How much to pay someone to care for 33 birds?

[Maggie13]

I just did a quick check and the average farm hand (Which is what you would be by the description you mentioned)
starts at $ 14.20 per hour
Personally I think you could ask for a little more since you are not a stranger and live close in case of a problem at any time of the day or night
Also in reality you would be giving him peace of mind keeping an eye on his home and farm while he is not there.

 

[birdlady11]

When I go away on vacation, my chicken sitter is my neighbor. My girls stay safely in the coop while I'm gone because I don't want someone to be responsible if some kind of disaster strikes while I'm gone. I have a large 20x20 coop, fully enclosed, metal roof, with a sand/dirt floor. I sift the coop floor every day when I'm not on vacation. I don't expect my sitter to do that because it's something than can wait for my return.

I have auto feeders that need filling only once every 5 days and that takes about 10 minutes. I have large auto waters that need to be cleaned and refilled about once every 3 days and that takes about 15 minutes.

I ask that she collect the eggs daily (about 5-10 minutes) and share them with her family. Whatever she can't eat she can sell and keep the money.

On a day where she does everything, at most it takes her less than 30 minutes. She tells me she actually spends more time interacting with my girls than it takes her to do the feeding, watering, and collecting. She brings her grandson sometimes because he absolutely loves my chickens. She says (and I agree) when he helps with the chores he's learning how to be a responsible pet owner, learning about the natural cycle of birth, life, and death, and he's such an animal lover that it's a good way for him to enjoy "having" chickens without her actually having to buy, house, feed, and care for chickens herself.

I pay her $15 for her 30-minute daily visit plus whatever money she gets for selling any extra eggs. We go away multiple times a year generally for 10-35 days. $15/day is more than worth the piece of mind I have knowing that my animals are in capable, trustworthy hands. I'm going to start giving her $20 a day because I found when we go away she always checks the property to make sure there are no problems and if there are her husband, a fantastic handyman, is available to fix any problem that arises while we're gone. It's a really important team to have on my side as we live in lightening storm-prone and hurricane-prone Florida.

If you find someone who is trustworthy, has common sense and a few handyman skills hang on to that person and pay them at least minimum wage because they're worth their weight in gold!

 

[Parront]

When I go away on vacation, my chicken sitter is my neighbor. My girls stay safely in the coop while I'm gone because I don't want someone to be responsible if some kind of disaster strikes while I'm gone. I have a large 20x20 coop, fully enclosed, metal roof, with a sand/dirt floor. I sift the coop floor every day when I'm not on vacation. I don't expect my sitter to do that because it's something than can wait for my return.

I have auto feeders that need filling only once every 5 days and that takes about 10 minutes. I have large auto waters that need to be cleaned and refilled about once every 3 days and that takes about 15 minutes.

I ask that she collect the eggs daily (about 5-10 minutes) and share them with her family. Whatever she can't eat she can sell and keep the money.

On a day where she does everything, at most it takes her less than 30 minutes. She tells me she actually spends more time interacting with my girls than it takes her to do the feeding, watering, and collecting. She brings her grandson sometimes because he absolutely loves my chickens. She says (and I agree) when he helps with the chores he's learning how to be a responsible pet owner, learning about the natural cycle of birth, life, and death, and he's such an animal lover that it's a good way for him to enjoy "having" chickens without her actually having to buy, house, feed, and care for chickens herself.

I pay her $15 for her 30-minute daily visit plus whatever money she gets for selling any extra eggs. We go away multiple times a year generally for 10-35 days. $15/day is more than worth the piece of mind I have knowing that my animals are in capable, trustworthy hands. I'm going to start giving her $20 a day because I found when we go away she always checks the property to make sure there are no problems and if there are her husband, a fantastic handyman, is available to fix any problem that arises while we're gone. It's a really important team to have on my side as we live in lightening storm-prone and hurricane-prone Florida.

If you find someone who is trustworthy, has common sense and a few handyman skills hang on to that person and pay them at least minimum wage because they're worth their weight in gold!

I agree completely! I help my retired/older neighbors with their computers. I charge $20/hour for that. Sometimes I drive them to Dr.'s Appt or other things, and then I barter with them. They make me quilts, pies, & one neighbor repaired my husband's favorite jacket with a new zipper because she sews way better than I ever will!

 

[Luv Ducks]

I first titled the post “how much for a chicken tender?” and figured that would be confusing Anyway my neighbor lives in the City and has a weekend farm in the country- several acre property with about 33 birds mostly chickens and a few guineas and turkeys. He only comes out on the weekends and needs someone to tend to his flock Monday through Friday. They have a big coop and then free range over the acreage during the day. He wants them locked in at night and let out in the morning plus fed and watered, eggs collected, and whatever other miscellaneous done to care for them. Plus he’s got a very large vegetable garden that has to be watered. How much per day is a fair rate for this chicken and garden care job? This is in north Texas just outside of Dallas.

In Ohio we had to pay a guy $50.00 to mow an acre of grass. That was with a large house on it and shed and flower garden. All he did was mow. With the price of gas if you have to furnish the gas too plus your gas and time in all of the other chores add everything up before you give them a price. Good luck.

 

[clumberfam]

I charge $10 per day but that's only feeding, watering, bringing in mail, and watering plants. The place I care for is about 5 miles from my house.

 

[Parront]

I charge $10 per day but that's only feeding, watering, bringing in mail, and watering plants. The place I care for is about 5 miles from my house.

I would hire you in a heartbeat! I have a young neighbor nextdoor who I pay that amount to for chicken watching, but she is only 10. And her mom supervises her! This poster is doing quite a bit more.