Hiring a fitter?

[farmboy]

for you guys who hire a fitter, what do those guys usually charge?

 

[afhm]

Cover their travel, motel, food ( this is normally fast food 2x and a good meal at night), we also have a cooler with water, cokes,etc.. they can drink out of, plus average $150/day.

 

[shortyjock89]

Cover their travel, motel, food ( this is normally fast food 2x and a good meal at night), we also have a cooler with water, cokes,etc.. they can drink out of, plus average $150/day.

That is about exactly what I make.  I think it's a great arrangement, and have been known to take a little less if it's a well stocked cooler lol.

 

[forbes family farms]

To just fit a calf what do people charge? To fit about 2-3 calves.

 

[farmboy]

i might go into the fitting business someday and was wondering what the rate usually is.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

If someone calls me to go to a major show - Denver, Louiville, Ft Worth, etc I usually get $200.00 a day plus expences - Food, hotel, etc.. For that I will work their show cattle exclusively from start to finish including - in and out of tie outs, washing, blowng, feeding, watering, clipping,show/sale day fitting, and whatever else needs to be done. If I am called to fit only show day - assuming it is a show I'm not already at, I charge $150.00 a head, plus mileage and expenses. These are base figures that are subject to variation according to the situation. RW

 

[Show Heifer]

For a state fair I paid: One heck of a good meal (I'm talking top of the line steak house), and a friendship that will last year around and everything that goes with it (the "hey, I need a favor")
This was for in/out tie outs, and clipping.
Granted they didn't help me wash, but did blow them out. 5 head.
I guess that whats friends are for!

By the way, just in case your wondering, this dude clips at Denver, Louisville, etc. So no, he is not a NOT CRAPPY clipper.

 

[jackpotcattle]

If you are just starting out I would think getting $150-$200 a day would be hard. Most of the times you will have to get on crews and be a blower b***h and then start working for people at their place to even get a chance to clip any.I have been on crews where they hired young guys who thought they were the shit and wouldn't do anything but fit and clip. They ended up mad and underpaid because of the poor jobs they did.(got told to never touch a set of clippers again)
My suggestion would be to get on a crew that you can get $125 a day for just labor and watch and learn from the clippers. Hard work will get you noticed and give you a chance to get on the clippers.
Good luck!

 

[Jill]

Have to agree with jackpotcattle, this isn't something you just decide to do for a business.  If you are honestly wanting to do this, find the best fitter out there and work for cheap for a while, most of these guys have clipped out thousands of head of cattle for sales etc honing a skill that someone is now willing to pay for. 
To answer your question we have paid all over the board-travel, motel and meals are always included the rate of pay depends on 1. how good you are 2. if you are working exclusive for me 3. if you are working for several people and are just fitting for show.
I will tell you this, if you want to do this for a living, most of the time you are working around kids, many of the fitters out there I wouldn't want around my kids, keep your reputation clean, I don't care if you go to the bar, but be ready to work the next morning.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

I can almost guarrentee that you will nearly starve to death if you just decide to be a "fitter". This is a business that is built and based on reputations. I have been on the show cattle road for over 30 years and have seen alot of them come and go. When I was young, there was pretty much the same group of "older" guys that were at every show that everyone knew were the "fitters". Today there is a different group of "kids" wearing their caps backwards and their pants around their knees at every show trying to be the next great fitter. And while it sounds great when you're young to work all of the shows in the country, it is an extremely hard life. It is extremely hard to be gone from home for 4 months straight and have anything there when you get back. Most of the guys that are my age have had multiple wives (3 for me) due to the "life on the road". I have pretty much given up the constant traveling from one show to the next and only hit some of the major shows and torch a few sales. RW

 

[shortyjock89]

Right now for me, fitting is a way for me to get around to all the big shows and see some really cool stuff (NWSS Display bull for example), work for some of the big shots, and hopefully one day I'll be the one hiring the fitters to come work on my string all over the country.  It's a lot of fun when you're 20, but I wouldn't want to do it for the rest of my life.

 

[PLKR]

Some real words of wisdom from Jill, RW, and Olson. Jill, I agrree--we have 2 young girls and the reputation and conduct of a person definitely helps determine who we hire, and who we don't hire. Very few things make me madder than a hungover fitter that either doesn't show up on time or isn't worth a crap when he is supposed to be working!  RW, I'm thinking you and I might be close in age--I'm not sure how you have "survived" this long...I think it is probably a good thing that duties at home curtailed my show travels...  Olson, you're right--lotsa fun when you are young--do it now before you have more responsibilities. My kids wonder why we hire fitting help when I used to get paid to do it--well, I'm not 20 years old anymore!  When I was a senior in high school (fall of 1980) I made a $100 a day plus expenses clipping calves in Nebraska for a week--got the living snot kicked and beat out of me by a bunch of crazy calves, but I loved it--and hey, $100 a day was alot of money in 1980! Now, I'm not sure I would do it for $300 a day.    Bottom line, work hard, EARN a reputation, and do it while you're young.

 

[justintime]

I agree with all the comments above. My experience is that if you have to hire a fitter, go after the best fitter you can find, as there is usually not $10 a day difference between the best and someone who is just starting out. There is a very big difference between someone who is a master with the clippers, and someone who has much less experience.

I find that hiring a fitter is much like hiring anyone else in any other occupation. I tend to avoid those fitters who have the personality of a peeled grape, and/or those that are drunks. I like to hire someone who can work with others and yet take command at the chutes during a show ( this is mainly due to my trying to stay away while they are fitting because of my allergies to the glues and paints.) I find that for a major show, everyone expects the same amount of pay. I usually hire a good fitter and two or three others that wash, blow, brush, etc etc. If the fitter gets $175 per day plus expenses, everyone expects the same pay. That is why I say, get the best fitter you can find.... it usually is well worth it and it doesn't cost much more.
As has been stated by several others before, this is usually a young person's game, however, I do know of a few that have been doing this for over 25 years that are still as good as there is around.

I usually pay a bonus of $50 for show day, as it can be a very long day, usually starting at 3 AM and ending after tieouts at 7-8 PM.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

Some real words of wisdom from Jill, RW, and Olson. Jill, I agrree--we have 2 young girls and the reputation and conduct of a person definitely helps determine who we hire, and who we don't hire. Very few things make me madder than a hungover fitter that either doesn't show up on time or isn't worth a crap when he is supposed to be working!  RW, I'm thinking you and I might be close in age--I'm not sure how you have "survived" this long...I think it is probably a good thing that duties at home curtailed my show travels...  Olson, you're right--lotsa fun when you are young--do it now before you have more responsibilities. My kids wonder why we hire fitting help when I used to get paid to do it--well, I'm not 20 years old anymore!  When I was a senior in high school (fall of 1980) I made a $100 a day plus expenses clipping calves in Nebraska for a week--got the living snot kicked and beat out of me by a bunch of crazy calves, but I loved it--and hey, $100 a day was alot of money in 1980! Now, I'm not sure I would do it for $300 a day.     Bottom line, work hard, EARN a reputation, and do it while you're young.
Yes we are pretty close in age , I graduated in 81. Now days I pick who and when I work  and what shows I go to. I guess I'm getting kind of independant in my old age. My knees are shot and I take joint supplements to keep going. I either have to know you myself or you have to be reffered to me  by a friend of mine for me to come out and work . RW

 

[Shady Lane]

I have done quite a lot of custom clipping and fitting in my days and it was a heck of a lot of fun, the biggest advantage was I got to see a whole lot of North America and get to a lot of the major shows in Canada and the U.S. The friendships and contacts that you made were priceless

  However this not something that anyone is ever going to get rich at.

And like a lot of other people I started when I was about 16 years old working on a crew for other custom fitting services or for breeders, primarily as a blower b*%$#. Back in those days I can remember working for a fitting service that would have 100+ head at a major show. It seemed as though it took a lifetime to get all those cattle in from tie outs and through the wash rack. As time went on and you proved and honed your schools you got moved to the chutes and started clipping and fitting. When others saw your skills in what you could do for other people and especially in the way you presented your own cattle.

  One drawback to all of this is that at less than 30 my knees sound like you dropped a wrench into a crop chopper every time I bend down. After a long day at a show fitting I feel a lot closer to 90 than my true age. I don't know how many times I ahve told myself that I am only going to work on my own cattle from this day forward yet just about any time anybody offers the chance for me to clip  or fit a "good one" I jump at it.

  Likely the most money I have ever made was just being at a show on my own and clipping cattle for multiple people and just charging on a per head basis to clip and fit, or just one or the other. I did this a lot through University, (which was a poor choice when I should have been in class instead) I can remember being at a show and pretty much constantly either clipping or fitting cattle at my chute all day for many days, at the end of the show I'd had about 85 head that I had either clipped or fit (some both). After one particularliy long day an acquaintance of mine that I had fit some steers for that had cattle tied accross from where my chute was asked "Jamie, how many have you clipped today?!" being over tired and not really "with it" anymore, I couldn't even remember. I would start early in the morning as soon as cattle were washed and dried and often work until everybody had left the barns after tie outs, people would leave a couple head tied near my chute and I'd clip them and take them to their tie outs myself when I was finished, long after everybody was back in their hotels or out partying.

  Sound glamourous? heck no!

Would I do it again? In a heart beat.

  But do some math for those that think they are going to make a living doing this, even at $200 a day clear, having your expenses paid for working a day that commonly runs from 5 am to 10 pm is $11.76 an hour. Not a heck of a lot of money for any sort of "skilled" labour. Most people with any other sort of skill could make more than that in most jobs.

  Not to mention when you are away working for somebody else at these shows, nobody is at home working on your own cattle in most cases.

Like others have said, do it while you are young and have the fewest responsibillities.

 

[M Bar]

We don't ususally pay for a fitter, we are on the "quid pro Quo" rationale.  Folks like road warrior and stumpy trade with us, works pretty good on a small budget.  When I used to be a "dirty knees" kinda guy, I would get $100.00 to $150.00 per day, that was in the late 80's early 90's.  Don't have the knees/legs/hands and body to that kind of nonsense anymore.  Same as stated above, if you hire someone, make sure they will listen to you (you are paying them), make sure they are on time and sober and can actually do what they say they can do.  When working for a large custom fitter, we had numerous "clipper monkeys" that clipped as if they were using a weed-eater, not a set of sunbeams (yes, I am old).  Those kind of folks really irked me since we were mostly making the same amount of money at shows.  They got to lead cattle to the ring and I got stuck sniffing glue all day.  I would be willing to pay $150.00 per day since ours are usually roughed out when we get to a show.  If my help won't do tie-outs, and sits on their cell phone all day, they don't get paid good.

 

[Bone2011]

I am just getting started on a crew now i am the one doing all the b**** work but I am having a tremendous amount of fun, i may not be getting paid alot but Right now I wouldnt be doing anything else.

 

[LinZ]

I  usually charge 150 a day plus expenses( one good meal a day, hotel, travel)....but that's doing tie outs, washing, blowing, feeding, beds at night...everything... If I go to someone's house and  clip I charge expenses(usually just gas but hotel depending on the number of calves to be clipped) and then $50 a head to rough them out.

 

[afhm]

Tell you something that gets to me about some so=called fitters now days.  There are many kids out there that once they graduate high school that think they are $200/day fitters because they showed yet while they showed someone else had to do everything for them including their fitting.
many of them have never held a pair of sheepheads in their life.

 

[Dero]

You are right in my opnion some kid carrying around a set of 2 speeds is not worthy of calling himself a fitter untill the day comes when he can clip a whole calf out with a set of sheep heads.