What do you do with a donkey?

Ever since I brought Emma home people keep asking me, "what do you do with a donkey?"  I admit that I used to be one of these people.   There are lots of answers to this question, you can drive them, ride them, pack with them, teach them tricks, use them as therapy animals, etc.  The list is quite long and limited mostly by our own preconceptions.

I do have visions of teaching Emma to drive but, I also know that if I don't get around to it any time soon, it doesn't matter.  Emma is already doing everything she ever needs to do.  I can walk out into my field, late on cold, clear night after a hard thing has just happened.  There, under the light of a full moon, all of my animals come crowding around, wanting nothing more than to share my space.  There I find my "worthless" crippled horse, my aging border collie, a green gelding and a young, pregnant donkey smiling up at me.  She brings pure joy into my life and what more could you ever ask of anything.  So, the next time you hear someone ask "what to you do with a donkey?", the answer is very simple, you love her and that will be enough. 

A very rare event

last evening, I did something that almost never happens, something that has only occurred one other time in the last fifteen years.....I went to the movies.  A couple of friends and I went out to diner and then went to see Warhorse.  It was quite an excursion. 

The movie was very good and we had a great time.  I do wish they had made the horse "training" scenes a bit more realistic.  The way they handled those scenes definitely detracted from the story rather than adding to it. I read the book a few years ago, before it was made into a movie, and I enjoyed that as well.  The book was written from the horse's point of view so the film and the book have mostly the same storyline but, each has a very different perspective. 

The theater experience itself was a bit of a surprise.  All was normal and quiet as we bought our tickets, found our seats and watched the movie.  However, after the movie, as we were making our way out of the theater,  I noticed that the show across the hall had an armed policeman checking the tickets of swarms of hyped up teenagers.   What on Earth kind of movie requires an armed police presence just to check tickets???   Whatever it is, I don't think it will ever make onto my list of must see.  I'll stick with donkeys.

Around the farm today

It was a squally day here with intermittent bouts of heavy snow that didn't really amount to much. Tanner did nearly turn into the abominable snow dog waiting for me to "throw the darn Frisbee already!!" 

You'd think I'd left him laying in the snow for hours but, it was really about two minutes.  We had a nice walk a little later as the temperatures were in the mid twenties rather than the single digits we have been having the past few days...

Tessa has been nibbling on everything for the past few weeks and has been going through a very mouthy stage.  So, I wasn't all that surprised when she dropped this at my feet this afternoon....

She is going to be turning four in March so this is just about right on time.  She has another on the other side that she will probably lose any time now.  I suspect she will continue nibbling on everything for a few weeks yet. 

Carson, over at the7msn, had a great suggestion to take regular photos of Emma in the same position to monitor her belly.  I had been having similar thoughts but, I like her idea better.  I spent quite a bit of time really looking Emma over today and, she is definitely starting to show some belly.  I had thought so last week but, I wasn't sure if I was making it up but, no doubt, it's there.  I took these pictures this afternoon, they didn't come out so good as the light was bad and Emma just wanted a neck scratch but, take a look...

I don't know if you can tell by the photos but, Emma has lost quite a bit of weight in the last two weeks.  It is not obvious at first because her belly has expanded but, the fat pad on her neck has shrunk way down.  Keep in mind that the fur on her lower belly is about 3 inches long so it is a bit deceptive.  I am not sure if the weight loss is because of the baby or battling the cold, both I suspect.  I think her weight looks good but, I don't want her to drop any more so I am going to start giving her a small amount of high fat, low protein feed.  This should give her a little more digestible energy without adding too much protein, which could make the baby get a lot bigger.  I would like her to have a small but healthy baby. 

And, of course, I am going to have a baby pool.  How could I not?  I will give it a more formal announcement just as soon as I figure out what the prize is going to be.  In the mean time, you all know everything I do by now so, start calculating:)

Due Dates

I've been trying to figure out when Emma's baby might be due and ,well, the best I can come up with is:  sometime this summer.  Here are the variables, maybe some of you folks with more donkey experience can do better:

• The gestation period for donkeys is 11- 14 months with 12 months being average.
• I believe that Emma was born in July of 2010, jennys start to come into heat between 7 and 12 months old, with 12 months again being the average.
• Emma came to my house on Aug. 31st
• I tried to find out from the previous owner when she had been bred but, I got no more then a drunken shrug and the mumbled reply that he'd seen the jack breed her once or twice.
• My best guess is that she was bred sometime in August, if she started to have heat cycles when she was 12 months old.  If she came into heat earlier than that though....

Looking at this, it seems like the baby could be due any time between June and September with July or August being the most likely.  Any donkey breeders out there have any input on this? 

I have talked with a specialist at Cornell and his advice was, "if she were my donkey I would leave her be and hope for the best".  He was at least somewhat reassuring as he told me that a donkey's pelvis is much better designed for birthing than a horse and it is more common for young donkeys to successfully carry a healthy foal to term then it is for horses.  The two biggest risks are dystocia and foal rejection. 

I could have an ultrasound done but, I am not sure it would be very useful at this stage other than to provide me a little peace of mind that she is not carrying twins.  The blood test I had done tests for estrogen sulfate which is produced by the placenta.  Her levels were extremely high, indicating that there is an active placenta with a viable fetus.  Too bad it can't tell me when that fetus might decide to enter the world.

Indecent Exposure

We have been enjoying a very rare, mild winter here.  The temperatures have been relatively balmy, it was actually in in the forties last week.  Much to my relief and the dismay of the crazies, er,um people who actually like the stuff, we have had almost no snow.  But, all good things must end.  Today's high temperature has only been about 12 degrees and the wind is howling.  Luckily, we didn't get all the snow that was being forecast.  Instead of the 12 inches we were being warned of, we only got about an inch (insert heavy sigh of relief here, sorry crazy people).  The low temps did have me concerned for Emma though as she does not like the cold.  Her blanket is not up to the job of keeping her warm enough on days like this.  Needing a way to keep her warm, I did what I always do, I improvised. 

I had an old wool cooler that I had bought at an auction about fifteen years ago and have had sitting around getting musty ever since.  After I bought it, I found out that it must have been made for something like a 22 hand tall Shire/elephant cross.  It proved to be fairy useless but, every time I thought about tossing it, I kept thinking it had to be good for something.  It is a nice heavy, wool blanket after all.  Well, it's time has come.  Cut in half and folded over on itself, it has become a toasty warm blanket liner.  I did have to make some modifications, I added some leg straps and a chest band to help hold it on.  In spite of my feeble sewing skills, it seems to be working.....

 

Emma: "MUST you take pictures of me in my underwear?  And you know, the green checkered dish towel/breast-band clashes horribly.  Don't you any fashion sense??"

Me: "Ummm no, I don't.  But, you'll be warm and the dish towel will hold everything in place."
 
Emma: "I think I better just eat more hay and try not to think about having embarrassing pictures plastered all over the internet.....Sheesh,, she even left my butt hanging out...

are you at least going to remember to give me another cookie?"....

 

Consolations and new plans

What's to be done when you find out that your baby donkey is going to be having a baby and there isn't any way to "fix" it?  Buy her a bag of treats and a new toy of course...

 "Hmmm, chewy, uhmmm"

 "Nom, nom, nom, very chewy"...

The other thing to do, is to start planning the nursery.  Do you see my machinery shed with the old, yellow jeep (which has quite a history I'll have tell you about sometime) in the background?  Well, I spent most of Christmas building the half-wall around it...

I didn't make the wall go all the way up because I don't want to block all of my barn windows.  I hate dark, dreary barns; I want light and air.  However, this is the windward side of the barn so it has to be covered (especially since the wind is so strong here that I could probably power most of NY if I started raising windmills instead of unplanned donkey babies).  I am going to build windows for the open spaces. I am trying to decide between using plexiglass or clear vinyl.  I think the vinyl would be easiest and safest but, I am not sure it can handle the wind.  In the summer, I will cover the open spaces with shade screens and it should be quite a nice donkey solarium. 

All I'll need then is a place for the old jeep, the lawn mower, ladders and other stuff that really doesn't want to live outside.  Housing for all of that stuff along with firewood is in the works...

But, winter finally showed up with a vengeance and carpentry will probably have to be put on hold.  In the meantime, I guess I'll just go give Emma another cookie.  Cookies cure everything right?

Ringing In The New Year

Emma is planing to ring in the New Year.  Is everybody ready.....

 The Bopsy-Twins are in position...

 Tanner is ready to join in...

OK, all together now...

Happy New Year!