Life “outback” is anything but boring!
Whistler is the resident “jack”. This big guy seems to be around for two purposes. The first one is….ahem….well, you know. The second one is….is…..okay, there’s just one reason Whistler is here. OH, I thought of something! My husband loves his “Whistler”, the two of them have their ‘guy talk’ every night.
It’s a good thing, too, because poor Whistler needs all the encouragement he can get. The jennies treat him like dirt, absolute dirt…..they don’t let him eat with them or talk with them. They “make” him stay over in the corner most of the time……unless, they’re in season. Oooooh, how the situation changes then!
All of a sudden, it’s like Whistler just won the lottery or something. The jennies fight over him. It’s like night and day behavior, the worst of the female nature.
After the “season” passes within a couple of days, back to the corner for Whistler. Poor guy.
Bella and Heather, cute but vicious to male donkeys!
Cinnamon, Peanut butter, Rosa and Nell
Then, there’s the other pasture. This is the “Mommy” pasture, so to speak, if we must describe it. These girls need extra feed, so we have grouped them together for now, until the other barn is built for them, hopefully within the next 60 days or so.
Nell (far right) and her baby, Cinnamon are in the “Mommy” pasture. Nell is about 9 years old, and while I’m not sure how that translates in human years, I am quite certain that she’s in full-blown menopause. She’s just wicked. She hates just about everyone (donkey) except her baby, and is fairly intolerant with her.
A wet pair, Nell and Cinnamon
Rosa is pregnant and moody as well, she has been very slow to warm up to us….probably still morning sick.
Peanut Butter just weaned a foal and is quite friendly. Probably because she just got her baby fat off, stopped nursing and feels free!
Leah just turned one year old, so she’s just happy-go-lucky. She’s a real sweetie and comes when called. Actually, most of them respond to their names.
Kirby
The other three goats consist of Brooklynn, aka “Brookie”, Mocha and Kirby. Kirby is a wether (castrated male goat) and is our wonderfully, lovable “village idiot”. Poor guy, he acts like he doesn’t have a single brain cell firing most of the time. We love him dearly, however, and is a good friend to Mocha.
Brookie
Mocha is the smart one. I’m quite sure she understands English and gives me the lowdown when something’s wrong. Brookie is just the baby of the bunch and just totally cute.
“Joey”, the barn cat.
Joey, our adopted barn cat, is back to being a boy….I think. He has teats as well as testicles, so you tell me. I’m going with the exhibition of male organs, he’s a guy. He’s very lovable and “guards” the barn like he owns the place. A couple of mice have been carefully placed at the barn door for me to see in the morning, as Joey shows us his value as a barn cat.
Joey also loves to purr around my leg while I’m milking Oreo, in hopes of getting some of that warm milk in his bowl….I usually comply. He is pretty cute and I’ve never owned a cat before, so it’s even more fun to treat him.
There’s never a boring moment “outback”, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
*****
What sort of farm critter drama can you share? Aren’t they fun???
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Sounds pretty interesting and I’m thinking I might like to switch to some of that drama vs the human drama!!
Hi EWB,
Yep, it’s a lot more fun and you don’t have to take any of it too seriously.
I have always loved donkeys but never saw the minis until we saw them with llamas at 62/71. Love hearing your stories! We are in the city and cannot do farm animals but we have had cats(3 but down to 1 of originals as they passed from old age) then this summer we adopted a pound puppy(the best!) and 2 kittens. I just can’t imagine life without some kind of animal. Though now that we are in farm country I would love to have land and have chickens, goats, a donkey, and llama, and probably bunnies. LOL Nothing big. I just think I was born in wrong time. heheh
Darcy,
You and me both, sister!! I so belong in the 30′s….oh well. We’re here for a reason, at this time. I waited most of my life to get out in the country and I can empathize with the desire for all that you listed. Keep praying…..
Animals are not only fun, but great therapy.
Joey must love you.
He brings you presents.
Molly, LOL! I’m just glad he likes mice!
I cant wait to get to our country home and have the fun with our animals as you have with yours! For now we have 3 dogs. Max, a boxer, is our old man. He’s 7 and a living miracle! He souldn’t have made it past 1, he tends to have emotional moments due to all the trama. We keep telling him shalom and we are seeing a change. We also have a white boxer who is a year and a half. Shes crazy! We call her “White Wonder” which sums her up. And then we have a horse! Well he’s a three year old saint bernard, but my son rides on him like a horse! Some days it feels like a petting zoo in the house! I love hearing about your animals, it helps to keep me patient for my future.
Abigail,
LOL! Sounds like you’ve got a little animal craziness going on too! Thanks for sharing, I love dogs.
I’m with EWB, I much prefer the drama of the outside animals to the inside crew.
But I can’t be too serious, my Thinglets (5 kiddo’s) are quite a hoot. This weeks drama included a horse busting the switch off our solar fencer, chickens on strike, and a boy with a broken arm. He tangled with our tractor sprinkler. Ah, the joys of country life. 
Time for momma’s coffee!
Glad my friend Jen pointed me your direction.
Jessie,
Sounds like a day around here! Isn’t it just like animals to break things that you do to improve their lives?
i can relate! i have a mini donkey named humphrey, a mini horse, potbellied pig, 3 mini pygmy goats, 5 heritage turkeys, 4 ducks, and approx. 75 chickens. as well as dogs, cats etc….. we are also going to get a regular pig in a month or 2 for…..well….you know. also i am a beekeeper. i have one giant hive and will get 5 more this spring. i love homesteading!
Kim,
Wow, you are the woman!! 75 chickens? Are they for meat? Maybe you should write with me!
They’re all so cute…love reading about their various personalities! We’re in town on 1/5th of an acre, so only have 6 cats, 1 dog, 2 rabbits and 11 chickens at the moment. The law is such that you can’t have a goat unless you have at least an acre, so we have to wait on that. We do love having the chickens, though (except when they get in the garden)…we call them “Chicken TV” because they’re so much fun to watch.
Cathy,
I’ve heard that chickens are hilarious! Can’t wait, Spring 2012!
Yes Kelly, it’s almost like she would need thumbs to complete the task but since she has been separated from the other two, who else?
I guess that didn’t make sense, the “other two” are horses as well and therefore equally as unlikely to use poseable thumbs. Haha!
only approx. 30 chickens are for meat. i really enjoy reading your blog! we just discovered a ducks nest yesterday……more ducks yay! it will be so neat watching the mamas raising their babies. thanks for all of the great info!
Kelly, I absolutely loved this post…made me smile this morning! Your farm animals are just adorable. I can’t wait until we can get our goats, and your post makes me even more anxious. It is so funny how the goats and the donkeys all have their different personalities. I find this is true, to a degree, with my chickens, too. I love to watch them. Oh, and I love the cat story. I’ve had at cats almost all my life, and there’s nothing like getting a valuable (to them) surprise on your doorstep, but I have to say that it’s no fun to watch them torture the poor things…it’s definitely not quick and humane, LOL. Glad your Oreo is earning his keep!
Amy,
I’ve heard that chickens are hilarious! Spring 2012 baby!! Fortunately, I haven’t seen Joe-joe torture anything yet, once it’s at the barn door, he’s done with it. Ewwww…..
Adorable animals! I love black and white cats- we have our own little guy. You can see him at
http://movingontothepast.blogspot.com/2011/04/spot-cat.html
Kathy,
Your cat looks a lot like our Joey!
Love the photos of the donkeys, so cute. Gosh, it sounds like it is tough to be a male donkey!
Kateri,
LOL! Yeah, I guess it is. Poor Whistler…
Beautiful animals! I love all your donkeys! We have us a lot of drama in our barn too!
Lynette,
They’re all a blast, aren’t they?
Such cute animals!!!!
Thank you, Vicki!!
We have a variety of critters on our homestead. One of them is a 400 lb. sow. She’s sweet and tame but a few weeks ago decided she was ready for some adventure. She disappeared one evening and was nowhere to be found. We notified all our neighbors but no one had seen her. I figured she was gone for good and someone was enjoying a pork supper! About 2 days later a neighbor called and said “I think your pig is out with our cows.” She had went and joined their herd! The neighbor helped my husband herd her home and we checked her fence and when I finished milking our cow I checked her pen and she was gone again! She went back to visit the bull again! It was too dark to look for her so the next day we took 2 loaves of bread and led her home feeling like Hansel and Gretel. It was only a mile walk! Nothing like your donkey adventure. At least it’s never boring!
Missy,
OH.MY.GOSH! Well, we all have our critters woes, don’t we? Thanks for the chuckle!
Kelly, I’m enjoying catching up on your blog since I just found you! We are similar in our lives and that’s probably what has drawn me in!
Can I pick your brain a little…just a little, cause if you’re like me menopause has a way of stealing brain cells!
The donkeys. 1. Are they good guard animals? 2. Will they keep a fox out of the pasture at night? 3. Are they content with goats and cows as companions? 4. Are they good on electric fencing?
Thanks and I look forward to browsing more later today.
Hi Diane,
I’ll do the best I can to answer your questions…
1. Yes, great guard animals, one of the reasons we got them.
2. Not sure about a fox but coyotes are scared to death of them. Actually, not that long ago, one of the goats (who has no personal “zone”) got kicked in the head by one of the donkeys and was in the process of being trampled when I broke them up. I gained confidence that they could take a coyote out easily after watching this.
Not to imply that the donkeys are aggressive towards the goats normally, but my goats are rather pesky at times and the donkey had just had enough.
3. I don’t have cows so I can’t speak to that. For the most part, they do fine with the goats.
4. We don’t have electric fences, but I will say that the donkeys don’t “test” the fencing much at all. The goats are very hard on it, but unless you leave the door wide open, our donkeys stay put.
Hope that helps!