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Rates for a night lamber

kfpben

Member
Location
Mid Hampshire
i have someone doing every fifth night for me so I don’t get completely sleep deprived, she starts tonight.

Routine is checks/work every 4 hours 8pm-8am unless something particularly needs checking on.

I reckon there is usually 3 hours proper work in that time, sometimes more, sometimes less. She’s 19, fairly experienced, local and is more than welcome to watch my tv, sleep on the sofa, eat my biscuits, and drink tea in between stints.

What would be a fair rate? I’m thinking £80/night?
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
No experience on rates at night but get the other person to do 2 nights in a row, me and dad last year did me 5 nights him 2 nights, I found the first night I was just as tired, after the second night I was less tired. This year so far I did a few weeks myself and then needed 1 night off for a meeting so he did 2 in a row then as we knew 1 didn’t improve sleep. This is only going down the shed to check/pen/adopt at 10pm at night, usually an hours work then home again.
 

Agrivator

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Scottsih Borders
i have someone doing every fifth night for me so I don’t get completely sleep deprived, she starts tonight.

Routine is checks/work every 4 hours 8pm-8am unless something particularly needs checking on.

I reckon there is usually 3 hours proper work in that time, sometimes more, sometimes less. She’s 19, fairly experienced, local and is more than welcome to watch my tv, sleep on the sofa, eat my biscuits, and drink tea in between stints.

What would be a fair rate? I’m thinking £80/night?

Is that £80 + perks paid cash tax free, or is part of it intended to help the Chancellor pay for HS2 ?
 

kfpben

Member
Location
Mid Hampshire
Sounds good to me , will she be watering / feeding /ringing . I would find it easier to be awake and outside for 12hrs than sleeping and waking up every few hours
Feeding, watering and penning up as they lamb.

I do the ringing and numbering diring the day but she is expected to foster on lambs if possible and feed orphans.

I agree that’s it’s easier to be up and about all night but I only have 280 to lam so it’s not really necessary to be up constantly. Most days I do the days and nights myself so I can’t really be up 24/7.
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
Just check them around 11am and then leave alone until 6am? Unless you think that you're going to lose a couple of lambs, the £80 (whilst being a fair rate for the commitment) can't be justified, can it?

Are you outdoor or indoor? I hate the 11pm field battle outside in the snow, but find it quite agreeable in the shed, especially after an hour or two watching TV with Mrs HM.
 

kfpben

Member
Location
Mid Hampshire
Just check them around 11am and then leave alone until 6am? Unless you think that you're going to lose a couple of lambs, the £80 (whilst being a fair rate for the commitment) can't be justified, can it?

Are you outdoor or indoor? I hate the 11pm field battle outside in the snow, but find it quite agreeable in the shed, especially after an hour or two watching TV with Mrs HM.
Check and do what needs doing at 8pm, midnight, 4am.

Handover at c.7am, let me know what’s been happening etc
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
Check and do what needs doing at 8pm, midnight, 4am.

Handover at c.7am, let me know what’s been happening etc

Fair enough, if it suits you. The rate feels about right too, although I would never pay cash if I could avoid it - my tax rate is going to be higher than hers, and all I'm doing is cooking the books and charging myself 40% to save her 20%. I would be quite happy to pop out any time before bedtime (11 earliest) and then leave them for 4 hours minimum. I'm lucky that I'm an insomniac at this time of year.
 
Will she help feed ewes in the morning before she finishes at eight?, l check the shed at 10, if everything is quiet l go to bed in the spare room, with my clothes on, set alarm for 230, not many lamb at that time, then again at 530. Obvious if anything's happening then that goes out the window, there favourite time to lamb is about 930 at night just when you want to go to bed. As long as there are plenty empty pens it works fine. A neighbour who hasn't many sheep has a camera set up and can see whole of the shed on a screen next to his bed.
 

goodevans

Member
Will she help feed ewes in the morning before she finishes at eight?, l check the shed at 10, if everything is quiet l go to bed in the spare room, with my clothes on, set alarm for 230, not many lamb at that time, then again at 530. Obvious if anything's happening then that goes out the window, there favourite time to lamb is about 930 at night just when you want to go to bed. As long as there are plenty empty pens it works fine. A neighbour who hasn't many sheep has a camera set up and can see whole of the shed on a screen next to his bed.
I hope you don't have any guests around for a few weeks,I think an armchair is acceptable but a bed,ughhh
 
I wouldn’t do it for £80. You have two screwed up days for the sake of £80.00. If she will do it for that happy days but I would think it would be worth £120.00 all day long. It’s irrelevant that she may only have 3 hours work as she is there 12. Still cheap if you can manage The other 4 as it works out at roughly a pound an hour over total lambing period for your cover.
 

kfpben

Member
Location
Mid Hampshire
Lights are always turned off between 10.30 and midnight until dawn.

Stats from her shift: 5 x sets twins, 2 x sets triplets, 1 x single, the problem ewe with a stinking back end lambed and treated, two adoptions carried out. Pens all hayed, strawed and watered. Well worth £80 once every 4-5 nights I reckon!
 

Gator

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Location
Lancashire
go round every 2 to 3 hours, 5 lambed since 2 this morning, if anything is looking like it gets penned up, nowt worse than 4 or 5 lambed and they all want same lambs or the buggers dont want any:banghead:.
Few hours sleep in the chair as and when:sleep:.
Tea and bicies on tap:D
 
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Webinar: Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer 2024 -26th Sept

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On Thursday 26th September, we’re holding a webinar for farmers to go through the guidance, actions and detail for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer. This was planned for end of May, but had to be delayed due to the general election. We apologise about that.

Farming and Countryside Programme Director, Janet Hughes will be joined by policy leads working on SFI, and colleagues from the Rural Payment Agency and Catchment Sensitive Farming.

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