning chores, so I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents when I saw it pop back up today.

I agree familiarity with the sitter would have an impact on the arrangement for me. I would be hesitant to hire a random stranger unless they came well reviewed. Unfortunate that you can't just trust people, but I would absolutely expect to pay a premium for someone to not only take good care of my animals and property, but also respect my privacy. If I had to set-up cameras to trust whether they were/weren't doing their job I probably wouldn't even hire them in the first place.

 

[bhawk-23]

Okay the sitter has been harped on enough, so I won't add on there, but after reading a few similar comments I do think I would contest the idea of eggs as payment. If you have experience selling eggs and know there's demand in your community then that's one thing. But randomly googling the price of eggs and saying "I'm basically paying X more per hour!" seems a bit disingenuous.

First of all, collecting eggs that might spoil or attract predators is a favor to you. Some might even consider that task an additional chore, not a reward. Secondly, the process of selling the eggs is a job in itself. Unless they had buyer lined up and ready to come pick up the eggs most people probably wouldn't even find it worth it. Considering the time it would take to post an ad/find a buyer, and then the gas it would take to deliver, I personally couldn't see the profit margin over a couple dozen eggs being anything but negligible. Selling to random people online is not something everybody is comfortable with either.

And to be clear I'm speaking generally here, not trying to call out any one person.

Fair enough. But in my area fresh eggs are a hot commodity. I figured she was happy to have an abundance instead of paying $6 dozen at a store or farmers market. I believe she pickled some and not sure what else.
But also, whether she was planning to sell or keep, I agreed to her asking price and actually overpaid since I dropped it off on my way home from the airport before seeing all the damage done.

Fair enough, my neighbor friend makes approximately $42 per hour and gets a dozen free eggs daily when she cares for my critters. My neighbor/friend also says she would care for my animals for free too, but I pay her because I believe that's the right thing to do.
(I see you're not calling out me specifically.)
I commented earlier to say I pay the same rate and live in the same general geographical area since so many people said she was underpaying (and maybe perhaps implying she got what she paid for? idk). Obvisously it depends where you live as to what the going rate is, but since it was part of the agreed upon arrangement, it seems like we can count is as pay. I also trade babysitting with friends as "payment" though. Regardless of payment methods & amounts, I'm sure sorry that OP had such a rough first time sitter experience and I was only trying to help by saying I pay the same way since there was much chatter on the rate.

That is how I took your post and I definitely appreciate the confirmation of her payment amount being pretty normal for here. And, it was her asking rate so.....

 

[bhawk-23]

Yeah sorry if it seemed that was directed at you. You had the latest comment, but it seems like a fairly common sentiment around here. I've actually been thinking about this thread from time to time while going about my morning chores, so I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents when I saw it pop back up today.

I agree familiarity with the sitter would have an impact on the arrangement for me. I would be hesitant to hire a random stranger unless they came well reviewed. Unfortunate that you can't just trust people, but I would absolutely expect to pay a premium for someone to not only take good care of my animals and property, but also respect my privacy. If I had to set-up cameras to trust whether they were/weren't doing their job I probably wouldn't even hire them in the first place.

She is a local person, 4th year vet student who graduated and once again, I paid her asking price and then some.
Also, cameras are there for safety. We have one set up by the automatic door to watch them go out and make sure none are hanging out next to it before closing. The camera in the coop has been there since having chickens. Hubs put it up for me to check on them when they moved outside. First time chicken mama and I was so worried about them. Then we had fun seeing who laid what egg and now it's just a permanent fixture to check on them. Cameras were most definitely NOT put up for the sitter. I just felt that it was only right to let her know they were there so when she saw them she wasn't surprised.

 

[DuneDucks]

But also, whether she was planning to sell or keep, I agreed to her asking price and actually overpaid since I dropped it off on my way home from the airport before seeing all the damage done.

Right, I agree with you there. If $10 and eggs was the agreed upon price, then she should have done the work, and done it properly. I don't agree with the general idea expressed in this thread that $10 and $5 worth of eggs is the same as being paid $15 though. That's really all I was commenting on.

And sorry the camera comment could have been phrased better. I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I'm saying personally I can be an untrusting person, so if it crossed my mind I might have to check up on them I probably wouldn't even consider hiring them.