Rude Guests to my Rabbitry

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jubidyjub

jubidyjub

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So I lead the 4-H rabbit group and new members often drop by to learn about their records and bunnies. We got a call today from two new members joining who also needed to purchase their new rabbits.

I knew it would be the 10 yr old and the 7yr old along with their mother. But also came the 2 yr old, husband, and 4 month old. eeekk!

so we let them see the 11 day old babies since they were purchasing them (obviously not leaving until 10 weeks) the kids were good at holding them gently, but when I said they needed to go back the 7yr old flipped out and began arguing with me which disturbed the my doe.

Then I showed them my outdoor rabbitry (outside my baby room) where he insisted on feeding each rabbit grass. I tried to get him back inside, but while I was speaking with the mother, Trent (7yr) was opening drawers, opening the fridge, messing with various stuff around my house.

The older girl was very polite and seemed very excited to start her project. I'm just very nervous about selling rabbits to a family with so many small kids and lots of noise. I feel obligated to sell these rabbits to them since they deposited the holding fee. :X:?

What do you think about selling these bunnies? any of you had rude rabbitry guests?
 
I think that you have an obligation to your rabbits. You can refund the deposit and say that you won't sell them the rabbits. As you would be breaking off the sale, it would be fair to refund the deposit. If the buyer decides not to buy, then I would not refund.

The 7yo doesn't seem very mature. It actually surprises me that a 7yo is allowed to even join 4-H, the minimum age around here is 9. The fact that he is going through your stuff and not listening could mean that he will not listen at meetings and might not even listen to his parents. I would not let a kid like that have or even handle a rabbit.

You could try working with them a bit on proper handling and just getting them to listen to and respect you. If after that he still doesn't listen and is rude, I would not sell to them.

The 10yo might be able to care for her rabbit without too much help, but I would still be iffy with the other young kids around. The 2yo and 4mo are going to take up most of the parents time and money. A rabbit or 2 would not really get the care they would need and could end up neglected just due to the time issues.
 
I think you should refund the deposit because obviously these people already have too much on their plates. I have three young children and I would never allow them to behave that way. I would be concerned about the safety of these animals; not because they have young children and might neglect them -my animals get plenty of attention- but because the 7 year old is a major cause for concern aswell as the parents.
 
well these people are joining our 4-H club and they need to meet the deadline by tomorrow.

If I do refund them, how should I tell them? The parents were so nice it was just the boy...
 
My $0.02,

No obligation, provided you refund immediately.
However, you are the leader in your area, right?
You could say that you are willing to sell to the 10 yo, as she has shown ability to take instruction, and responsibility for the animal. But that will inevitably for some controversy within your group (if they attend your meetings).

If you are leader of the group, you can allow the boy to join, and assess how well he assists with his sister's bun, and how well he listens to you. A monitoring period, as he is below the average age of your typical 4H members, right?
In the meantime, you could assign an older kid, or yourself, to mentor this younger one. Not a terrible idea, as the little girl will work to please you, her leader, and will likely whip her younger brother into shape.

You could have a policy where everyone must receive rabbit training for 2 months before they choose a bun. That would weed out a lot of the BS.Policy starts today ;).

OR, give the 7 yo kid a rabbit, and wait the inevitable 3 months until you get bun back, as it is "too much work". Put the return clause in the purchase contract.

Alternatively, they could get their rabbits from someone else.

( I am not a breeder, nor involved in 4H, but I would find this to be a fair solution if it were my kid who was not capable of cooperating. I personally think its a bit nuts to get two buns for a family with such young children, but that's me ;) )
 
I just don't have a good feeling about this sale. but how can I break it off? what do I say? I've never had to do this before.

Our state has the cloverbud program for kids ages 5-7. It's a non-competitave group. They mostly just participate and learn without much record keeping
 
Is having a rabbit compulsory in order to participate in the cloverbud club?

If it isn't imperative that the kid has a bunny right-this-very-minute, I would do probation for a few meetings.

(I edited my above post with a few more thoughts, btw :) )
 
Sorry if I am not being clear... I am trying to understand the situation better.

Do you control this club? Do all the other kids have rabbits?

:hug: Don't be overwhelmed.
 
I know that kids can do a non-animal project, but in my club everyone has a rabbit. I control the rabbit portion of the club (our club does other animals)
 
yes. but that's not required until a certain date (tomorrow!)
 
no, they joined today. And the date is set by the state. Although, that rule is not enforced. I've even bought rabbits in June and still taken them to fair.

What I'm trying to decide is this.

1. Should I go through with the sale?
2. If not how do I cancel it?
3. If I cancel it how can I find them a rabbit by the 15th?
4. What is the right thing to do? :(
 
OK... I see 2 options that would work well.

1)This is what I think would be in the best interests of you and the little boy.

You put in a "must return if cannot keep" clause on this sale/in your contract. Guarantees you get your rabbit back, no matter what.

Sell the rabbit to this family. The rabbits do not leave you until 10 weeks from now, right?
I am confident that you can gain influence over this boy, and have him respecting you and your directions within 10 weeks (Be direct and clear with him about what the "rules" are). In those 10 weeks, he will learn a lot about rabbits while at the meetings.

Make it very clear to the parents that this sale will only go through if this boy meets your expectations of a good rabbit owner. Right now, he is not listening when he is with your rabbits. You are not confident in him at this point, but you are willing to "wait and see". Finalize the sale once he meets your expectations.


2) Any which way, sell a rabbit to the little girl, as she is listening, and is willing to take instruction. The parents are also listening (right?); they just have lousy parenting skills. Little brother can help with sister's bun until he can listen properly.

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That is what I think is the best solution for everyone. Not ideal, but not too bad.

The bonus here is that you are in charge of everything the kids learn, you have a sale contract, and you are interacting with these kids and the rabbits on a regular basis.

I think there is a pretty good chance of the boy learning to listen to you, and become a good bunny owner.

-----------------------------------------
As for canceling,
"I don't feel comfortable selling a rabbit to such a young child who has no rabbit experience. I would be happy to sell him a rabbit after he has attended x # of meetings."

Then, get the rabbit in June (as you mentioned, the State doesn't seem to mind ;) )

(I don't think that canceling would work as well as education, though)


If your gut is screaming NO NO NO, then by all means, refuse to sell.

They may choose to leave the club at that point (which you will have to be OK with). I don't think that they would be willing to stick around with a leader who doesn't think their kids are good enough to have one of her rabbits.
(I am simply saying what they might think. I totally understand your concern for your buns :hug: )

I am sure the rabbitry owners will hop in with excellent advice soon :)

:hug:

 
aw thanks Autumn. I talked with a close rabbit friend on facebook and we both came to the same conclusion. The parents were so excited to have their children in 4-H. The girl was asking so many questions about rabbit care and 4-H I knew they were serious.

I sort of overstated the problems in my first post. But the family was very nice. It's just the little boy who wasn't well-mannered. I'm sure the parents are working with him (they seemed very involved)

I think what is best for these people is education. Once they know about rabbits they could make fabulous owners. The boy also has the outgoing characteristic to be a champion rabbit showman once he's older.

Thank you everyone. Hopefully all goes well :)
 
It sounds like a good family. I think that a bit of education and your guidence will go a long way.

Kudos to you for making a confident choice, and putting your faith into a little boy who didn't make a good first impression... bet he was pretty excited to be at your house ;) :hug:
I look forward to hearing about the 7 yo's progress! I'm sure they will both be rabbit champs :)
 
It sounds like he might have some behaviour issues which would be a totally stressed out event going to a new place with the other small children and the boy with the bahavour problems acting up.Poor parents.Im sure they will manage his behaviour much better in their own home environment.I would give them a go but youve got to be firm with him I think he might loose interest and the sister will wind up with both buns.......not the end of the world =)
 
If you don't sell them the rabbit, then they will get one someplace else, so either way the boy is still going to get a rabbit. Like you said, if you cancelled the sale, then you'd have to find them another rabbit by today.

Anyway, it sounds like the young boy just doesn't know how to behave while out in public. He probably doesn't have manners, but he is 7, not many 7 year olds have outstanding manners.

I would go through with the sale, I mean your going to have the rabbits until they are 10 weeks old, so that could give you some time to teach the younger boy proper manners with rabbits and maybe talk to his parents about his behaviour in your rabbitry? Maybe he doesn't act that way elsewhere - but watch him at 4-H meetings and just go slow with him but definitely teach him over the next couple weeks.

When they come back to pick up the rabbits, you can assess the situation further. Maybe the boy won't be so rude when he comes to pick up his rabbit - and in the end maybe he might decide not to get one, in which case you do not refund.

Emily
 
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