What other types of livestock do you all work on, and what do you charge for such? I work on cattle, sheep, alpacas/llamas, pigs, goats, dogs and poultry on the side. I usually charge a $1 per working minute on others, which normally results in about $15. Charge an extra $5 per hoof if thrush treatment/soak is needed.
I've tried to get double the horse fee($40) for trimming cattle; after all I'm trimming 8 hooves instead 4. Hasn't worked but I do manage to get ($50) 1 1/4 times horse trim fee, so I'm getting closer. These are show cattle or pets. The funny thing is their cattle stand better than their horses do; go figure.
Your lucky to get $50! Around here, cattle trimmers charge $15 generally with a transportable flip table. I trim all cattle standing, sometimes scottish hobbled if needed for hinds. I do working steers and dairy cows. I agree, usually cows are a little more respectful then horses since cow farmers have less patience for 'silly' behavior.
what's a "working" steer? The people with those $2,500 to $10,000 show steers Don't want them done with power tools and flip tables and the pet owners aren't thrilled with that either.
We have a lot of fairs here where kids and adults engage in competitions, pulling weights or maneuvering through obstacles with pairs of yoked steers. I trim a few who help do farm work as well. I myself don't prefer using power tools, especially on dairy cows standing in crap all day. I find it smears outerwall keratin into the sole, creating a layer that often traps bacteria and creates abscesses over time. (seen this on many many occasions).
Oh yes, of course. Many young 4h'ers have young steers (under a year and a half) so I don't refer to them as oxen yet, but many would I suppose.
