One of the hardest things about hobby farming is finding someone to watch your stock when youâre away.
Sure, you have friends, neighbors, relatives … but are they reliable?
Even reliable draftees may lack the expertise needed to keep your animals safe and comfy and thus assure your peace of mind. What you need is a pet sitter for livestock. But where to find one? Theyâre few and far between.
If youâre seeking a fun and interesting way to make a country living, take note: horse, livestock and farm sitters are in great demand.
If you want to do the work, jobs are out there. Hereâs how to get involved.
WHY FARM SIT?
The beauty of farm sitting is that you own your own business and set your own hours.
Start-up costs are minimal and youâll be working outdoors, with animals, while providing a valuable service for folks who need your help, be they vacationers, owners incapacitated by temporary physical disabilities (itâs hard to doctor horses or milk the cow with your leg wrapped in plaster), or professionals on call.
You can design your business around your lifestyle.
Perhaps youâll specialize in basic livestock care, checking pastured animals or feeding them when their caretakers canât. If youâre horse-savvy, you could operate a foaling service, standing watch over expectant mares when their owners are away or canât work the nightshifts. Or milk dairy cattle or goats on a per-visit basis. Or combine livestock care with standard house- and pet-sitting services. The choice is up to you!
The downside: youâll work holidays and traditional vacation times, thatâs a given. Youâll need good insurance and youâll want to be bondedâitâs expected of sitters these days. And you must follow clientsâ instructions to the letter; this is not a field where you can skimp or improvise.
GETTING STARTED
Decide what services youâll provide. Itâs important to care for species you like, arenât afraid of, and enjoy working with. Choose duties you can perform efficiently and well. This is especially sage advice for horse sitters and relief milkers, whose clients may be fussier than the norm. Sit for species youâre familiar with, take a short course to further your education, visit breeders and veteran owners, and read all you can to earn the reputation of âexpert sitter.â Invest in species-specific veterinary guides; youâll need to recognize problems and know when itâs time to call a vet.
Determine where you want to work. Within a few miles of home? On the outskirts of your city? Within your county? Factor in gasoline costs and vehicle upkeep, as well as driving time. Most sitters charge per visit, so you donât want to range too far afield.
Set your rates. Donât undersell yourself but donât price yourself out of business, either. Find out what other local services are charging. If there arenât any, consult conventional pet sitters; you can generally charge what they do. Pet sittersâ per-visit rates vary from $10 to $35 and more, depending on regional cost of living and local demand. Since livestock and farm sittersâ duties are more diverse and frequently more time consuming, youâll probably want to set a basic per-visit rate and offer extras that clients can pay for if they choose (longeing horses or changing dressings, mucking stalls, medicating a cranky cowâseye). Youâll hammer out details as needs arise, but know, going in, approximately what youâll need to charge to earn a decent wage.
Before committing yourself to livestock sitting, recruit emergency backup. Livestock sitters get sick too. If you canât round up dependable reinforcements, think twice before starting a business. Clients depend on the people they hire to care for their farms and livestock. Itâs your duty to make good on that trust.
Visit your insurance agent, a lawyer and an accountantâdonât omit these steps. While pet sittersâ policies exist, youâll be handling larger, often dangerous and sometimes very valuable animals, so you may need to have a policy written just for you. In todayâs litigious society, you must be covered for every eventuality. And since you will be self-employed, keeping accurate tax records is an absolute must.
In some locales youâll need a city or county business license. Depending on the state you reside in, possibly a sales tax number too. Your lawyer and accountant can advise you. If theyâre required, get themâdonât try to wing itâand keep the paperwork handy to show clients who ask to inspect it (and they will).
How to Find a Reliable SitterAsk friends, veterinarians and farriers for recommendations. Peruse tack shop, feed store, and veterinariansâ bulletin boards. Donât wait until you need a sitter to start looking for one. Let your fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages: Check under âHorses,â âLivestockâ and âPet Sitting Services.â Or scope out the following national resources:Locate a National Association of Professional Pet Sitters sitter: |
Itâs wise to join a professional organization like Pet Sitters International or the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. Affiliations look good on your credentials and memberships qualify you for cut-rate insurance and training materials. While little has been written about livestock tending per se, most pet sitting resources work for farm sitters too.
Name your sitting service something fairly simpleâand let it indicate what you do (Reliable Farm Sitters, Horse Nannies, Sueâs Livestock Sitting Service). Use it on your business forms: custom contracts, invoice forms, brochures and business cards. All these items should smack of professionalism so invest in a quality product.
Youâll need voicemail or a dependable answering machine. The nature of your work means you wonât be lounging at home when calls come in. Record a professional-sounding message, identify your business and indicate when youâll return calls. When speaking with a customer, be polite, friendly and smile. Theyâll hear it in your voice.
Opt for a separate business line if you possibly can. If you donât, be certain that anyone who picks up the receiver has impeccable telephone mannersâand knows how to take an intelligible message. Potential clients whose calls arenât returned are unlikely to try again.
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- A record-keeping system.
Ask your accountant what she recommends and keep it up to snuff. - A cell phone.
Youâll pack it on your rounds since many clients wonât have barn phones. Youâll be glad you have it if you need to call a vet or the owner. - Reliable transportation.
In some places, this means four-wheel drive. It neednât be fancy but it reflects on your professionalism, so keep it tidy. If you use it to advertise your service, choose magnetic signs instead of direct lettering. You can remove the signs when you make your rounds (advertise on your own time). If unscrupulous people see your truck pull up every day at a clientâs home, theyâll know no one is home. - Good maps of the areas youâll be working.
If you live in an extremely rural area youâll need a plat book or topo maps charting township roads not drawn on county maps. - A schedule book or calendar and your business forms bound in a sturdy notebook. Take them with you every day.
- A basic first-aid kit for yourself and a comprehensive one tailored for the sorts of livestock youâll be sitting. Be equipped to handle emergencies until a vet arrives. Be certain the livestock kit contains a powerful flashlight and batteries. Include extra halters and leads, or other handling equipment, and stash everything in a moisture-proof container with a lid. Keep it stocked and stowed in your vehicle at all times.
- References.
If you have pet- or livestock-sitting references, so much the better. If you donât, ask a veterinarian, farrier, horse-training clients, or others familiar with your level of animal expertise to vouch for you.
GET IT IN WRITING
Never go to work without a detailed, mutually signed contract. Donât make exceptions, even for friends or established clients. The contract should be a pre-printed carbonized form (so both of you get a copy) and include:
- Your letterhead.
Your business and personal names, street and e-mail addresses, phone numbers and any other pertinent information. A snazzy business logo is a nice touch. - Your clientâs name, address and home and business phone numbers.
- When your services begin and end, precisely what they entail, the mutually agreed-upon cost, and when you will be paid.
- Contact information, including phone numbers and an e-mail address. Always request the name and number of a friend, neighbor or relative you can call in an emergency.
- The name and phone numbers of your clientâs veterinarian, with express permission to seek treatment and a description of exactly which veterinary services the client authorizes and agrees to pay for.
- A detailed description of each animal including its medical history and idiosyncrasies. This may not apply if youâre pasture checking a herd of cattle, but is especially vital when tending domestic pets or horses.
- Permission to do anything out of the ordinary you might require, such as leaving halters on animals or neck banding them for identification purposes.
- Legalese, as dictated by your lawyer, that protects you and the client in case a dispute arises.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Youâve returned Jane Smithâs call and she wants you to feed and water her horses while sheâs away on vacation. You tentatively accept the job. What next? (Read “Tales from the Trenches“)
Youâll don clean, working attire and a cheerful face; pack up a contract, notebook, clipboard and pen, and arrange to meet Jane and her equine friends.
When you arrive (on time), Jane will show you around her farm. Youâll meet the horses and discuss her needs and your services. Together, youâll strike an agreement, fill out the contract, and sheâll hand over any keys youâll require. Youâll ask her to show you where all applicable feed, bedding, and equipment is stored and to demonstrate or explain her feeding routine and any other tasks youâre expected to perform. Find out where the barnâs water pump, circuit breakers and fire extinguishers are located before leaving. Write everything down.
The night before youâre to begin tending Janeâs horses, youâll plan your next dayâs stops so you can keep clientsâ livestock on their customary schedules. Animals, like most humans, abhor change.
Youâll arrive at the farm at your pre-arranged time, alone (no kids, dogs, friends or spouses in tow), and youâll perform your duties exactly as planned.
On your second trip of the day, youâll jot notes in the simple logbook youâll keep while Jane is away. Alternately, youâll phone or e-mail her at dayâs end with a daily report.
When your service contract expires, you wonât just assume Janeâs returned home. Youâll phone her home or business to confirm. Emergencies occur, flights are cancelled, and horses can become mighty hungry. Itâs your duty to assure that doesnât happen. Youâll make an appointment with Jane to return her keys, hand over your daily log, and present your invoice. Another assignment comes toits logical end.
THE RIGHT STUFF
Will your adventures in livestock sitting flyâor not? That depends on you.
You will need to:
- Advertise.
If people donât know youâre there, you wonât survive. Place brochures in veterinary practices, feed and tack stores, garden shops, at horse show offices and concessions, and any other place animal owners and hobby farmers tend to congregate. Give a stack to farriers to distribute, too. Pin freshânot soiled or bent and wrinkledâbusiness cards to every bulletin board you encounter; leave extra cards as potential customers tend to carry them away. Possibly spring for a display ad in the Yellow Pages; itâs often the first place clients look for a sitter. Newspaper classifieds work, too; ads in the Pennysaver and horse-related regional publications are often best buys. Meet potential customers by volunteering time at humane shelters and rescue organizations, giving talks to Chambers of Commerce, saddle clubs, 4-H groups, and area kennel clubs; pass out brochures and business cards when you do. Wear your business with pride: on logo-decked shirts, jackets and hats. Advertising neednât be expensive to pack a punch. - Be impeccably discreet and dependable.
word travels fast when youâre not. Donât carry tales: They destroy credibility faster than anything else. - Grow thick skin.
Be scrupulously honest and always do your best, expecting to rectify problems as they arise. But no matter how good you are, you canât please everybody all of the time. Accept this premise going in.
This article first appeared in the May/June 2004 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or tack and feed store. Click Here to subscribe to HF.