Donkey Beauty

 Lots of happenings in this small corner of the world.

Power outages, a greyhound in old age, a little vacation on Lake Huron in Canada, vertigo and death of a lovely young man.  And no, I won't go into the sorry details of most as I know you're here for those darn animals.

So, I give you spotlight on donkeys.  Well, two donkeys.

Let's start with Gabby.  Just Gabs in all her gorgeousness.

I have and always will regard Gabariella as a beauty.  Plain and simple.  And yes I am prejudiced.  It has to do with the shape of her face.  Sugar and Spice have more block shaped features, Gabs is oval.  Need I say more.

Not that Sugar isn't lovely in her own right.  Here she demos the runway saunter.

   
As for those darn-it-all chickens.  We've been losing a bunch of eggs to broken shells in the nesting boxes.  I assumed it was weak shells as all our girls are very mature.   But now we've come to the conclusion there is a marauder in our midst.  Quite probably one of the girls.  Now there is an old golf ball in five of the six nesting boxes most often used.  And so far so good.  The experiment is quite new but let's be optimistic.

I'll leave you with a waterfall we sought out in Ontario.   Relax and enjoy.

  Owen Sound

Canine Critters of the Teeny Tiny Farm

 Let's talk about Sunday night.  It was a doozy, a humdinger, and, hopefully, not to be repeated.

We had been on a small vacation just prior, didn't sleep well.  Well, Sunday night as I was reading before bed, we lost power.  Bad enough as it was, Phinny went nuts.  Same reaction he has to thunderstorms, or the wind.  Panting, pacing, beside himself.  A-l-l night.  Until 4:00 a.m.

Plus the donkeys bellowed a-l-l night.  Until 4:00 a.am.
I can't remember them ever doing that in the 16 years we've had donks.

Oh, forgot to mention, power was restored at 3:10 a.m.

So what was in the air - a different vibration?  Anyone have an idea?

So it was yet another sleepless night and I went through the motions of laundry and grocery shopping on Monday a complete zombie.

Faith was not bothered.  But she has never reacted to storms/wind/fireworks.  Has to have something to do with growing up at the track.

The little girl isn't doing well at 12 years.  We think a bit of senility, pain, significant hip weakness.  Racing until she was four sure didn't help that. Please send her loving thoughts.

We're in the midst of transitioning to a new small animal vet as my favorite vet in the world recently retired.  The new vet was just to the house last night (we chose him because he makes house calls) so we'll be trying some new modalities on Faith.  Hoping it helps her quality of life for a bit longer.

Lastly wanted to tell you about my new DIY experiment - making vanilla extract.
I follow Kaleb at Wyse Guide and Ina Garten and read what they both had to say about ratios and the process, which couldn't be simpler.

I combined three different beans, put them in a large Mason jar and filled with vodka.  You can use other liquors as well.  I've read it can "steep" for 6-12 months.  As with lots of other DIY projects (including chicken eggs!), I can't believe it's cheaper (haven't done the math) but I don't splurge on experiments of this sort very often.  I'll do a taste test along the way and let you know.
Right now it's steeping in a dark corner of the basement.

Hay In Short Supply

 Some significant news arrived a couple of days ago.  Definitely not good news.

My "hay guy" who we've bought from almost since the beginning of donkey land sent me a text.  His hay situation is "very bad" .  Poor yields on first cutting and almost no 2nd cutting as the rains kept missing us.

So, the wheels have been turning - what the heck will I feed the three donks until next year.

 All I can come up with is a combo of what he has left from last year, what straw he has left, Equine Senior and hay cubes/pellets.  Of course I can check around with other equine folks and see what their hay supplies are like, and if I'm lucky cobble together enough from several suppliers.  Cross your fingers and toes.  I'm trying not to panic.  

The bad news doesn't seem to have affected Pippi.

Ignorance truly is bliss.

From Knuckleheads To A Graceful Leap

 First an update on Mitzi.  She was integrated with the flock a little over a week ago and is now doing fine.  At first she seemed hesitant to leave the coop (perhaps her instinct says I'm vulnerable and should stay in here where it's safe) and still is not as active as the other girls during free range time.  But she's eating, not getting bullied during treat time and appears to be happy with her peeps.

And then there's these two knuckleheads.
I took a bag of chicken food out of a box which I threw to the donks to get them out of my way -- I was mixing two kinds of feed in the designated chicken garbage can.
And here we have it:

 

A few days ago as I approached the donkey gate, I startled a deer in the pasture.  Watch for the effortless leap over the fence.
What grace...

****** Vegan Delights ******

Somehow as I was noodling around on the computer recently I happened upon a vegan recipe website.  I know, of course, there are gobs out there, but ended up making one of the recipes.

The website is Nora Cooks and this is the salad I made.  Quite tasty.  One change, I added kalamata olives.. Lemon orzo pasta salad
Hearty, filling, pretty and just the thing for a summer dinner.

Arnica For Chickens, Who Knew

 I'll gloss over the weather and other current events -- yes we in Michigan got hit with the trifecta -- heat, smoke, and lettuce parasites.  Good times.  Two of the three have dissipated for the time being but white vinegar and the salad spinner are my new best friends.

Let's shine the spotlight on Henrietta before I whisk you away to the land of Mitzi.

I just checked my trusty "chicken book" and Henri is only five.  I thought she might be a bit older.  But at five she is the current matriarch.  .
(Note to self: I  think what I need to do is try to catch photos of each girl and provide their ages.)

It would appear Henri knows her nickname.  Of course, her full name is only used in times of discipline.  :)

Now then, back to the Mitzi update.

She's been convalescing in the basement for three weeks now.  Her leg/foot is better, she can put weight on it, but she's slow and favors her other side.  About a week ago she got a bit of fresh air and she had a ball pecking for bugs and eating grass.

 Yesterday we took her out with the other hens while segregating Pippi.  For about two hours.  It might have been too much time on her feet so today I took her out for a shorter visit.  Her leg does seem swollen.  I did a quick search asking if arnica is ok for chickens.  Got the green flag so swabbed her leg with a small amount.  Yup, chicken nurse Janet.

Rick and I are playing it by ear as to her health plan for this week.  More outdoor visits but returning to rest up in the basement.

Now I'll leave you with this oddity.  Two eggs with such different yolk colors.  Why would that be since clearly everyone is on the same diet.

Heat Wave #1 Over

 The heat wave has passed in our nook of Michigan and the animals are celebrating.  Although the donkeys are cursing the flies.

We installed this bird house years ago and we didn't think it had gotten much use.  Until recently.  I saw mom or dad flying to and from with food and standing beneath heard chirping.  But I'm afraid what may have happened to those little babies in the heat.

Just before the big heat wave I mowed the pasture - trying to keep the weeds under control and, the dainty three will not eat the grass when it's long.  While mowing, the donks would charge around from the pasture to the yard, with the chickens free range.  My theory is Mitzi may have gotten injured in one of the donkey runarounds.  After the mowing I found her huddled in the barn, unable to stand.

she's fine here, just pecking around

She's been convalescing in the basement for a bit over a week.  And we're definitely seeing improvement.  Through my worry for her I did find a chicken vet closer than an hour away so am/was ready for a visit if need be.

If you remember, a year ago Ethel was attacked by a hawk, had mobility issues, and we did the same thing.  She's fine and dandy now.

In the brutal heat, donkeys like to eat in the barn in front of the fan - also helps keep the flies away.  And it's always, I repeat always in the same positioning.

   top to bottom:  Sugar, Spice, Gabby

Apparently it's written in the secret donkey manual, kept hidden from me.

Lastly we have a bumper crop of wild milkweed.  It has sprouted up everywhere and the bees are feasting.

 

Donkey Time

 Feeling a wee bit under the weather tonight so will keep this short, but ever so sweet.

Donkey sweet.

My favorite part of the day with the donks is morning.  Everyone is calm, the donks haven't started harassing each other yet, the flies aren't vicious.  It's just peaceful.

You can see Spice's bangs haven't shed out yet.  I've actually had to cut hers so she can see out of both eyes.  (Remember your mom cutting bangs for school photos?)

On the other hand, my favorite part of the day with the clucks is "coming in from free range" time.  They come running when they see me, or are already waiting at the gate.  They're well aware treats will be coming soon and we all stroll together over to the coop.  Sometimes with me tripping over hens.

Will try to make the next post longer.
Thank you, dear readers, for understanding.