The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Marketplace => Topic started by: Nina on February 09, 2011, 07:22:06 pm
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Hi - We're looking at having a holiday :o this year and would like to have a house-sitter to keep an eye on sheep/cattle/poultry... And if found someone we liked, maybe use them for odd weekends (i.e. family wedding) if they could look after dogs too... If they had dogs, they could probably bring them (ours live outdoors...) and 10ac to walk them on...
Any ideas as to how to find someone - I know it's been mentioned before but big red words came up about resurrecting old posts!
Or anyone interested?! :-\
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where abouts are you?
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Powys - Just 15 mins over Shropshire border...
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Hi Nina,
Currently housesitting in Devon though my home is in Scotland!!!!
What dates are you looking at?
Perhaps you may like to send me a personal message and I'll get back to you?
Susan
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Try Pippa. She comes highly recommended. Experience with all kinds of pets and livestock (pigs, sheep, cattle, poultry, even exotic animals).
http://www.smallholdingsittingservice.co.uk/contact.html (http://www.smallholdingsittingservice.co.uk/contact.html)
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Thanks Liz :)
Hi, I've been running my business as a smallholder sitter for the past 2 and a half years, specialising in farms and smallholdings with livestock. I live on the coast in Ceredigion and would be able to come across to you. I have experience with horned and polled cattle, I can hand milk, I can lamb if needed, able to tag/inject cattle/sheep/pigs. I have also looked after dogs, cats, snakes, llamas, african grey parrots. I have worked on organic and non-organic farms.
I have a HND in Agriculture (with countryside management) and I can give you several references if needed.
my email is [email protected] (though I think Liz has already given all details needed)
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Would happily recommend Pel aswell. She is excellent.
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What do these kind of services cost, may I ask? I'd love a holiday but don't have a lot of spare cash lying about so assumed that wouldn't happen..
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It depends what you have, if you write a list of your animals on here if you like, and a brief description of your routine I'll give you a quote.
My prices range from £35 for 24 hours upwards for house, plants and pet sitting.
If you have any livestock including ponies, horses, and over 20 poultry then it would be from £40 a day upwards.
For example:
Client 1; if you have 6 ponies, 12 sheep, 4 dogs, 30 chickens, 6 geese, 10 ducks, 5 cats, 1 sow, 1 boar, 8 growers, plants to water. Morning and evening routine takes an hour each that would be £45 a day plus travel expense
Client 2: 3 horses to let in and out, muck out, feed, water. 2 seperate groups of chickens: let in, let out, feed water. 2 dogs, 1 budgie, 2 kittens, 4 sheep, 1 cow and steer that would also be £45 per day plus travel expense
Client 3: at £45 per day: 2 milking cows (and everything that goes with milking a cow), 2 dogs, 20 poultry and 3 cats.
Client 4 at £40 per day: 21 ewes, 1 ram, 3 ponies, veg plot to manage, polytunnels, fish to feed, water needs to be carried to everything, wild birds to feed (dependant on time of year).
I charge for travel expense, and ask you to provide food for me, or I can provide my own but charge you a little for it (£15 for 3 nights/weekend or £30 for a week). If your close to me (within and hour or near my in-laws in knighton) then I will come and visit you first free of charge to see yourself and your animals, and how you interact with them and how they respond to you. For new clients I come the evening before you leave, so that you can show me the ropes for evening and morning routine, where the food is stored and if you have cows/goats/sheep to milk if you whistle or hum as this may well help them let down. I only charge for the days you are away, so that first evening and morning would be free.
I have a client that goes away for 4+ weeks at a time, in this case I drop my price from their quoted £40 per day to £35 per day.
I also try and only work in Wales and borders now as I have a 1 year old son, though for the odd one a year I could do out of wales.
In general my son comes with me (and if its a busy routine, my mum/dad comes with me to help out, this does not affect the cost of anything). However, if its not possible for him to be with me then my mum and husband look after him.
Hope this has helped.
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what a fantastic service you offer :wave:
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To add i'm fully booked February, March, July. half booked August, April, June. Free all month May.
There is potential that I will be stopping the business for a year from September, but my husband needs to discuss whether he will be getting more teaching work at the uni, if he does then business will be as usual. So at this time, I'm only taking provisional bookings after September (of which I have a few).
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wish i had something like this set up
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Its not hard to do, as long as you have experience and not too many animals of your own, if you have an OH is she ok with you not being around much and you dont mind being on your own then your fine. Its easier to setup a business, there is advertising to think about, and what you can charge in your area. For instance where I'm from if i were to charge Monmouthshire/ Wiltshire prices of £60 + a day I would not have any clients, as this is a poor area (in general). There is also the need to have a vehicle, though when I first started out I was still learning to drive and a few clients were happy to pick me up from stations, but its definetly a must for long term plans.
As I am married I could never be full full time, as in working 6 days a week every week (allowing a day of travelling, though in some cases this may need to be more, or if you lucky enough to get a long term then less). Now I have a son, and now the business is successful the husband isn't too keen if I am away for more than 3 weeks a month as he'd never see me.
I know some sitters (one in devon) only does a 12 mile radius and seems to do fine, I can't really see the sitting business as a main income, unless you were single and could guarantee to have a sitting every day of the year, as this way you wouldnt have to rent somewhere of your own permanently.
I love my job and thats all that really matters to me. I get to look after animals, pick up tips on how to design your own holding, meet new people and see new places. Its interesting seeing different behaviours of animals too and how the environment in which they live in affects them.
Sorry Nina I'm clogging up your thread.
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Wow - Thanks for all that info! Interesting to hear what you do - Though doesn't it make you want your own stock etc?
Anyway - To those who pm'd - I've responded.
And I'll drop you an email Pippa, though I think you'll probably be booked up for when we're looking...
Thanks all! :wave:
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I'm in Fife so probably not right for you if you're trying to stay in Wales ;) but thanks for the info.
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We may be able to come up to you, but silver swan lives in Scotland, so she might be a better choice, if not give me an email and we can always discuss a bit more. The OH wants to get a job up in St Andrews Uni in the next couple of years, especially if this Uni doesn't offer him one next August (2012), so we might be nearer then, plus I think the OH should probably look at the area before he goes there.
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I'm in Fife so probably not right for you if you're trying to stay in Wales ;) but thanks for the info.
Whereabouts in Fife are you and what livestock do you have? Check out my website, I'm near St. Andrews and pm me if you want to discuss some more. Geebee
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There we go two scottish sitters, I don't really like treading on other people's territory, I know that isn't very business like, but it means less costs for the client. Hope Geebee or silver swan can help you out. :)
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I'm in Fife so probably not right for you if you're trying to stay in Wales ;) but thanks for the info.
Whereabouts in Fife are you and what livestock do you have? Check out my website, I'm near St. Andrews and pm me if you want to discuss some more. Geebee
Hi geebee, your link on your profile to your website has a spelling mistake (missing letter in andrews) so it wont go to the website
for anyone wanting geebees website heres it with the correct link
http://www.petcareofstandrews.net/ (http://www.petcareofstandrews.net/)
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I'm in Fife so probably not right for you if you're trying to stay in Wales ;) but thanks for the info.
Whereabouts in Fife are you and what livestock do you have? Check out my website, I'm near St. Andrews and pm me if you want to discuss some more. Geebee
Hi geebee, your link on your profile to your website has a spelling mistake (missing letter in andrews) so it wont go to the website
for anyone wanting geebees website heres it with the correct link
http://www.petcareofstandrews.net/ (http://www.petcareofstandrews.net/)
Thanks for pointing that out, I will change it ...once I remember my password! It is correct in my 'signature' though.
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Sorry I don't want to hijack someone else's thread - Nina hope you're sorted?
I no longer have a day job so unfortunately I can't afford the kind of daily prices quoted not to mention mileage if we're talking 30-40 mins drive each way twice a day :o
There is someone 4 miles away who comes in twice a day to feed cats and lock them in/let them out. She will count pony heads on the daylight visit and do her best in an emergency but her confidence with ponies is low and she hasn't time to do things like the hay delivery or water veg beds so she's great for a weekend and only charges me £5 a day so £10 for the weekend as she's so local and passes by regularly anyway. I was just wondering about a longer absence of a week or more as I don't think she'd want to take it on nor would I be that confident to leave her..
Anyway, that answers that question so thanks, worth knowing.
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Pm'd you Ellied
Emailed you Nina.
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Hi Ellied,
Where are you exactly. If you PM me with a list of what/who needs looking after and what you think is a reasonable rate, also any dates in mind, I'll get back to you.
OK?
Cheers :wave: