Abraham donkey has been here for three kidding seasons, and Sarah for two. They tolerate the antics of baby goats with what appears to me to be a gentle sense of humor. Abraham lets the kids jump on his broad back, and both are very gentle. Jezebel donkey arrived last summer. In her previous home she lived on a goat farm, and shared a pasture with the buck goats and older kids, but never tiny babies. She has shown tremendous interest in our kids, and it worried me. I've been keeping the goats and donkeys separated, but last week one kid got into the pasture where the donkeys were, and all was fine, so I decided I was worried for no reason. Thursday I got brave and let everyone hang out together. I was showing a friend the kids when Jezebel grabbed one baby and bit it, throwing it to the ground. I yelled at her and she stalked off, sulking. The kid was OK, but it was a scary moment. I went back to keeping everyone apart. Unfortunately the way our little barn and pasture is set up this is very tricky. The goats access their room by going through the donkey dorm. I lock the mama goats and kids into their room at night, but in the morning the juggling begins. Some days I serve the donkeys their breakfast in the back yard. They think this is a fun treat. Bravo watches them closely, he thinks they don't belong there. (Side note, my son in love says the bird in this picture is, "the roosteryest rooster ever.")
While they are having a picnic, I let the goat families roam the little paddock and open pasture. The kids are growing fast, and they need room to race and run, twist and flounce. When the weather is fine, I can alternate leaving the donkeys in the back yard for a few hours, and locking them into the new paddock that is in front of the donkey dorm. But this means that the goats cannot access their cozy. I have put a calf hutch out in the pasture for them to seek shelter, but it's not ideal. By late afternoon the kids are tired and want to go to bed, so they line up at the gate, looking very small and sleepy. Then I have to carefully move them in without letting them bump into Jezebel. This is tricky, because baby goats have a death wish. Every day they try to squeeze through the fence, and they try to do it as close to Jezebel as possible. They sneak past me when I open gates, and head right for the critter that wants them dead. My adrenal glands get a work out several times a day, it's exhausting.
In the wee, dark hours, it occurred to me that maybe I could board Jezebel somewhere for a few weeks. That might be confusing for her, though. Then I thought that if I had a little door from the goat room to the pasture, it would solve my problem. The goats could come and go at will, and the donkeys could spend the day in the paddock but still have access to their room. At night I can still lock the goats up into their cozy, and the donkeys can roam the pasture. It would make my life so much easier, and the kids would be safe. So I called a friend who does carpentry. She came out today to measure and plan. The donkeys helped her.
Jezebel had her nose touching the measuring tape. She also begged for a good butt rub.
Meanwhile, I had another small project I wanted to work on. The chickens have a pretty good sized yard to be in, but there is a small opening in the wire fence that allows them to access the big pasture. This flock has not discovered the opening yet. It was partially obscured by dead grass. Today I took a hoe out and cleared up the weeds. Then I tossed a bunch of cracked corn and sunflower seeds around the opening. It didn't take long for the chickens to figure it out. I may or may not have "helped" by giving them a little pat on their feathered bottoms when they poked their head through. It was fun to see them out exploring new territory.
Later the two lady ducks also figured the opening out. But the poor drake did not. Maybe tomorrow, when the juggling continues.
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