Sammy and the DRAINs

Well done to Sammy today too !
He went for a walk along the road and was brave enough to sniff both Dreaded Drain covers ! He sniffed them on the way back too. Hooray ! Eventually he will stop being scared of them and walk over them. Trouble is he's been talking to Donk who says that the Bucket Dragons, who live in buckets when they are babies, grow too big for buckets and move out into drains.

The Vet's latest visit.

Our favourite vet. came to give the lady donkeys their anti-tetanus boosters. Yes donkeys can get tetanus just as humans can. Sinead and Kiwi were not impressed but they were still talking to us afterwards.

At the same time the vet gave Toby a check-up. Toby is a very allergic donkey and has emphysema, a lung problem. The summer is a difficult time for him because the biting flies set off his allergies and recently it has been wet as well as hot and the humidity makes it more difficult for him to breathe. He had been worrying us by standing with his head down and being slow to follow the others. Fortunately the vet said he looked better than expected and advised us to give him an extra puff on his inhaler when it is hot and bring him into the cool stable. We already bring him in when the flies are about, with Jasper and Charlie so he is used to it.

Donkeys often suffer from breathing problems as they get older. They are semi-desert animals so they prefer a dry climate and Britain's soggy weather is not good for them.

Pierre and the Log

Congratulations to Pierre for standing on his log for the first time !!
He is very good at sniffing, pushing and pawing his log but this is the first time he has put both front feet on it.
Of course we didn't have a camera to hand but here he is with the log.

Baby Kiwi is very good at standing on hers. She loves to sunbathe on it and look down on the others. Lots of visitors take pictures of her. Noah used to do this too when he was younger - maybe he will try too if Baby gives him the chance ?

The Great Donkey Escape !

Well, it was a very wet Friday  and the donkeys had retreated to the shelter of the shed with NO intention of coming out. Bart decided to go home as he was wet and cold and hungry. Unfortunately.........because the donkeys were hiding and didn't remind him he forgot to put up the electric fence in front of the barriers.

In the afternoon the rain stopped and they came out. After a while some of them got a bit bored and Charlie decided to rub his ears on the barriers.

And that's how the donkeys got out !!

Sinead, Peter, Kiwi Charlie and Donk decided it was time to go out to the field. They went out of Charlie's gap, up Wrinkleberry lane and ended up on the football pitch which is behind their field.

Luckily it was Friday night and lots of people were watching the football on TV in the pub. They rushed out and herded the donkeys into the field.

One of the watchers was the father of one of our helpers. He 'phoned home and our helper mobilised her mum to drive her and her brother and sister down to the stables to see where the rest of the donkeys had got to. Fortunately they found the rest of the donkeys still asleep in the stables. Then they came and told us what had been going on.

WELL DONE ALL HELPERS !

We say a big THANK YOU to everyone.

Most likely the Escapees spent all night smirking when they were not eating !