I was unfamiliar with the tail clamp when I got Emma, but I learned fairly quickly that it is a good indicator of a cold donkey. Especially if it is combined with a hunched back and an unhappy mood. This si Emma demonstrating last year....
Emma is particularly good at making her opinion of the weather clear. She gets downright grumpy if she is cold and the change in her demeanor and attitude is almost immediate once I get her blanket on her. Ramsey's tail tucks in so tight, I can hardly even find it. I wonder if that's where pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey came from?
I hate using blankets, but I hate having unhappy donkeys even more. I got an awful lot of this last year until I broke down and got Emma a blanket...
"I'm COLD mom! How long till Spring? Can we move? What are you gonna do about this?"
Blankets are a pure nuisance, but if that's what it take to keep everybody warm and happy and the tails hanging straight, so be it.
I really feel for you all...it's going to be frigid here too, but we don't have to sleep in a barn! Those two look really sweet in their blankets AND warm... Will you have to haul water?
ReplyDeleteWarm wishes won't help, but sending them anyway.
S
I have a frost-free hydrant in the barn and I use heated water buckets. I haul water from the hydrant to the buckets, but it is not far. Just so long as the hydrant doesn't freeze....
DeleteDo you leave them on overnight Kris? I have rain sheets + fleece liners but only use them in combos of wind + cold or rain/ snow + cold temps. But I'm no expert at blanketing ...!
ReplyDeleteIn this kind of weather, the blankets stay on 24 hours a day. It all depends on how cold it is. I have wool liners for them for added warmth in extreme cold like we are having now. I take the blankets off once a day to check for rubbing or irritants. The weather where you are is so different from here that your blanketing needs would be much different as well. The less you have to use them the better in my opinion. Emma and Ramsey really seem bothered by the prolonged cold we have here, something I hope they will grow out of with time.
DeleteYeah I hate blanketing too, but I guess they are telling you that they need them.
ReplyDeleteEmma is still growing? How old is she?
Emma is just two years old. She had Ramsey when she was only 23 months herself. I didn't know she was pregnant when I got her, it was rather worrisome news when I found out. Thankfully, everything worked out OK, but she does still have some growing to do.
DeleteThis is something I haven't noticed about my donkeys, thanks for the tip! Now I'm going to have to go out in the cold and watch their little bums for a while to see what I learn! I can't think of anything I'd like to do more actually!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the blankets. All of it.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder how they keep the tips of their ears from freezing off, but that's probably my zero donkey experience talking + my own ears that are hyper-sensitive to cold and wind. (And breathing air this cold feels like inhaling razor blades!) I sure hope the cold spell will be over with SOON for you! e-m
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way, I have a hard time breathing this air and if my ears get cold, that's it, I'm done. I have seen horses and donkeys who have lost portiions of their ears to frostbite, but it is generally when they have no shelter form the wind. So far, everybody's ears are just fine here.
DeleteOh dear, and with all the work you do, you probably can't even use my survival "trick": I used to breathe through a loosely knit scarf that I pulled over my nose (bandit style) when walking the dog...
DeleteI'm sure that if your herd had a problem with cold ears, you would long since have devised a remedy! (Hand-crafted ear hoodies? ;-))
Come, spring, c o m e ...
Best always, e-m