The donkey on the left is Eeyore. He was our first donkey and the story is here http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/eeyore .
We got the sheep just a little bit before we got him. We thought he would act as a pasture guard but we selected the wrong type donkey. Of course we would have had to get him anyway. We had been wanting one for far too long when he became available. We had a lot of fun with him when he was an "only child".
After getting him we ran across information saying that a Jack is not what you need for a pasture guard. It seems they don't bond well with the animals they are protecting. Either a Jenny or a Gelding will work well but a Jack is only good for perpetuating the species. Eeyore proved to be good at that.
He was short and plain looking. Those are traits that I personally find very admirable in a male. We knew we had to try again to get a pasture guard and we didn't want to sell Eeyore. We called an ad in craigslist that had some yearling Jennets (Jennies) for sale. When I talked to the seller he said that he would make me a deal that I couldn't refuse. He was willing to throw in a second yearling for a pittance just because they had become so closely bonded.
We got the sheep just a little bit before we got him. We thought he would act as a pasture guard but we selected the wrong type donkey. Of course we would have had to get him anyway. We had been wanting one for far too long when he became available. We had a lot of fun with him when he was an "only child".
After getting him we ran across information saying that a Jack is not what you need for a pasture guard. It seems they don't bond well with the animals they are protecting. Either a Jenny or a Gelding will work well but a Jack is only good for perpetuating the species. Eeyore proved to be good at that.
He was short and plain looking. Those are traits that I personally find very admirable in a male. We knew we had to try again to get a pasture guard and we didn't want to sell Eeyore. We called an ad in craigslist that had some yearling Jennets (Jennies) for sale. When I talked to the seller he said that he would make me a deal that I couldn't refuse. He was willing to throw in a second yearling for a pittance just because they had become so closely bonded.
Now Eeyore and the girls did not hit off too well at the start. Sometimes there is just something about a stubby guy who keeps telling a tall attractive girl that she is the girl of his dreams. It seems to wear her down (at least it worked on Sally). I don't know how he made it work with two at the same time. I wouldn't have traded places with him for anything. Sally never kicked me in the chest. You can read about his adventures here:
http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/eeyore-and-the-girls
I don't really care to go into it again because it's covered in embarrassing detail in the link. However, the first baby donkey was not born of this union. Just because you are born on a farm does not mean you inherit all the knowledge of your farmer parents. It is sad as well as embarrassing but the first baby was born very quickly to Blue and that is not possible with a yearling. The baby had a cleft palate and did not survive.
I couldn't tell these girls apart so I got a red and a blue halter. Their names became Red and Blue. They came from a pasture with perhaps 40 donkeys and the prior owner had not named them. She and Red were probably hanging together (as it turned out) because they were mother and daughter.
Blue's baby made us quickly realize that she was not a yearling. I do not blame the seller for not knowing. Both the farrier and I were also fooled until the baby came. I will swear that Red and Blue looked identical when they arrived. Looking back I know that Red was more playful but thought it was just personality.
Sally, Alex, and Taylor named them but it was very confusing. Red became much larger than average standard donkey and (too late) it became easy to tell them apart. Once she was grown, the herd began to grow as well.
http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/eeyore-and-the-girls
I don't really care to go into it again because it's covered in embarrassing detail in the link. However, the first baby donkey was not born of this union. Just because you are born on a farm does not mean you inherit all the knowledge of your farmer parents. It is sad as well as embarrassing but the first baby was born very quickly to Blue and that is not possible with a yearling. The baby had a cleft palate and did not survive.
I couldn't tell these girls apart so I got a red and a blue halter. Their names became Red and Blue. They came from a pasture with perhaps 40 donkeys and the prior owner had not named them. She and Red were probably hanging together (as it turned out) because they were mother and daughter.
Blue's baby made us quickly realize that she was not a yearling. I do not blame the seller for not knowing. Both the farrier and I were also fooled until the baby came. I will swear that Red and Blue looked identical when they arrived. Looking back I know that Red was more playful but thought it was just personality.
Sally, Alex, and Taylor named them but it was very confusing. Red became much larger than average standard donkey and (too late) it became easy to tell them apart. Once she was grown, the herd began to grow as well.
This little guy who was caught looking as his shadow was named Sugar. No way of telling how old Blue was or how many offspring but Elvis/Sugar was the second born here.
The first was mentioned above. Cleft Palate and failure to thrive. Sugar was completely healthy and ran more as a colt than I thought Donkeys could or would. He is alive and well today but he goes by another name. I will try to explain.
I have heard folks say that if you name a baby or an animal something that they might just follow their name. Sugar was born the morning we were going to the FWB Texas State convention in Sugarland. Thus the name. I must say that he really did turn out to be sweet. I put him on a friend's property for a year and that friend's daughter renamed him Elvis because of his sideburns. He does have great sideburns.
The first was mentioned above. Cleft Palate and failure to thrive. Sugar was completely healthy and ran more as a colt than I thought Donkeys could or would. He is alive and well today but he goes by another name. I will try to explain.
I have heard folks say that if you name a baby or an animal something that they might just follow their name. Sugar was born the morning we were going to the FWB Texas State convention in Sugarland. Thus the name. I must say that he really did turn out to be sweet. I put him on a friend's property for a year and that friend's daughter renamed him Elvis because of his sideburns. He does have great sideburns.
Blue became the "go to" donkey when I had kids around. Seen here with our grandson Gaby there really are hardly any grandkids that haven't occupied that seat.
Even when there was a foal following her you could count on her to be even tempered and willing to listen. She would have ranked high on the list of animals I wanted to keep around forever. Unfortunately, we could not. You can read more about her here: http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/blue---the-herd-matriarch
Even when there was a foal following her you could count on her to be even tempered and willing to listen. She would have ranked high on the list of animals I wanted to keep around forever. Unfortunately, we could not. You can read more about her here: http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/blue---the-herd-matriarch
This Donkey is named Feathers. I don't know why because we didn't name him. He has a typical donkey hide. Nothing special here. We paid more for him than the total of the other three we bought. Our granddaughter (not the one in the picture) said she wanted a white donkey with brown spots. Sally and I found one and bought him.
Now our granddaughter is a real smart girl and kept after those studies. As I put the finishing touches on this story I know she is walking across the stage for her high school graduation this afternoon. I'm happy she kept after it. NHS grad. But that doesn't leave much time for animals and Sally and I more or less inherited him. He is a pretty good donkey and he is a gelding so we figured he would fit right in.
Unfortunately, Eeyore didn't know he was a gelding and delivered a world class whupping when he showed up. I tied up Eeyore and erected a couple fences with a gap in the middle to keep them apart. Feathers just stayed up front and hee hawed because he was all by himself. Eeyore was in the back with two lovely ladies and a youngster but it seems that wasn't enough for him.
Now is about the time it should dawn on you that I have pretty much an encyclopedic knowledge of donkeys and how they live together. I'm pretty sure that awareness and appreciation of my skills will only increase. Yes that is spoken with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Now our granddaughter is a real smart girl and kept after those studies. As I put the finishing touches on this story I know she is walking across the stage for her high school graduation this afternoon. I'm happy she kept after it. NHS grad. But that doesn't leave much time for animals and Sally and I more or less inherited him. He is a pretty good donkey and he is a gelding so we figured he would fit right in.
Unfortunately, Eeyore didn't know he was a gelding and delivered a world class whupping when he showed up. I tied up Eeyore and erected a couple fences with a gap in the middle to keep them apart. Feathers just stayed up front and hee hawed because he was all by himself. Eeyore was in the back with two lovely ladies and a youngster but it seems that wasn't enough for him.
Now is about the time it should dawn on you that I have pretty much an encyclopedic knowledge of donkeys and how they live together. I'm pretty sure that awareness and appreciation of my skills will only increase. Yes that is spoken with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
When things finally did calm down cruz became the official babysitter. Even when the babies were much bigger than him he provided a lot of much needed guidance.
We figured that Feathers needed some companionship. Craigslist is where we came across all our animals and it was about then that I read an ad with two llamas for sale. Sally said she had always wanted a Llama so we went up to college station to see them
We named the brown one Hershey and for some reason the girls wanted to name the one with patches, Apache. We knew that donkeys bond with all sorts of critters so why not a llama or two.
Well it didn't work out. http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/why-we-became-llama-ranchers
By this time Eeyore figured out how to escape from the fence I had installed and he was slipping over to see a paint filly and the gelding she was pastured with. The guy who found him put him inside his electric fence and that's where I found him.
I am sure the man thinks I was really generous to let his son have that Donkey. I did not tell him any differently. Now our herd consisted of two llamas, one miniature gelding, one adolescent jack, and two pregnant Jennets. Does anyone notice anything different about our progress.
The census became short one Llama when I was hit with "innocent bystander" fire in a spitting contest. Sold him to my friends at the feed store. I ask about him often. He is doing well.
We named the brown one Hershey and for some reason the girls wanted to name the one with patches, Apache. We knew that donkeys bond with all sorts of critters so why not a llama or two.
Well it didn't work out. http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/why-we-became-llama-ranchers
By this time Eeyore figured out how to escape from the fence I had installed and he was slipping over to see a paint filly and the gelding she was pastured with. The guy who found him put him inside his electric fence and that's where I found him.
I am sure the man thinks I was really generous to let his son have that Donkey. I did not tell him any differently. Now our herd consisted of two llamas, one miniature gelding, one adolescent jack, and two pregnant Jennets. Does anyone notice anything different about our progress.
The census became short one Llama when I was hit with "innocent bystander" fire in a spitting contest. Sold him to my friends at the feed store. I ask about him often. He is doing well.
Then one sunday between church services I took Red out to graze and she acted really strange. When it was time to leave for church I looked out and there was one donkey too many. Here he can be seen trying to identify the snack bar. He figured it out and grew into a really handsome youngster.
Next to his mother he is now the largest in the herd and his disposition is hers as well. In other words: He is in charge. Come to think of it all three youngsters have copied her personality.
Next to his mother he is now the largest in the herd and his disposition is hers as well. In other words: He is in charge. Come to think of it all three youngsters have copied her personality.
This is the herd welcoming Cruz.
To those people who say that animals (other than human) cannot think, plot, scheme, love or other human emotions, I would like to introduce you to my herd. I plead guilty to anthropomorphism. Seeing them at play is like being on the playground at school.
To those people who say that animals (other than human) cannot think, plot, scheme, love or other human emotions, I would like to introduce you to my herd. I plead guilty to anthropomorphism. Seeing them at play is like being on the playground at school.
I don't get much work out of these donkeys except the production of fertilizer, however, I do enjoy watching them. Cruz (spanish for cross) was named because of the pronounced markings on his back. He has his dad's color and if you look at the second picture at the top you see his dad's cross. Otherwise he is his Mom all over again.
Perhaps his biggest fan was our granddaughter. Every time she would visit he was her first stop.
Red (background) always tolerated that but she always watched.
As they become older they become more difficult to handle. Cruz outgrew his halter and I left it off for a spell. Went to put it back on and he wouldn't have it.
I waited until we ran him down for the farrier. No hurry but he had to have one.
With no halter you have no handle. With no handle, you have no control.
I waited until we ran him down for the farrier. No hurry but he had to have one.
With no halter you have no handle. With no handle, you have no control.
This is the last addition to the herd. I don't remember what we were going to call her but she told us in no uncertain terms that her name was princess. She was bullying the llamas for their food when she was less than a week old.
To be honest with you these are some of the few pictures that I can clearly say were princess and not Sugar/Elvis. They are far more similar than just sibs. They are twins that were born 13-14 months apart.
They get into mischief together and she, in particular, thinks rules were not made for her. It's really sort of amusing. Dogs with the bodies of horses. It is impossible to avoid loving a donkey that has bonded with you. They know the buttons to push and are so like dogs.
Princess was six months old when Blue suddenly died. She latched onto her aunt (Red) and I made it a point to keep them together. Feathers was in his element as a babysitter.
They get into mischief together and she, in particular, thinks rules were not made for her. It's really sort of amusing. Dogs with the bodies of horses. It is impossible to avoid loving a donkey that has bonded with you. They know the buttons to push and are so like dogs.
Princess was six months old when Blue suddenly died. She latched onto her aunt (Red) and I made it a point to keep them together. Feathers was in his element as a babysitter.
There came a time when my grass was eaten down thanks to the drought and 5 donkeys and a llama grazing down on about 4 acres. When that time came I talked to my friend Andrew who had three acres and a need to mow.
Since I had a growing Cruz who was still a Jack I needed to separate him from the two ladies. Here Red, Princess, and Sugar/Elvis on one of my weekly visits.
Now is about time to introduce you to two other stories that are associated with this.
Bringing red homehttp://www.grangerlandrfd.com/the-homecoming And, bringing home red and princess: http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/where-the-girls-are
Since I had a growing Cruz who was still a Jack I needed to separate him from the two ladies. Here Red, Princess, and Sugar/Elvis on one of my weekly visits.
Now is about time to introduce you to two other stories that are associated with this.
Bringing red homehttp://www.grangerlandrfd.com/the-homecoming And, bringing home red and princess: http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/where-the-girls-are
In the last year I have fenced off about 3 acres of my neighbors property that was so thickly wooded you could not see back into the woods. This is actually her land. I have also made a stock trailer, got another vehicle that can pull it, and taken Cruz to be fixed. That meant that his mom and sister could safely return home.
I know that I need to start staking them out to graze again. There are probably other things I can do as well but they sure do eat. If you are close to me and want some grass grazed, I can help. I need to sell some of them but I can't really seem to make myself do it. If you were around them a little bit you would understand. They have a life span of 30-40 years so you could just hang on for my estate sale. They will probably go cheap by then. I hope they will be fairly old.
I know that I need to start staking them out to graze again. There are probably other things I can do as well but they sure do eat. If you are close to me and want some grass grazed, I can help. I need to sell some of them but I can't really seem to make myself do it. If you were around them a little bit you would understand. They have a life span of 30-40 years so you could just hang on for my estate sale. They will probably go cheap by then. I hope they will be fairly old.
This is the newest thing. The herd doesn't know it yet because these guys have been penned separately. They will probably lead to others as I have a desire to produce our own milk as well as our own eggs. You cannot really combine these little guys with adult donkeys because of the size difference. They will be about 170 pounds each when grown.
Since I have been treating them like dogs I am unsure how much I want to integrate them and a milk goat or two into the herd. I am told we have to allow the llama to be an organ donor before we can safely do that. I will have to think about it.
Since I have been treating them like dogs I am unsure how much I want to integrate them and a milk goat or two into the herd. I am told we have to allow the llama to be an organ donor before we can safely do that. I will have to think about it.
Took the new kids out to meet the donkeys and llama. They were completely unaware but the donkeys were not.
By the time this picture was snapped the goats were also aware of the donkeys and eyeing them.
By the time this picture was snapped the goats were also aware of the donkeys and eyeing them.
They lost a lot of their apprehension and went closer. I think it will be a good match. We will see.
I don't know if you can tell but I think they may have doubled in size since we brought them home. They are larger than our two dogs who are both 60-65 lbs. I'm not sure they are heavier but they follow Kelly or I like two dogs except they are lots less apt to run away. I think if they are all this easy to manage there might be a couple milk goats in our future. Perhaps miniatures. Easier to handle and half the milk.
About once a month we set a buffet table for the group. Here you see them waiting and not so very patiently.
From the left there is our mini Feathers, The grey boy is Cruz, then the three brown ones are Princess,
Elvis, and Red who is ducking her head for the camera. Hershey is in the background.
From the left there is our mini Feathers, The grey boy is Cruz, then the three brown ones are Princess,
Elvis, and Red who is ducking her head for the camera. Hershey is in the background.
This is the buffet table. It's the last time you get the scene of an orderly table until next month. No comment is needed for the following picture. I think it is an exaggeration to say it took a nanosecond but they went from hungry to chowing down really really fast.
 | Rumor has it that there is a Loch Wilcox monster. It sticks it's long head up out of the water from time to time. This photograph submitted anonymously just might have captured it. |
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