Taking Pictures of Donkeys

If you own a donkey you know the same thing that every other donkey owner knows... they are nearly impossible to photograph unless you have help!

Donkeys are very curious and if raised well they are also very personable.  If you are trying to photograph a donkey that does not know you it will try to get to know you, getting impossibly close to your camera.  Even if the donkey knows you it will get up close and personal, looking for snacks, pats, or just saying "hello".

She would be even closer if she was not behind the fence!

I have deleted more pictures of donkey noses than anything as my donkey, Aggie, always wants to sniff the camera just to see if it is edible. She is cute though!

In all seriousness if you want to take a picture of your donkey one of the best solutions is to have a friend help you.  The friend can either hold the donkey on a halter and lead and keep it a reasonable distance from the camera, or they can use themselves as "donkey bait" standing just off camera but having the donkey focus on them so you can get your camera in a better position for picture taking.

Surprise Triplet Lambs Born at the Wrong TIme of Year

On Sunday, November 23, I went outside to feed the sheep as usual.  We had known that at least one ewe was pregnant but did not expect lambs for another month at least (ideally later than that), so when I went out to feed them in the morning and found one ewe with triplet lambs following behind her I was quite surprised.  Especially since the weather had been below freezing and there was snow on the ground.

I got them into a stall in the barn and made sure they were okay.  They were already dried but the tails on two of them were frozen and I expect may fall off due to frost bite.  I tried to warm in my hands but it could have been too late.

After a day it was clear that the ewe, named Girlie, was not producing enough milk for all three lambs so I went to the feed store and bought a bag of lamb milk replacement formula which cost around $50.00.  I also bought more nipples for the bottles.

Two of the three lambs, the one in front is not being bottle fed, the one in back is.

I am currently bottle feeding two of the three lambs at least three times a day, four if I am home from work.  Unfortunately the weather only got worse, we have a huge amount of snow now and the temperature fell to -34 C (including windchill) which is about the same as -29 F.

The lambs are doing okay and I am monitoring the other ewes as well, it looks like 3 of them are pregnant too, so we have started giving them extra rations and bringing them in the barn for the night too (mind you with the cold temperatures I would have started to bring them in the barn at night anyhow).

Lambing Makes Me Worry so Much

With triplets born only days ago, and the ewes actually not due for another day, I was a bit surprised by today's events.

As you may know from reading earlier blog posts I live in Alberta, Canada, it is winter, so the ewes are in the barn at night and out in the day.  I opened the barn door this morning to find one ewe, Mrs Brown Katahdin, with twins.

She would need to stay in, as the ewes with new lambs are kept in the barn for a while to bond with their lambs and so  the lambs get stronger before going out (after all there is snow on the ground). 

I went outside to throw the hay over the fence and noticed one ewe, Blackie, wandering off to the old barn.  It was pretty clear at that point that Blackie would be lambing today too.

I checked on Blackie several times throughout the day.  At one point, just before lunch, I found her with one lamb.  That make it easier to get her back into the other barn - I just picked her lamb up and she followed me.  I put her in a stall by herself. 

Blackie and the lamb I found her with.

I had lunch and went out a little later to check.  I am now feeling terrible for not going out sooner.  I found a dead lamb in the stall, a black and white lamb.  I noticed yet another standing with her, as well as the earlier lamb.  She had given birth to triplets, and somehow lost one.  Was it born dead?  Did she not clean its nose off in time?  Could I have saved it?  What happened?  I tend to beat myself up mentally in these situations.  Poor thing.

As if that was not enough, later in the day when it was time to bring the other sheep into the barn, one ewe was missing.  It took a bit of searching (it was getting dark by this time) but I found Patsy standing with two new lambs.

And there's more.  When I got Patsy and her lambs back into the barn, I checked on everyone again, and decided that one of the triplets born days earlier was not looking too good, I would have to bottle feed it.  She drank good but this is an expensive thing to do, not to mention a lot more work added to the day.

Good thing I am unemployed!

There's a Pig in the Yard

The other morning as my daughter was getting ready for school we noticed one of the cats looking keenly at something. I went to the window but couldn't see what it was so we figured it was just birds. Twenty minutes later and my daughter heads off to catch the school bus, but something is wrong, and I hear her calling me. I worry that something happened to one of the sheep, or perhaps there is a fox in the yard.

When I open the door to see what caused the commotion, my daughter calls to me “There is a Pig in the yard!”. I put on my boots and rush outside to see a male potbelly pig running up and down the fence line trying to get into the pasture with the sheep, who were well back from the fence.

The donkey, Aggie, and the llama, Crystal, were also standing well back, confused by this strange animal. I was a little disappointed that neither one of these “guard animals” was trying to chase the pig away.

My daughter said the pig has been running at the neighbors and they knew who owned it, so I called them. Apparently they had informed the owner, but the pig's owner had not come for it so they were very happy to keep it, as they have another pet pig too. So we proceeded to try to chase the boar (male pig) to the neighbor's home, about ¾ of a mile away.

All was going well until a car came down the road and the potbelly pig ran into the forest. I tried to find him but those things are fast and soon was too far into the forest to see or hear. Hopefully he found his own way out of the woods and back to the sow (female pig) at the other farm.

We have never kept pot bellied pigs, or any pigs in fact, as pets, but here is a link you can read to learn more about Pot Bellied Pigs as Pets.

Read about What to do when you Find Loose Livestock.

How Cold is Too Cold?

Yesterday morning, I woke up to temperatures that were -39C.  I went out to the barn and it was clearly too cold for the lambs to go outside.  I put the ram out, and the two ewes that are not due to lamb for a little while, then came into check the weather forecast on the Internet.

This is what I saw:

You will note that the Yahoo Weather chart seems to taunt me, showing the actual temperature at - 39C (roughly -38F) and tries to lighten it by saying it feels like only -38C!

Later in the day it got warm enough to let some of the more woolly ewes with bigger lambs outside, this being Diamond, Blackie, and Patsy.  Everyone else stayed in the barn (boring, but slightly warmer).  Of course they all got extra meals throughout the day.

I think they blame me for the bad weather, and refused to look at the camera for their picture to be taken.

A sheep keeper, especially when there are lambs, must be aware of the temperatures for the week ahead, and be willing to plan accordingly.  The ewes who are not doing as well should be kept in and fed extra, any with small lambs, young lambs, or even triplets, should be kept in, as should those who do not keep their lambs close.  Any ewes who are due to lamb should certainly be kept indoors in climate extremes. 

Lambs should be watched for signs of chilling, frost bite, or even pneumonia.  Sudden drops in temperature will also cause scours.  As I also keep hair sheep, I found that the hair ewes, and their lambs, needed to be kept in on this cold day.

Painting Sheep

This is about a sheep whose picture I painted, not to be confused with Painted Sheep, a breed of sheep.

Remember that Ram I told you about earlier?... Click Here if you missed it... Well we did have some good pictures of him, and I am a painter - well at least I paint, not so much a "famous artist" or anything of the sort.

I loved the texture of his horns, and his hair, this is in the fall and he has grown a thick main, the angle is so strange it was perfect to paint.  I did the painting in acrylic paints, they dry faster than oils and have no smell.

This is a detail (part of) of the finish painting - of course you can see the background is changed to make it more dramatic from the rather boring pasture.  I also opened his eye somewhat.  I am rather happy with how his horns turned out and the hair as well - remember this is a hair sheep, a Barbado, which is not a woolly sheep - many mistake them for goats.  I really should take a better picture though.

I own the copyright for both images, they are not for reproduction.

What Animals Can be Kept together on a Farm

When we think about keeping sheep, or any animal, in a pen with different livestock, there are many things to consider.  Mostly we have to be sure different animals will not be aggressive to each other, but more so we have to consider feeding and dietary needs; what is safe for some animals is not safe for others  With sheep we want to be very careful about copper as too much can be deadly to them.

Other concerns include your fencing, while one fence might be fine for containing horses, it will be useless for containing goats. 

Most livestock animals tend to be okay with other livestock animals provided they have enough space; they stick with their own kind.  The biggest issue occurs when intact male animals decide to try to mate with other animals. 

I have kept the following animals with my sheep:  Donkeys for protection ,llamas, cats (they come and go in the pasture), and free range hens (they are in a coop at night).  At one time we had horses - large and miniatures - with the sheep.  The biggest concern was when we had a jack (intact male donkey) who was too rough with the other animals.

Guard llama, and a lamb

Ducks and Chickens

Ducks and chickens are not good together for several reasons. First of all ducks need a place to swim, even a small tub, but this will drown a chicken. As well, if you have chicks, there is penicillin added to chick starter which is deadly for ducks. Roosters and Drakes may be aggressive towards the other birds unless kept free range.

Chickens and Turkeys

While the size difference might be the biggest concern there is also a risk of turkeys spreading blackhead disease to chickens. As such it is generally suggested to keep similar ages of birds together, but to introduce them slowly (and not to over crowd them), and not to introduce them until 6 months of age, after their immunity has really developed.

Rabbits and Chickens

This can be done only if the coop is not over crowded. Rabbits might get filthy from hopping in the chicken poop. Also feeding comes into play, the chicken food should be raised so the rabbits cannot get it. If the chickens are free ranged during the day, the rabbit will probably wander off and not return to the coop at night. A rooster might bully a rabbit, but hens probably would not. Finally one benefit is that chickens eat flies, so fly strike is less of a concern.

Chickens and Large Animals

It is fine to keep chickens, and free range them with larger animals, such as sheep, goats, and horses. Even cats are usually okay with chickens, just make sure you supervise the introductions so nobody is spooked and always allow the chickens a place to go for rest at night. Be sure the chickens cannot get into water troughs or they will drown.

Sheep and Goats

Sheep and goats can be kept together provided that their needs are met. Goats need better shelter than sheep, particularly in rain, and need better fencing because they can climb. The biggest concern is feeding, sheep cannot have copper, which is in mineral blocks for goats and their feed. As such a keeper is best to feed sheep mix, use a sheep mineral block, and if possible offer the goats their mineral from time to time when the sheep are not present. In a mixed flock, the goats will usually stick with the goats, and the sheep with the sheep. Goats browse, where as sheep graze, so a pasture with a shrubs and grass is best. Rams and Billies will fight, and might try to mate with the opposite species, however reports of this being successful are unproven.

Sheep, Goats and Larger Animals

It is common for people to keep sheep and goats with larger animals, such as horses, because the sheep and goats are great companion animals in the case where a horse lives alone. The concern is generally fencing as sheep and goats can both walk right through fencing such as three-strands of barbed wire. As well with sheep care must be taken to avoid letting them have horse mineral with copper. Male animals, stallions, bulls, jacks, might show aggression to the smaller animals, particularly if they are bored. Donkeys, llamas, and to some extent alpacas, often serve as excellent guard animals for the smaller sheep and goats, but generally only if one of the guard animals is present, otherwise it bonds to its own kind and will not stick with the animals it is suppose to be guarding.

Horses and Cattle

Although it is not uncommon for people to keep cattle and horses together there are some concerns. The biggest concern is a medicine often added to cattle feed, but is toxic to equines, the medication is known as Monensin or Rumensin. The other concern is in areas where hoof and mouth disease is a concern. While horses cannot get this disease they can spread it, so when outbreaks occur a producer would be wise not to acquire any cattle to keep with their horses, or they risk the quarantine of their horses as well as their cattle.

Donkeys and Dogs

Donkeys have a strong dislike for canines, which is why they are commonly kept as guard animal against coyotes. Donkeys will run at, strike, and kick, any dog they do not know. If you are going to keep a donkey and have pet dogs, be sure to introduce them slowly and keep the dogs out of the donkeys corral until you are sure they are safe

Dogs and Other Livestock

Well socialized dogs and livestock are generally safe together, but some breeds have a very strong prey drive and will kill various types of animals, other breeds like to herd animals and will run them too much if left alone (not allowing for the animal to graze).  For this reason it is ultra important that breed selection and proper introductions/training are given attention. Any dog who is at risk for chasing, or killing, livestock should be penned. Dogs who have killed are likely to kill again. Any dog on a farm must be kept fully vaccinated and dewormed, especially for heartworm.