Tag: Farmstead

Marvelous Millie



WoodSnap Collage

FINALLY!!!!  I do not have words other than that. I have finally gotten a donkey. It may seem silly to many. A donkey has been on my ‘want list’ for many years. And finally, my Hubs has agreed that trying to break several steers for 4-H is more work than his body wants to do. With that, he agreed, and I went to pick up the Marvelous Mille.

We have worked up to nine calves each summer for the last ten years. Some years are easier than others. Some years, we wonder why we take so many steers to fair. Having four kids in 4-H, four kids who love fair, four kids who really like selling a steer in August. (Well maybe there are a few tears on sale day) That is why we do this.

Millie is a four year old Jenny. She was welcomed immediately by three of the dogs. They are the best at welcoming anyone & and anything. I do use the word “best” very loosely. If I didn’t worry about Millie taking a swift kick and doing damage to one of them, the three did well.

There surely is alot to learn when taking on a donkey. First and foremost, I was warned by the gentleman I got her from, be careful what we feed her. Now for you with equine, this may seem like no big deal. We were warned due to the fact we feed cattle, the protein in cattle feed can be fatal. Uuhhhhh…….Wait. What?

I have to admit now, I am a hypocrite. I required my kids to do research when they wanted a pet. I did look at some items on donkeys. In all honesty, that was  few years ago. I had no clue we had to be careful with certain proteins.

Well we can take care of that. Millie was put in with two cows who are due to calf very soon. These lovely ladies didn’t give quite the lovely welcome as the dogs. None the less, it’s a safe home for now.

Now to get a few donkey toys to keep her plenty amused until we put her to work as soon as the snow melts. And I will make some DIY treats for her. I found some at our local farm supply store at only $6 a bag. Not a deal breaker, I just prefer to make homemade treats for our farm animals. I then know what’s in the food that way.

What are we in for??

Enjoying January 

This new year has been quite the roller coaster of temperatures. 2018 came in with frigid negative temps reaching windchill lows of -45°. Almost two weeks of this. Crazy how that if temps of -20 really don’t feel so bad when there is no wind. Then two days later we only have -9 or so, but the wind is fierce. The burn is not a good thing.  Frostbite is not far away if we don’t be careful.

Chores become painful. In the sense of fingers freezing quickly. Naturally everything is more time consuming. There are so many more things to watch for. Water pails freezing, is the feed bunk full of snow, is there enough bedding, is everything Alive!

Photo taken the first week in January 2018

Thankfully our frigid temps have been short lived. Well, let’s rephrase this. Thankfully we have gotten a break a few times. We have just come out of a 3 day 40° heatwave. Only to receive a forecast of 8-14″ of snow over the next two days. I must say, the forecast also came with above 0° temps, so I’m good with this.

To help the barnyard out, a cure for cabin fever for the goats and ducks was in order. They were released into the great outdoors for two days.

January 20, 2018

Now let it be known, the goats are rather tame. In fact, mama Ally has made her escape a few times this last week with babe in tow. The girls just hang around the barn area, and will come running when they see a human. I have received a text or two asking what in the world was going on. “How were they out” we asked ourselves. If you have goats, you know only to well. All goats are blessed with the spirit of Houdini.

The last two days have done them well. And the animal instinct must be kicking in as well. My girls were ready to get back to the barn tonight as soon as I opened up the gate.

Now the ducks on the otherhand. Oh these feathered fowl have been quite stubborn with the lock-up.  The initial lock-up for my water birds happened only right before Christmas. They refused to go in. They spent a few flurries outdoors. I worried until morning, going out to count and make sure all were well. Finally, they must have had enough and allowed themselves to be herded in.

January 20, 2018

So for our heatwave barnyard party, I did have some concern with letting them out again knowing it was short lived. All in all, it was an easy round up.

Now we wait for the massive snow forecast to dump on us and we tackle the daily chores on the farmstead.