Farm sitting rates

[onaweber]

Hello all. I previously posted asking what you think I should charge for farm sitting for 19 equines (15 horses, 1 mini, 3 donkeys), 4 barn cats, 60 chickens, and possibly 2 dogs. I also forgot to mention they have 3 house cats that would need to be taken care of. I would like to show you what I have come up with and ask for feedback. Do you think this is fair? Too much, too little?

I mentioned before horses are on 24/7 turnout and are quite easy to take care of. In my previous post, some of you hit it right on the nose and I couldn’t say it better myself: “Being paid to work while the owner is present (or at least in town and reachable) is different from having full responsibility for the farm with no one else there. You should be compensated for the additional ‘work’ you are taking on” (thank you wsmoak). I am responsible for everything that goes on at the farm when the owners are away and need to take care of emergencies etc.

Commute times: parent’s house 20 minutes, apartment 45 minutes, work 30 minutes (I only work another part-time job a few times a week)

I am a young person (21) and yes it is not upsetting my life too much however, it is an inconvenience to have to be put out of my home for overnight stays. Plus, I will be in the process of moving when they are out of town so… added stress.

These prices DO NOT include the $30 a day I make on the weekdays. These prices are on TOP of those prices. This facility is a rescue so I am being paid by the rescue the $150 a week and the owners will pay these prices out of pocket:

Visits per day
Weekday rate
1 visit per day: $30
2 visits: $20 per visit, $40 total
3 or more visits: $15 per visit
Weekend rate
1 visit per day: $40
2 visits: $25 per visit, $50 total
3 or more visits: $20 per visit
Overnights
Weekday rate
Without dogs: $55 per day
With dogs: $75 per day
Weekend rate
Without dogs: $70 per day
With dogs: $90 per day

Also thought I should mention I only came up with the “visits per day” prices in case the dogs will not be present and the owners don’t mind if I don’t stay the night. They do prefer me to stay when the dogs are not there but don’t require me to. Realistically if dogs are not present and I don’t stay the night I should only have to make one visit per day but came up with varying prices just in case.

Thank you for your feedback!

[Simkie]

Your general location within the US matters here–some areas are definitely more $$$ than others–but overall, it appears you’ve put a great deal of thought into how you’re breaking this out, and these rates look reasonable to me.

Do consider the hassle factor in driving back and forth. Four visits on a weekday = $60, but your overnight rate without dogs is $55. It’s probably a lot more intrusive to your day to day to drive over 4x, but that’s not reflected in what you’d be making, and your gas costs for the drive are static, when your pay per visit is dropping. Maybe a cap on the number of visits? Or perhaps it’s just a non issue with the type of work and expectations for these owners, but something to be mindful of if you expand your business.

[onaweber]

@Simkie

Your general location within the US matters here–some areas are definitely more $$$ than others–but overall, it appears you’ve put a great deal of thought into how you’re breaking this out, and these rates look reasonable to me.

Do consider the hassle factor in driving back and forth. Four visits on a weekday = $60, but your overnight rate without dogs is $55. It’s probably a lot more intrusive to your day to day to drive over 4x, but that’s not reflected in what you’d be making, and your gas costs for the drive are static, when your pay per visit is dropping. Maybe a cap on the number of visits? Or perhaps it’s just a non issue with the type of work and expectations for these owners, but something to be mindful of if you expand your business.

I live in Wisconsin!

Also, I don’t expect them to want me to do more than 2 visits so I am not too worried about it but I will definitely adjust it just in case!

Thanks a lot for your feedback, I really appreciate it.