Would you hire a chicken sitter?

[N F C]

I absolutely think there is a market for an animal care giver. I've been on both sides of that coin.

I used to dog sit for a friend (I lived at her house for their vacations). And I hired a friend to chicken sit when my husband & I had to go out of state for a family thing for 2.5 weeks.

One thing that would concern me about flock sitting is the possibility that illness or pests could be transferred from one flock to another.

 

[451757]

I absolutely think there is a market for an animal care giver. I've been on both sides of that coin.

I used to dog sit for a friend (I lived at her house for their vacations). And I hired a friend to chicken sit when my husband & I had to go out of state for a family thing for 2.5 weeks.

One thing that would concern me about flock sitting is the possibility that illness or pests could be transferred from one flock to another.

I plan to take extreme precautions. I'm paranoid about that sort of thing. I plan to wear boot covers over my boots so I can have protection on my feet and, of course, toss them in a garbage bag in my car after i finish at each client's house. I plan to wear disposable gloves at each client's house and keep wipes and lysol in the car so I can disinfect myself between clients. Is there anything else you can think of?

Also, can I get feedback on pricing?
I'm thinking of charging $15 for the first animal and $1 for each additional animal and this total will reflect basic work: feed, water, check on, medicine, etc. Then, charge $5 for each duty tacked on like scooping litter boxes, walking dogs, cleaning stalls and so on. Thoughts?

 

[CatWhisperer]

NFC is bringing up a great point. To have someone who owns chickens or is sitting for other people’s chickens brings a risk of transferring disease or parasites if really good hygiene is not practiced. I have a pair of crocs I wear in the chicken yard that can easily be bleached. I also wash my hands between handling different groups of my chickens or my conure indoors.

 

[451757]

NFC is bringing up a great point. To have someone who owns chickens or is sitting for other people’s chickens brings a risk of transferring disease or parasites if really good hygiene is not practiced. I have a pair of crocs I wear in the chicken yard that can easily be bleached. I also wash my hands between handling different groups of my chickens or my conure indoors.

This is what I relied to NFC. What are your thoughts? I plan to wear boot covers over my boots so I can have protection on my feet and, of course, toss them in a garbage bag in my car after i finish at each client's house. I plan to wear disposable gloves at each client's house and keep wipes and lysol in the car so I can disinfect myself between clients. Is there anything else you can think of?

 

[CatWhisperer]

I plan to take extreme precautions. I'm paranoid about that sort of thing. I plan to wear boot covers over my boots so I can have protection on my feet and, of course, toss them in a garbage bag in my car after i finish at each client's house. I plan to wear disposable gloves at each client's house and keep wipes and lysol in the car so I can disinfect myself between clients. Is there anything else you can think of?

Also, can I get feedback on pricing?
I'm thinking of charging $15 for the first animal and $1 for each additional animal and this total will reflect basic work: feed, water, check on, medicine, etc. Then, charge $5 for each duty tacked on like scooping litter boxes, walking dogs, cleaning stalls and so on. Thoughts?

I would not hire someone who charges like this. I have 39 chickens, 7 cats and 1 parrot, 5 litter boxes. You would be pricing yourself out of the market.

 

[CatWhisperer]

This is what I relied to NFC. What are your thoughts? I plan to wear boot covers over my boots so I can have protection on my feet and, of course, toss them in a garbage bag in my car after i finish at each client's house. I plan to wear disposable gloves at each client's house and keep wipes and lysol in the car so I can disinfect myself between clients. Is there anything else you can think of?

I would use soap rather than going thru so many non biodegradable gloves.

 

[451757]

I would not hire someone who charges like this. I have 39 chickens, 7 cats and 1 parrot, 5 litter boxes. You would be pricing yourself out of the market.

I should have clarified. It wouldn't be $5 per litter box; just $5 for the service but I can see where it might be best to include that with basic work. I'm trying to figure out a pricing structure that will cover gas costs (it takes $3 for every 30 minutes/22 miles of driving in my car) and setting aside 30% for taxes while still providing a decent pocket amount left over each day; at least $10. And I'm wanting something that would be straightforward that I could tailor to each client's situation. Another idea I had was charging flat rates; $30/day up to 24 animals, $45/day for 24-48 animals, $60/day for 48+ and these prices being all inclusive as far as what work needs done. Hopefully that makes sense. Thoughts?

 

[PirateGirl]

Thank y'all! I don't think I'd be able to stay at the person's home as I have my own pets to care for. I had planned on making 1-2 trips a day to visit/handle things depending on the owner's wishes. Is not being able to stay seen as a huge negative?

I'm not sure about your geographic location, but I live in a rural area. If the person caring for my animals is not a close neighbor, then likely their home or work is 20 minutes or more away. If someone is not staying at my home and coming over 2 times a day, I am paying them for their service plus 40 minutes or more of drive time per trip. The cost of hiring a pet sitter gets much more expensive when they don't live down the street or stay at your home. With your pricing consider a map, anyone that lives within a certain radius is one price, if you live outside that circle perhaps you add a $10 per trip fee or something to cover your extra time and gas. Consider how many times a day you are stopping at their house in your pricing so that people are paying per trip vs. per day. For instance if it was my flock plus my cats I might only want someone to come once a day or once every other day, but my dogs would need to be let out and fed twice or more a day. Every situation is different. Make sure you are clear with clients ahead of time what the charges will be, a simple contract that at least states their names, the dates, and the agreed price will help. I would not charge per animal, but maybe by the kind of animal. Is it harder to care for one chicken vs. 10? You are still just filling a food dish and a water container and maybe opening a gate? Are two cats harder than one? Again, just a food dish and water dish and shared litter box. Maybe 10 cats would be harder than one or two, so decide some sort of cut off number or something. You can bill daily dog walks in 15 minute or half hour increments. There are a lot of factors, but you can certainly come up with a good starting point for your pricing. Is watering plants extra? What about bringing in the mail? Will you take the trash out to the curb on time on trash day? If it snows and you have to shovel to get to the coops/sheds/house, etc. do you charge for that? What if the driveway isn't plowed and you have to walk a half mile? What if you have multiple clients that need their animals serviced at the same time of day and they live on opposite ends of your service area?

 

[451757]

I'm not sure about your geographic location, but I live in a rural area. If the person caring for my animals is not a close neighbor, then likely their home or work is 20 minutes or more away. If someone is not staying at my home and coming over 2 times a day, I am paying them for their service plus 40 minutes or more of drive time per trip. The cost of hiring a pet sitter gets much more expensive when they don't live down the street or stay at your home. With your pricing consider a map, anyone that lives within a certain radius is one price, if you live outside that circle perhaps you add a $10 per trip fee or something to cover your extra time and gas. Consider how many times a day you are stopping at their house in your pricing so that people are paying per trip vs. per day. For instance if it was my flock plus my cats I might only want someone to come once a day or once every other day, but my dogs would need to be let out and fed twice or more a day. Every situation is different. Make sure you are clear with clients ahead of time what the charges will be, a simple contract that at least states their names, the dates, and the agreed price will help. I would not charge per animal, but maybe by the kind of animal. Is it harder to care for one chicken vs. 10? You are still just filling a food dish and a water container and maybe opening a gate? Are two cats harder than one? Again, just a food dish and water dish and shared litter box. Maybe 10 cats would be harder than one or two, so decide some sort of cut off number or something. You can bill daily dog walks in 15 minute or half hour increments. There are a lot of factors, but you can certainly come up with a good starting point for your pricing. Is watering plants extra? What about bringing in the mail? Will you take the trash out to the curb on time on trash day? If it snows and you have to shovel to get to the coops/sheds/house, etc. do you charge for that? What if the driveway isn't plowed and you have to walk a half mile? What if you have multiple clients that need their animals serviced at the same time of day and they live on opposite ends of your service area?

Thank you for the tips/ideas! I'm definitely trying to make it as straightforward as I can so I can easily quote a potential client. I'm now thinking of a tier structure; $30/day up to 24 animals, $45/day for 24-40 animals, $60/day for 40+. I plan to stick to a radius of about 30 miles from my house and have factored gas into each of the prices above as well as setting aside 30% for taxes. I would end up pocketing, from one client if I have to visit 2x/day, between $12 and $33 for the day. In extreme weather, I think I will charge for things like shoveling (snow is a rarity in Alabama) and mail/plants/trash (this, obviously, won't be weather permitting but daily while I'm there)but not outrageous; maybe an extra $10 for the week's worth. Thoughts?

 

[mdquilts]

I would rather hire someone like you that understands the importance of proper care instead of a neighbor kid.
Have you looked into what types of pet sitting services exist in your area and what they charge? I’m sure different areas would have different price ranges.