People want to come and look, but not buy, I say no. Am I a jerk?

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I created my website and have had success with getting customers wanting to purchase chickens and eggs. But, what I was not expecting is the number of people who contact me becasue they want to just come and look at my setup to see how I have my barns and chicken coops layed out, etc. The first person, I said sure. Spent 45 minutes showing him around. He left and did not purchase anything. Then before I knew, I had several more persons asking for the same thing. I have had at least 3 other parties come and look around and purchase nothing. I had a home-school mom contact me to bring her kids here as a field trip. I said no. I get at least one request a week. Not only because of the time, but I don't really like a lot of people walking around my animals. Bio-Security and all. I had a female who lives in a near by city if she could come here every weekend to work / play with my animals. I said no.

Am I being a jerk?

 

[redtailgal]

Not at all.

I am the same way. I usually tell folks that I am not insured to be a petting zoo.

 

[daisychick]

Keep using the bio-security reason too. I had to wait in the driveway to get my nubian doeling from the breeders because that was their policy. No visitors in the barn area. Or do like RTG does too and tell them insurance won't let you allow visitors around the animals. When I sell chicks or hens to people I meat them at the driveway with what they want and send them on their way. There are a few that have to come back to the coop to pick what they want, but only if they are paying customers. You are not being a jerk at all.

 

[Lynn Esty]

I am very selective over who I let in my barn and around my animals. There are so many diseases that can be brought in on shoes, clothes, etc. And with the way things are going these days, you never know if they will come back some other time and you might have an animal missing. I like the idea about the insurance not covering others around the animals. Even though my animals are only valuable to me (most are rescues) I do value their well being and comfort in their own areas and would hate to have anything happen to them. And the animals we raise for food, I don't want them getting sick. I think you are being wise by saying no.

 

[elevan]

Not being a jerk at all.

I too meet folks in the driveway for sales.

I do allow select visits to frequent customers though. But the basically have to have purchased from me plenty of times before and they usually are purchasing at least eggs when they come to visit. I prearrange the visits on my terms only.

 

[greybeard]

I created my website and have had success with getting customers wanting to purchase chickens and eggs. But, what I was not expecting is the number of people who contact me becasue they want to just come and look at my setup to see how I have my barns and chicken coops layed out, etc. The first person, I said sure. Spent 45 minutes showing him around. He left and did not purchase anything. Then before I knew, I had several more persons asking for the same thing. I have had at least 3 other parties come and look around and purchase nothing. I had a home-school mom contact me to bring her kids here as a field trip. I said no. I get at least one request a week. Not only because of the time, but I don't really like a lot of people walking around my animals. Bio-Security and all. I had a female who lives in a near by city if she could come here every weekend to work / play with my animals. I said no.

Am I being a jerk?

No, but in the future, another easy way out of that, might be to just point them toward BYC forum. It sounds like some of them are just interested in learning from your mistakes (if any) and successes and then starting their own business, thus cutting in on your marketshare, while avoiding the "learning curve" everyone else has to go thru.

Now, having said that.....

This 'female' in the nearby city.........do ya think she can and would be capable and willing to make real homebaked biscuits? Relocate? Use a pair of posthole diggers?

 

[Pearce Pastures]

No you aren't being a jerk. I had to tell a friend recently that she can't keep bringing her kids over to "play" with the animals (her kids are holy terrors). They may be pets but I am not a petting zoo. She understood (I think). Complete strangers? No way no how.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

If I was buying an animal (not poultry really) then I would expect to see the flock, and I would be suspicious of anyone who wouldn't let me see the flock and where they're kept. That said, I would not expect to just show people all around my place, especially if they aren't going to buy anything. Poultry is a little different, IMO, and I usually just take people to the brooder if I'm selling chicks. If I was selling animals and was that paranoid about diseases, I'd provide booties for everyone if they wanted to see my animals. I don't blame you for not wanting to act as a petting zoo!

 

[redtailgal]

This 'female' in the nearby city.........do ya think she can and would be capable and willing to make real homebaked biscuits? Relocate? Use a pair of posthole diggers?

That gave me a good giggle. Biscuits and posthole diggers.........sounds like my life!


Your right aggie, if someone is buying a critter from me, they do have the right to see the parents of that critter and how they are kept. When I was raising my dobes, we had a strict "NO puppy visits" until after they were 4 weeks old. I would let people see into the area that the pups were kept and where the stud was kept, but when they wanted to meet the parents, I brought the parents out to them........they didnt go into my kennel area, nor did they go into the whelping room of my house.

When and if I am ever able to sell goats, I'll take the same precaustions, no visitors until they are a month old, and then no one in the animal area......I'll bring the critters out to them. I did have a few people that got huffy about not being allowed past the gate even though they had full view of the kennels. But, I had 16 Dobermans, all in various stages of training for police work, drug work, etc...........They had to get over it.

ON a funny note, on occasion, I would have someone come to see my pups that I didnt really want to sell pups too. I would make them wear booties and masks and wash their hands and........well you get the point.

 

[Zephyr Farms]

We have the same problem here. Everyone thinks that just because we are a farm it means that you can stop by anytime and come look at the animals. We are starting to nip it in the bud though, explaining to people that we don't accept visitors. Biosecurity is huge here, especially along the coast because of all of the seabirds.