and where are you located? Thanks!
Iām in northeastern SC.
I have someone come feed my three dogs, let them out and back inside, feed the cats, let chickens out in the morning and put them up in the evening, and feed the horses (who live out with 24/7 access to shelter). If she comes twice a day itās $35/trip, or if she also comes mid-day just to ex dogs itās $100/day.
Iām on a fairly remote farm. Itās only a ten-minute drive for my sitter, but for anyone else it would be 1/2 hour to 45 minutes one way.
North-Central Florida
1 horse, 1 mule, 1 cat
Equines are out 24/7, so no stalls to clean. I also shut them in separate pastures when Iām away so the person only has to handle them 1-on-1.
$50/day for two visits, morning and evening. I expect fly masks to be put on in the morning, removed in the evening and grain fed & fly spray applied morning and evening. My current regular horse sitter also usually does a little bit of grooming in the evening if she has time, but I donāt request that, she just enjoys doing it.
The cat is old and missing many teeth, so gets canned food twice/day and the litter box scooped out every day/every other day.
I also have a dog, but he goes to the kennel because I donāt like him to be home alone all day and all night.
Midwest.
Guy from my local (5min from the farm) feedstore comes twice a day.
My 3 - horse, pony, mini - are out 24/7 & sort themselves into stalls for being fed hay & grain.
Hay is stacked the barn & I pre-bag & label feed so it just gets dumped into their floor pans. He gathers & keeps any eggs.
He also tops off water buckets in stalls & trough out front & feeds/waters chickens who are let out in their fenced yard then closed in the coop evenings.
When I had a barncat he fed/watered her too.
$10/visit = $20/day for all of the above. .
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I am a pet sitter in Massachusetts near Concord / Sudbury/Maynard and I charge $40 per day for one dog and $ 40 for up to three cats. If I do overnights I charge $50. I havenāt done any farms but I did two chickens and I only charged $20 per day since it was so simple.
I do this professionally, am bonded & insured. āGold Coastā of CT here.
I charge $35/ visit, which buys you up to an hour of my timeā¦ I will charge more for obscure farms or longer distances.
Typically I charge $110/ day for farm sitting-- and normally I stay at the clientās house. Again, that will go up or down depending upon how involved things are or how many animals I have to tend to. A ādayā is defined as 24 hours, or any part thereof. Usual services include a.m. grain/ hay/ t/o &muck. House animals are fed and let out while Iām doing barn chores. Then thereās the noon - time visit, pm feed/ let in/ out, pick, then night check.
I once had someone paying me $60 day to care for 9 horses, 3 cats and 2 dog. It was quite involved but she dropped me when I raised my rates.
I pay at least $100/day- WNY. Two visits a day. The dogs are boarded, cats are ok because I have only gone away for 3 days at most, board any sicker/older ones (I had one that blocked once, so he was boarded at vet with my old dog, younger dog at kennel). So its 3 horses- turnout, feed- hay, 1 scoop grain, and water.
I pay $35 a day for the horses, $5 more if it includes pets. Northern Indiana.
some areas of the country are really high. I was paid $100/day in DC area to horse and pet sit, and someone else was paid to clean stalls. Basically feed, turnout, bring in, and snuggle pets. Owner just paid going rate.
When itās just the (3) horses, one visit a day is all that is needed to drop feed, check water and clean the run in. She charges me $15 for what amounts to 10 minutes of time. I am about 8-10 miles from her full time job. Iām also flexible about what time she comes (am, mid day, pm).
If we donāt take the dogs (2), she stays at the house. Feeds, exercises and loves on them at a minimum of 2 times a day. She charges $40 a day.
Iām in Central Virginia.
I board my horse, so thatās not an issue. For my 2 dogs, I actually have 2 friends that willingly stay at my house while we are gone to take care of them. One of them doesnāt take any money from us, he just enjoys being in our little slice of paradise hanging with my dogs whom he adores. We normally bring him back a pretty spendy bottle of tequila (normally $150-$200) when we come home from Mexico. Other friend charged me $250 to stay at my house for 10 days while in St. Kitts with the first friend and after we got home she said next time we need her to watch the girls she will not let us pay her anything - she loved being here that much! So we are incredibly fortunate!
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SE Michigan. If is itās the two cats once a day then $20/day. If sheās taking care of the dog as well - either staying at my house or taking him with her plus feeding the cats itās $50/day.
I donāt have horses at home right now.
Iām in northern Colorado and I pay $45 a day for overnight farm sitting. I have 2 dogs, 4 cats, and 2 horses. The horses are on pasture and only get grain once a day. None of my animals have any special needs or medications.
Thank you everyone for your responses. This confirms what I already thought - I am underpaid! Haha!
Iām in Maine, and I love my fam sitter. She charges $60 a day to:
~ Feed two grain meals to three horses
~ Turn out AM and bring in PM
~ Throw hay
~ Fly spray/masks or blankets, depending on the season
~ Muck three stalls
~ Check in once during the day
~ Let out/lock in free range chickens
~ Feed three barn cats
(This is cheap for all she does, I know, but she lives about half a mile away, so that helps. Iād be happy to pay more if she had to drive any distance. Sheās terrific.)
I pay 60$ a day to stay at our house with the two dogs, feed them, let them out into a fenced backyard, and feed four horses twice a day, which might include blanketing and feeding hay. I am in the Atlanta area.
Iāve paid up to $150 per day for 5-6 horses, in during day, out at night so stall cleaning, anywhere from 4-6 dogs (I have foster dogs often) and a cat or 2. Sitter stays on farm. Fly spray blankets when needed. Medications as needed (one on prascend one on oral liquid meds 3Xs a week). I also have boarder(s) who check in on stuff.
West coast, rates in my area for dog sitting are $65-70/day for three visits, with real walks (I donāt have a yard) and 2 feedings, and general pats and playing and hang out time with the dog (I think per day, sheās there for about 2-3 hours overall). Or $70/overnight (includes evening and morning walk & feeding), for a dog. I think a second dog is an added $5-10. Holidays have an extra $10-15 fee also. And you have to book early because she gets busy.
Boarding might be a little less (around or over $50/day now?) but it stresses out the dog more than having someone come to the house. A few years ago, pet sitting was about $55-60/day, and boarding around $40, but everyoneās rates have gone up since then and I like the person Iāve been using so I continue to use her even though sheās gotten more expensive.
wow, Iām surprised how much some of you pay.
We pay $15/hr and round up to the hour for our girl. Generally she needs less than 2 hrs to clean 4-6 stalls, bring in and feed, and the dogs are out when sheās doing the horses. Sheās not staying at the house, and she lives nearby. And generally she only does PM on the days DH works (he does 24-hr shifts, but will feed/turnout in the early AM before he leaves) If we were asking her to stay overnight, I imagine weād pay more, but overall less-per-hour. Luckily, we have a good friend who stays and does the farm for free for the few times we actually leave town.
Those of you who are paying ~$100! Wow, just wow. I can see how DC/NY rates would be astronomical, since all costs are inflated in those areas. But it seems high to me to be paying $40-50/hr just to walk a dog or muck a stall.
That is high. So far, for me, itās a little under $30/hour for dog sitting ($70/2.5 hours = 28). When Iām away, itās not just dog walking, itās peace of mind also. I trust her to be in my house when Iām not there and with my dog, of course. Sheās reliable, easy to communicate with, professional, insured, travels to my place, cleans up after herself, and the dog likes her. If asked, she will also get the mail and water plants. I donāt worry about her stealing anything or the dog being neglected or mistreated.
Some people I interviewed who charge less seemed to be less professional, or not professional sitters at all, and only pet sit part time or when itās convenient for them. Itās not that I enjoy paying a lot or having to budget extra for the dog, but I want my pet sitter to be able to continue doing her job, and if this is what she needs to charge to make a living/profit, then itās fine with me. If it were much more than everyone else, I might be looking elsewhere, but itās the going rate where I am, even for people who donāt actually ever walk dogs. I donāt like asking friends for this kind of favour because it feels like a huge imposition and a lot of my nearby friends/family are not knowledgeable about animals (if they were, it might be a different situation, but I would still offer to pay them).
I think itās worth noting also that these are not everyday fees. Iām not paying my sitter $70/day regularly. This would be for a vacation or out-of-town emergency (overall, I go away maybe 2x a year). I believe my pet sitter has a lower rate for ājustā dog walks, when the owners are home and itās a daily/weekly commitment, without being responsible for the dog while the owners are away. I havenāt used that service. And these pet sitting rates are still cheaper than having a horse 
:dead: (in full-care retirement board, so I donāt pay extra for him when Iām away, but his overall/yearly fees are much more than the few days of dog sitting per year. I donāt know what barn owner pays her staff, but I imagine itās worked into the board rate or she does it herself, and any extras are billed to the clients).
Coastal mid-Atlantic here:
House sitter stays here (Iām between sitters right nowā¦bummer). Two dogs, three horses. Dogs feeding and letting in/out (no leash or walking, dogs stay on farm). One dog gets pills 2-3x/day. Horses get pre-bagged feed, fly masks checked, fly spray am & pm. Stalls picked as needed (they come and go as they please). During the humid days of summer, one horse gets scarlet oil and medicated powder on her white legs to prevent scratches (thatās what works for her). Sweep aisleway if needed and check water trough. Horses take 20 minutes max am & pm.
I pay $70/day plus I ask sitter for a grocery list to get all the food and drinks theyād like to have while theyāre here. I also leave enough cash for them to eat out one night if they want.
