diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
index 5ad1a9d9..f00049a1 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
@@ -49,7 +49,20 @@ State::State(std::optional<std::string> metricsAddrOpt)
     , rootsDir(config->getStrOption("gc_roots_dir", fmt("%s/gcroots/per-user/%s/hydra-roots", settings.nixStateDir, getEnvOrDie("LOGNAME"))))
     , metricsAddr(config->getStrOption("queue_runner_metrics_address", std::string{"127.0.0.1:9198"}))
     , registry(std::make_shared<prometheus::Registry>())
+    // , call_ctr_family(prometheus::BuildCounter().Name("queue_queued_builds_calls_total").Help("Number of times State::getQueuedBuilds() was called").Register(*registry))
+    // , call_ctr(call_ctr_family.Add({}))
 {
+    // call_ctr_family(prometheus::BuildCounter().Name("queue_queued_builds_calls_total").Help("Number of times State::getQueuedBuilds() was called").Register(*registry));
+    // call_ctr(call_ctr_family.Add({}));
+    auto& fam = prometheus::BuildCounter()
+        .Name("queue_queued_builds_calls_total")
+        .Help("Number of times State::getQueuedBuilds() was called")
+        .Register(*registry)
+        .Add({});
+
+    // call_ctr_family(fam);
+    // call_ctr(call_ctr_family.Add({}));
+
     hydraData = getEnvOrDie("HYDRA_DATA");
 
     logDir = canonPath(hydraData + "/build-logs");
@@ -58,6 +71,7 @@ State::State(std::optional<std::string> metricsAddrOpt)
         metricsAddr = metricsAddrOpt.value();
     }
 
+
     /* handle deprecated store specification */
     if (config->getStrOption("store_mode") != "")
         throw Error("store_mode in hydra.conf is deprecated, please use store_uri");
@@ -767,6 +781,7 @@ void State::run(BuildID buildOne)
     /* Set up simple exporter, to show that we're still alive. */
     prometheus::Exposer promExposer{metricsAddr};
     auto exposerPort = promExposer.GetListeningPorts().front();
+
     promExposer.RegisterCollectable(registry);
 
     std::cout << "Started the Prometheus exporter, listening on "
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/queue-monitor.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/queue-monitor.cc
index 49caf8e3..8fb06f45 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/queue-monitor.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/queue-monitor.cc
@@ -82,6 +82,8 @@ struct PreviousFailure : public std::exception {
 bool State::getQueuedBuilds(Connection & conn,
     ref<Store> destStore, unsigned int & lastBuildId)
 {
+    call_ctr.Increment();
+
     printInfo("checking the queue for builds > %d...", lastBuildId);
 
     /* Grab the queued builds from the database, but don't process
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh b/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
index a37548a3..9e89df52 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include <memory>
 #include <queue>
 
+#include <prometheus/counter.h>
 #include <prometheus/registry.h>
 
 #include "db.hh"
@@ -434,10 +435,13 @@ private:
        via gc_roots_dir. */
     nix::Path rootsDir;
 
-    std::string metricsAddr;;
+    std::string metricsAddr;
 
     std::shared_ptr<prometheus::Registry> registry;
 
+    // prometheus::Family<prometheus::Counter>& call_ctr_family;
+    prometheus::Counter& call_ctr;
+
 public:
     State(std::optional<std::string> metricsAddrOpt);