Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Back in the Saddle, Kind Of

For about a week now, I've taken over mid-day duties of four silly donkeys and four silly chickens.  I feel a little embarrassed revealing I drive out to the donkey gate -- with a brand new knee, slipping and falling is not an option -- and then rely on my handy cane for support on the uneven ground of packed down snow. (I have no need of the cane elsewhere)

The first day I went out, I joyously greeted those little faces and asked, "Did you miss me???"
The response: "Do you have any treats?"

Little buggers.


No, Luigi does not feel emasculated in his pink blanket, although it may be handed off to Sugar or Spice when theirs arrive.

After a couple of days of getting my chore legs back, I ventured to shovel out new feeding places to throw hay.


Gabby discovered the off-the-beaten-track pile first and Spice and Sugar queued up.  Spice's patience was short-lived and Sugar moved up in line.


After a minute she joined Spice and Luigi and Gabby feasted alone.  She is a little diva!

I do so love seeing my babies, but I do not have nerves of steel and sometimes the jostling makes me anxious.  They may be "miniature" donkeys but there's still a good 300-400 lbs available to tip your balance.  Putting our their supplements is the hardest part; they
l-o-v-e it and clamor to be first.  I have to hustle my bustle out of the way.

And now for the BIG news.

We welcomed three new hens into the fold.  Pardon the photo quality.  As we've done before, they are segregated in a dog kennel until we're more sure everyone can co-mingle.




 The black is an australorp while the white girls are white amberlinks.
I'm mulling over names.  Considering Lily Marlena staying within the singer theme (Ruby Dee, Emmy Lou) and white = lily, Blanche (French word for white is blanc), and Audrey for the australorp.  But those are only mullings.  I also had Lulu in the back of my mind, germane to nothing.

If you check back to the November 19 entry you can see how cute the girls were early in their lives.

2 comments:

  1. So glad you are getting out and above again - but take care, especially with all that snow still on the ground. Luigi and Gabby's rugs are lovely. They look lovely and snuggly and I am sure Luigi doen't mind wearing pink, as long as he is warm and toastie. So glad to hear your big news and see your new girls. The dog crate is a great idea, I think I may have stolen this idea from you when I first got Rose and Vi and it worked a treat (apart from food and water spilling everywhere). I wish you all the very best of luck with the integration. After a couple of weeks (perhaps not even that) every one will be fine and you will have a lovely flock (they look gorgeous girls). I like your ideas on names. If you are going with the singing theme, what about "Dolly"? Good luck with it all and keep us readers updated on their progress - I just love Chicken News!!!

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  2. How are the new girls doing Janet? Any decisions on their names yet? Hope the knee's improving and you are avoiding the ice.

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