How to say NO

onebizebee · #1 02/07/13, 12:34 PM

I had a lady contact me on facebook this morning about some of my kids. She wants them right now! I repeatedly told her they will not be ready to go until the first week of March. They have to be 8 weeks old. They are still on their mamas and not eating hay or grain yet. They are just starting to nibble and be curious about it. She says" oh that is not a problem I will bottle feed them." Ummmm...No they will not take a bottle this late in the game. The have to stay with their moms to develop their immune systems and learn to socialize with the big goats. They are too young to separate them from their moms!
She says "Oh well six weeks should be long enough right?"
Look I know you are excited about maybe getting goats but they must wait until they are 8 weeks old! I will need to see where you plan to house them and how your pasture is fenced etc. I will not send goats off to an unsafe situation.
"Oh these are for my kids. They will be pets. I just want one boy and a girl"
Ok I will castrate the boy you want. If he is not castrated he will not be a pet! Trust me on that one. He will be on a mission 24/7 to find as many girlfriends as he can and love them with all his stinky goodness!
"Oh we don't want him fixed".

Somehow I don't think this woman has any idea what goats involve for care etc. I don't think I will be selling my goats to her. I have a feeling they will not fare well.

Donna1982 · #2 02/07/13, 12:42 PM

See that's the good thing about selling your goats. They are YOUR goats. If you don't want them to leave until they are 8 weeks then they don't. If you do not want to sell an intact male you don't. If they can't understand that well.. then they can get to stepping. :-D

Alice In TX/MO · #3 02/07/13, 12:43 PM

Yup. I agree. No sale.

yarrow · #4 02/07/13, 12:48 PM

I end up turning down potential buyers at least 3 or 4 times each kidding season... I realize that once I sell a kid.. it's their kid.. no strings attached.. they can raise it however they please.. HOWEVER until money changes hands and papers signed.. they are still MY kids.. I've actually made the decision to NOT sell, after the folks were in my drive way.. things sounded okay via email... BUT once they got here , talked to them.. saw what/how they planned on transporting MY babies.. tried to talk to them about it.. they wanted no part of my concerns.. so I decided I didn't need/want their money...to say it was a *tense* few moments would be an understatement- telling a large, aggressive man he and his wife were NOT going home with goats... never so glad to get back into my house and see tail lights heading down the road!!!

I always try to find the best homes I can for my kids... I have the luxury of not NEEDING to sell them (room/feed/hay) enough to hang on to them as long as I want, (and a hubby who LOVES them all and would like them to ALL stay LOL).. hubby's favorite saying at kidding time is "will you sleep well at night, if you sell kids to them?" -if I can't answer with an honest yes, I'll sleep well.. then the "I'm so sorry" email gets sent.

Go with your gut.. this buyer of yours', would set my warning bells off!!!
susie, mo ozarks

beccachow · #5 02/07/13, 12:48 PM

Nope. She won't even listen to weaning ages, she sure as crud won't do right by them in any other way based on what she has said. Keep your babies for the right person.

Don't answer the phone to her any more. She'll move on.

SilverFlame819 · #6 02/07/13, 12:55 PM

She wants them for pets, and doesn't want the buck banded? And she knows enough about goats to bottle raise them? Ummmmmm, yeah, this story doesn't add up at all!

PASS!

suzyhomemaker09 · #7 02/07/13, 01:05 PM

Hmmm....

Now I'm torn here....

I can see being cautious of a person's ability to care for a goat kid...
But personally I see no real reason for the 8 week arbitrary age of release....
with cats and dogs..yes they need that long to be weaned...most goats however are not even close to being weaned at that age. Heck I bottle feed for at least 6 weeks.
Most any goat kid will learn to take a bottle...there are those who feel they bond better with a baby of the bottle feed it.
Immunities are passed through the colostrum..after the 1st day or so they are pretty much going to get all they can from it.
As far as not fixing the buckling...perhaps she wants to breed her own small pet herd?

onebizebee · #8 02/07/13, 01:23 PM

She sent me pics of her Human kids with their dog, she has little bitty kids like under 5 yrs old. She also wants hatching eggs. I've got loads of them my chickens are laying like gangbusters..I would just give them to her except for one problem. She wants to put them under a heat lamp to hatch them.... she does not understand about an incubator being used to hatch them. I tried to explain but she is not comprehending. Then she said well just pic me out one of your hens and a bunch of eggs for her to set on and I will come pick them up. Oh lordy. I think this may be more of a case of overenthusiastic first time animal owner who just does not know how nature works. I don't mind sharing my personal experience but I would dread the phone calls umm I can't get these babies to eat and now they won't stand up etc. there must be something wrong with them.... you gave me defective babies. There is much more to animal care than just feeding them a bottle and calling it good. She also said they have horses they would be with.I think I am going to pass on this sale.

Mama2ws · #9 02/07/13, 02:05 PM

Pass, if something happens to them, I'm sure you'll be to blame. If I get a bad feeling then I say No. I had a good friend who had a bad feeling about a lady, but second guessed herself and sold the lady two bottle baby doelings. A few weeks later one of the babies died. The woman got nasty, tried to blame my friend. She said she learned her lesson. Not only was the lady wanting a refund, but she bad mouthed my friend to other people. My friend was heartbroken over the death of the doeling.

momagoat61 · #10 02/07/13, 03:55 PM

I think I would be hitting the UNFRIEND botton and getting rid of her really fast.

Pony · #11 02/07/13, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebizebee

I don't mind sharing my personal experience but I would dread the phone calls umm I can't get these babies to eat and now they won't stand up etc. there must be something wrong with them.... you gave me defective babies. There is much more to animal care than just feeding them a bottle and calling it good. She also said they have horses they would be with.I think I am going to pass on this sale.

This. Exactly.

Sold those Snubians over a year ago, the new owners effectively killed them, then came back to me and said that my "genetics" were bad.

Wish I'd passed. Go with your gut.

onebizebee · #12 02/07/13, 04:29 PM

Thankfully I can block her she is not my friend. Someone gave her my name she contacted me. Now she is asking for pics. Sigh....

CaliannG · #13 02/07/13, 05:53 PM

onebizebee, if someone seems good-hearted, just really enthusiastic and clueless, I generally give them the URL to HT and tell them to learn about the critters they think about having first. Then, after they have learned about them, come back to me and we'll talk.

Ask her what she would think of someone who wanted to buy one of her horses, and when she asked what they planned to feed them, the potential buyer said they just planned to open a bag of sweet feed in the stall once a week and let the horse eat as it wanted? Would she want to sell one of HER horses to someone who told her that?

onebizebee · #14 02/07/13, 06:22 PM

They are not their horses they are the neighbors on the neighboring farm. To many things just do not add up. I too do not mind helping someone learn about something. I myself am still learning all kinds of wonderful things the difference is I will educate myself as much as possible.

nehimama · #15 02/07/13, 06:35 PM

Wow! Sounds like bad news! I hope you're able to stand fast with a firm "NO".

Maverick_mg · #16 02/07/13, 06:48 PM

Maybe invite her to come and do chores with you one day and suggest some books for her to read. Maybe when she sees you don't just sit around the barn all day cuddling the baby goats, she'll get that there is some work involved in it. Maybe, if she's not too serious, being overly helpful in the education department well make her changer her mind. If she is serious, she should welcome the information and that will give you a chance to see if she has the "street smarts" needed to have livestock.

Backfourty,MI. · #17 02/07/13, 06:58 PM

I have turned down many potential buyers over the years with goats & it doesn't bother me at all. I figure as long as they are here they are MINE & I only sell them to folks who I think will take good care of them & have the knowledge they need to get started or already have goats & know what they are doing.

Don't feel bad at all about turning down someone that you don't feel right selling too. I too do not sell bottle babies, they stay here until I know they are ready to leave.

Oat Bucket Farm · #18 02/07/13, 07:10 PM

Definitely a no sale. When we had our grown pygmy buck for sale (had been used for stud several times) some lady emailed me wanting to buy him as a pet for her kids. I told he was a breeding animal not a pet and I explained why. She did thank me for information at least. But still, the total lack of knowledge when deciding on a pet threw me. I mean really? You just saw and ad and thought, oh that would make a good pet?

IndyGardenGal · #19 02/07/13, 07:57 PM

I know it's been said many times before, but go with your gut. Some people insist on knowing what's best for animals they have no experience with, and they won't listen to anyone else. Pass, pass, pass.

Copperhead · #20 02/07/13, 08:05 PM

I am very patient and willing to teach those who are willing to learn . . . but if they aren't willing to learn, I've learned that "You Can't Fix Stupid".

Yep, so much for my patient willingness