I realize that it is exciting to pick out a new pet. I understand wanting to bury your face into a pile of kittens and feel that special bond when the right one catches your attention. I get it. I also know that animal rights folks have worked hard to educate the general public on how to avoid flippers and puppy mills and whatnot by telling people to always ask to come and see, or to ask for photos of the parent animals.
I am always happy to supply photos of our parent animals. I'm willing to take additional photos, even videos of the animals someone might be interested in. I have filmed videos of the kids handling different rabbits in the past to help someone decide which had the temperament to be a good family pet with their own kids. I love interacting with people and making sure that what you want and what the animal needs match up. If you want a docile cuddly pet, you aren't going to be happy with a squirmy adventurous spirited pet. It's important to have a good match.
That said, no, we do not allow people to "just stop by" and meet the animals. There are many reasons for this, and while I won't go over all of them, I will go into detail for some of the bigger reasons.
1. Biosecurity. In 2017 we had a friend bring her kids for a visit and the kids went through our barn. Soon after, our rabbits got very sick and in a matter of months we lost nearly 75% of our rabbits. Since then we have held a strict "no visitors" policy and have never had another illness outbreak. We don't know what other people could be bringing with them. Some issues can be transmitted by touch or through dirt or feces tracked in on shoes or tires. We have no way of knowing if you visited someone else's farm, if your friend's pet carries something, or if your own pet may be sick. We practice a "rather safe than sorry" mentality and just don't allow anyone on the property. With Covid now, it adds a human component to potentially spreading illness as well. All meetings are in public places, we wear our face masks, and try to avoid physical contact other than handing you your new pet and taking payment. Likewise, we advise you to do the same.
2. Safety. This one was especially huge at our previous home. We would have people come by to meet the available animals or to pick up their selected critter. It worked well most of the time, until it didn't. We had multiple occasions when someone would come by, decide not to take an animal, and then come back at a later date and try to break in. We had things stolen from our yard, windows smashed on our vehicle, we had to replace the locks on our doors when someone damaged them trying to pick them, and we had our wonderful neighbor lady chase off a couple of people who were attempting to look in our windows to see if we were home. One person tried to steal a cat on their way out the door! You will notice that we do not provide our home address here (or anywhere else). We have children, it isn't safe to give our address out on the internet to random strangers. We have dogs, and even though they behave here with us, I cannot guarantee they wouldn't jump on, knock over, or even potentially bite someone if they felt threatened. Likewise, I cannot guarantee that my cats won't scratch or my goose or turkey or other animals won't nip or scratch or bite if someone tries to pet or grab them. I cannot guarantee someone driving up my driveway won't run over one of my animals. It's much easier to arrange a meeting in public.
3. Stranger Danger. Maybe it's just the way I was raised, but "stranger danger" is a great way to sum this one up. I don't know who I'm meeting from the internet. You can fill out an application form, we can chat through email, but that doesn't mean that I know and trust you. Likewise, you don't know us. It's impossible to truly know who you're dealing with in the internet age we live in. I've gotten replies to my ads from out of state, and yes, some of our babies do live in other states because some folks are willing to drive (and in one case fly) to Minnesota to get the pet they want. There have been many news stories of people who've been mugged, raped, and murdered for replying to Craigslist ads and going to random peoples' houses. Please follow law enforcement suggestions - always meet in a public place, and never alone. All of our meetings are scheduled in public places, and while we cannot force you to bring someone with you, we will never meet anyone without someone else in our vehicle. It's a safety precaution. This is also why I am very hesitant when someone asks me if I can deliver an animal to their home. I understand if you are disabled and unable to reach a public meeting spot, and we have done a few direct deliveries right to someone's house, but again, always with a second person in our vehicle.
I fully understand if someone decides not to get an animal from us because of our adherence to privacy and safe standards. And if you are one of those people, I wish you well on your journey to getting a new pet elsewhere. For these three main reasons and dozens more smaller reasons, we do not and will not have people coming by the property to look at, pick out, or pick up animals - or anything else for that matter. Even when working out non-animal bartering, we also follow these same rules. Buying a kitten or a bunny? Meet in public. Trading a carton of eggs for some homemade soap? Meet in public. Want to donate something to our homestead for us to use, repurpose, or sell? Meet in public. Can't decide which kitten or bunny you want? Let's chat more about it and narrow down the options and then we can bring the two or three we've narrowed the choices down to along to the meeting in a public place.