Many sitters are seeing a rise in hobby farm clients. Now I understand if you’re in the middle of certain highly populated urban areas you’ll have no chance to be called to care for a farm but many of us, even in suburban areas are seeing ¼ acre farms to larger ones pop up. So, what is your expertise in helping care for the animals on a hobby farm? What do you need to consider before offering this service to potential clients? Let’s look at some of the considerations you need to keep in mind before offering this service.

Will your insurance cover you?

Many pet sitting policies don’t cover farm animals. I understand the clients look at these animals as pets but for insurance purposes they may be considered livestock and won’t be covered under a General Policy. Check with your provider and understand what types of animals may or may not be covered. Can they offer a supplemental policy? Is it financially feasible to add this coverage? If you only care for one farm it may not be worth it.

What is your knowledge base of the animals on the farm?

Do you know how to milk a goat? Do you know how to spot a chicken that is eggbound? How do you feed a llama or an alpaca? Have you ever cared for a beehive?  Are you comfortable and knowledgeable around horses? All of these are questions you need to answer before saying yes to a potential client. Now clients are a wealth of information on how they care for their animals but sometimes they’ll ask you to do things that are uncomfortable or which you have no working knowledge about. How we handle our chickens is completely different from the hobby farm up the road and from many of our clients’ backyard chickens and I’m sure you’ll find a million different opinions on care out there. You need to personally do your research on common issues you may run across while dealing with different animals. 

Will the environment be a factor?

As I alluded to above, you’ll come across different care tactics for each client. Do the chickens, ducks or peacocks' free range? Are you confident in your ability to round them up each night? What about moving the goats around on a daily basis or capturing the one that consistently gets out of his pen. What procedures are in place in case of a weather event? A blizzard, unseasonably hot humid conditions, severe storms or a hurricane. These are all environmental factors that you must take into account when considering caring for a small or hobby farm. Let’s get to the question that will make most pet sitters say no. Many farms have working dogs and barn cats on them are you comfortable allowing them to not be kept inside? This will be an area of contention for many a sitter, my background and business are set in an urban and suburban environment where we never dream of allowing a cat to wander their property let alone let the dog stay outside with the animals. Now that I live in a rural community, I understand the barn cats serve a purpose to keep the mouse population at bay, the livestock dog is used to staying outside to guard his “flock”.  Are you comfortable with this situation and again, will your insurance offer coverage in the event an accident may happen to one of these “working” animals?

What about the other chores?

Will there be a garden to care for and what does that entail? Our 3-acre farm does not have a complete sprinkler system, in fact the garden area is currently all hand watered with a series of hoses. We not only have animals, but a flower farm and greenhouses so how would you handle this request? People that have hobby farms or homesteads often rely upon their farms for an income source so it’s not unusual for them to include care of their gardens and plants in their request for service.

Do you have the time?

Adding hobby farm care to your list of service offerings can be lucrative but you must be honest about the time that it takes to care for a hobby farm. Clearly, no two farms are alike, so a detailed understanding of your daily tasks is a must and I highly recommend taking the time to work alongside the client before quoting a price. This isn’t as simple to price as a 30 -minute dog walk or a straight overnight visit. I’m not trying to discourage you from considering hobby farming as a revenue stream, on the contrary, I think this a niche that should be explored for many sitters that have suburban and rural areas near them.  I’m merely telling you to do your research before diving into a hobby farm.

Yvette Gonzales, As You Wish, LLC

NAPPS Past President / Current Marketing Committee Chair