Thursday, March 5, 2015

A new addition to the family.

Last year we purchased a donkey to protect our calves from wild and domestic dog attack.  Donkeys really hate dogs and will kick, bite and chase any dog that comes near them.  The donkey bonds with the cattle that we run with her and so far we have not had any more dog attacks.
When we purchased her the previous owner said that she was pregnant but as the months have rolled on we were beginning to wonder if she really was pregnant.  Some days her belly looked like she was pregnant and other days not.
Yesterday when Philip went to move the mob of cattle that "Milly" was running with he found all the cows huddled around a very distraught donkey.  You see she had given birth during the early hours of the morning and the cows, being very inquisitive, had gathered around Milly to check out her baby.  Philip quickly moved the cattle into the next paddock and left Milly and her foal behind.
We have checked on the foal quite a few times to make sure she (yes it is a Jenny) is OK and we are still not sure that she is feeding properly.  We cannot of course get close enough but the foal seems strong enough and Milly seems contented so that is always a good sign.  We will continue to check on the progress over the next few days.
Here are a couple of photos that I took yesterday, a good safe distance away from the very protective mother and her baby.  The little girl seems to be all ears and will look that way until she grows into them!



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