Long Ears

Loveable Long Ears - Miniature Donkeys Meet our four little burros - Nettie, Sage, Rocket Man and Mullie. Rocket Man is, as usual, in the middle front. His mother, Mullie, is walking in behind him. Rocket Man is loveable and affectionate. He likes to play with milk jugs and walk around with a bucket on his head. His next favorite activity is hitting the others with their Jolly-Ball toy. He is the youngest and - like most teenagers - can be quite annoying when the others just want to enjoy a little peace and quiet under the trees. A donkey's life expectancy is 30-35 years. They mature at about 4 years of age, later than horses.
	The picture (left) I call "The Sentry" because Rocket Man always is alert to his surroundings. Nettie is afraid of the camera. She starts walking away if she sees someone approaching with a camera. Yes, that's her little bullet-butt at the left in the picture above ^. She has the most beautiful brown eyes and the kindest face any donkey ever had, although you maybe never see it in a picture. She is willing and generous and wants nothing more than to be loved. Well, maybe a lot of hay and grass. We are still trying to get a good photograph of Nettie. Some day...
Sage is a miniature Poitou donkey. Many people do not realize that just like horses, there are different breeds of donkeys. In the wintertime she gets a long, curly coat of very soft hair. It is a rich coconut color. If left ungroomed she will eventually look as if she has dreadlocks! She is our resident pick-pocket. Sage is confident and kind. She loves to play 'follow-me-if-you-can', leading the others in an all-out run from pasture to pasture and getting as close to things as she can without running into them. Her next favorite game is playing 'chicken'; she runs straight toward you at full speed veering off to one side or the other at the last possible second. It can be scary so don't play if you're chicken!
Mullie Girl (black halter) is loyal and intelligent. When she first arrived on our farm, she wouldn't allow anyone to touch her. She had been neglected before coming here and we suspect she might have been abused. It took months of quiet encouragement but she came out of her shell, and how! Now she can't get enough of being brushed, scratched and belly rubs. She might take a while to determine if you are friend-worthy, but if she decides you're ok, she's your friend for life. Rocket Man (red halter) is never far away from his mother. Don't they look like twins!? He love the camera - what a ham.
Why are they so fuzzy? In the wintertime, donkeys get a heavy coat. Their foreheads and faces get bushy to the point their eyes are almost covered. This picture (above left) was taken in the late spring when they still had about half of their winter coats. By mid-summer they will be sleek and shiny and look as if they had lost about 50 pounds. As they are shedding out they look rather pathetic. Many people shave their donkeys to avoid that 'ugly' stage; we don't, rather we groom them because they enjoy the attention and it is our 'quality time'. Some of our visitors who have seen the donkeys in winter did not know they were the same animals when they came back in the summertime.
	What's the difference between a donkey and a burro? Nothing. Burro is the Spanish word for donkey. A female donkey is called a jenny. A male donkey is called a jack. More fun facts to come...




		... Updated: 05/03/10