[Loobylou]

Had the vet round the other day taking blood samples. Got my bill in, they are charging £140.00 per hour, does anyone think that this is excessive? What are they charging where you are?

[verdifish]

Depends wear you are, but up here in Aberdeenshire id say its on the cheap side,  I charge more as a farrier if I'm  on the clock !

[Loobylou]

Really! How much is a farrier nowadays then? I remember as a child we were around £50 to shoe a horse

[fsmnutter]

Vets have considerable overheads, especially those that do farm work. Not only do they have the practice with the relevant staff but the cost of drugs, equipment and running vehicles to get to farms.
Our practice would probably be a similar price for clinical time, considerably more for surgery as there's extra costs in anaesthesia , theatre and nursing.
if the consultation fee is £24 for ten minutes, then £144 an hour is about what our time costs.
You are also paying for years of training and expertese. How much does a plumber charge? You'd be lucky if it's less than £140 an hour but their overheads are considerably less and their training much shorter.
The problem in this country is that no one understands the cost of medical professionals as we have the nhs.

[Thyme]

I'm very grateful my vet doesn't charge as much as that.  And just got a fresh dose of perspective as I have to take some documents to the notary, who charges £200/hour

[Loobylou]

£140 per hour for a plumber, wow that's pricey. Don't think ice ever paid that much.

[harmony]

We pay a call out and examination fee, then treatment and/or drugs. The call out and examination fee is less than a £100 combined but without checking a bill I'm not sure of the exact amount. We always get an itemised bill so can see what costs what. I appreciate all the issues of overheads and equipment etc. Long training. Years of expertise however comes with years of experience.


Not had a plumber but wouldn't expect to pay £140 an hour. The most expensive garage here isn't that or the local builders.


Twenty odd years ago we paid less than £20 for a set of shoes. I am lucky I only pay £50 now but I know most farriers are more however I know no-one at £140 except many charge much more to do a heavy horse than their general rate.


Twenty years ago our farrier shod many more horses a day than the farriers around now and ran round in a battered old car but his clogs were always clean and well corked!

[Castlehill Farm]

We are £140 per hour for a vet farm visit in her battered old car and not much overheads to get her here!

£140 an hour for a plumber!
Are you having a laugh?
Well I never have known a plumber to charge this much and I know over a dozen and they all are under £45 per hour!

[farmvet]

Sometimes the price will vary according to how quick the bill is usually paid...
Also where you buy your drugs etc
if your well organised its obviously cheaper eg 1 farm i may bleed 75 in under 30 minutes, on another only manage 2!

[Lesley Silvester]

My vet came out and delivered a dead kid, managing to save the mother. He left when he was sure I knew what to do for her and insisted that I call him if I was concerned. The bill (which I have just remembered I need to pay) was £85.84: £31.22 for the farm visit, £38.69 for the delivery and the rest for meds.

[verdifish]

Pay peanuts ya know what your gonna get

[Womble]

That's a sweeping generalisation Verdifish, and just because a monkey triples his hourly rate, that doesn't make him any better at delivering goats.

The key thing is was the monkey both qualified and knowledgeable, and did they give my animal a good standard of care. If those are true, I don't care if he was also scratching his @rse and eating bananas  .

[farmers wife]

Well a solicitor is £300ph so in comparison its well acceptable.  Considering the wages they pay, running a practice, vehicles, the debts they have to carry etc.  I know it sounds a lot but anyone who runs a business knows if you divide the day running costs into hourly rate its going to be high.  I also think people confuse rates with personal income its not its the practice you are paying.

[Bionic]

I called the vet out when one of my weaners had a rectal prolapse. The bill came to £67.41.
£34.07 for the visit, £25.55 for the procedure and 5 different drugs. I guess I should think myself lucky.
Certainly plumbers don't charge £140 round here.
 

[harmony]

If as smallholders we calculated our overheads and time realistically we wouldn't do it. If we were realistic we would accept that a bill for £67.41 for a rectal hernia means that weaner is already probably not viable in terms of profit but that's not why we do it. We have to accept however that others are more realistic and if we need their services it will cost.


On face value I would say the £140 for two blood tests seems excessive but £67.41 for the pig treatment seems good value.