Labour Day Portraits

Siog

Heather

Rose

Dorrie

Alice!

Dorrie's 17th birthday & the Summer Solstice 2015

 Inis Eisle Dorcha (Dark One) b - June 21, 1998

dear friend

Lovely unexpected visit ...

We had some special visitors today!  They were interested in everything "donkey," full of questions and delighted with the motley crew ...

Donkey Radar

The first morning of the annual studio tour, everything was ready to welcome art loving visitors.  My studio was cleaned, art work beautifully displayed, signs up, even the outhouse shone!  That's when I noticed that Dorica wasn't herself.  I can tell in a nano-second!

She ate her breakfast but soon lay down and just seemed ... low.  And then she was off her hay, no doubt about it ...OMG!

My first diagnostic check is to put my ear to her hind gut, both sides.  I didn't hear much in the way of gurgling and that's not good.  I checked her teeth in case something in her mouth was causing pain ... nope, nothing obvious.

There are several different kinds of colic, "colic" being the name I call whatever condition puts a donkey off her feed.  Spasmotic colic should pass, walking can help, as can a touch of Banamine if necessary.  Eating some wettish grass (not too much) or a mash can help also.

Sand colic can happen if the donkey ingests too much sand if the pastures are very overgrazed, like mine are.  The sand accumulates in the gut and doesn't pass through the digestive system.  A prolonged does of psyillium in a mash given every other day can help flush the sand out, but I wouldn't embark on this without checking with a vet.  Sand can sometimes be heard in the gut if you use a stethoscope.  The vet may also want to do a nasal-gastric tube to flush out as much sand as possible and that means sedation ... all to be avoided unless absolutely  necessary, in my opinion!

But if it is an impaction, that's serious and not something I can deal with, without the help of a vet.  Pray that it's not the latter!  Exercise can make an impaction worse too, so walking is no help.

I proceeded with Dorrie as if it was a spasmotic colic and I guess it was, as she recovered, thank goodness!  I gave her 0.5 cc of paste Banamine and then a warm water enema, hoping to add some fluid to the "other end."

I brought her to my studio and let her eat some short grass so I could keep an eye on her but Dorrie will NOT pass manure when she's got a halter and lead rope on, so I had to return her to the paddock with the others after awhile.

Eventually, whatever it was, passed thank goodness, and she was back on hay and her own sweet self.  Crisis averted!   It's so important to have what I call "donkey radar" and noticed if your donkey is just not herself.  Given their stoic nature, their condition may be worse than you feared by the time you notice.  If I suspect anything at all, I watch, collect data and then think through my options for diagnosis and treatment.

Sweet Sixteen

My cherished friend Inis Eisle Dorcha - aka Dorrie turned 16 today, on the summer solstice.
She's been a huge part of my life for 10 years!

Dorrie enjoying her birthday carrot (and me in baggy barn jeans!)

She wasn't crazy about those daisies on her head & the silver ribbon around her neck! (What we do for a photo op!)

It's beautiful outside, but ...

Where, oh where are the donkeys?  Expecting to see my little herd basking in Spring's first warmth,
I found them instead way back in the barn!  Huh?  Out they came when I called and then I realized ... MIDGE ATTACK!  Oh, poor donkeys, they were getting eaten alive.

So out came the fly masks with ear protectors and my home-made fly spray (thank you Avon Lady!)
See my recipe to the right of this post.  It works great, although you do have to reapply every few hours for best results.  (I usually give them a spritz about twice a day.)

I use these fly masks during midge season which lasts a few weeks, they look completely ridiculous (imagine a herd of, say 200 donkeys all wearing them!?)  But ears are favorite biting places for midges and they can cause a lot of discomfort and scabs, so I love these masks. 

Before I got them, I tried gently rubbing a few products in donkey ears, but most made their ears too sticky or matted down the hair - I now prefer the masks.

Fooling around with some cardboard!

Rose, you should see yourself - ha!

Proud of those ear extensions - even longer - yay!

Spring Romp!

Each time that Spring rolls around, I can hardly believe that "we made it" through winter!  It feels like such a relief.

Waking up to birds chirping puts an instant smile on my face.  Here is another of my favorite things:  (my version of "reality TV!)  Rose and Siog really have a "thing" going (someone was in heat,) while Dorrie rushes around daintily and Heather just keeps on grazing.

Enjoy!

Radar ... aka worry- wartitis!

Do you know the feeling in the pit of your stomach when you just  kind of "sense" that something may be wrong with one of your donkeys?  It's a funny gnawing feeling for me.

Well two days ago, I noticed that Dorica had one eye closed and tearing - probably she got poked by a twig from a salal branch or something in the woods.  No big deal - I applied some saline solution and the next morning it was improved.  Not entirely though and by evening, I decided to apply more saline - carefully, as you don't want to force anything into the eye that may be trying to come out.

Anyway, it wasn't that that was worrying me - I also noticed that she seemed a bit out of sorts - grumpy with the other donkeys and a bit sad.  Perhaps her eye was sore.  But even MORE worrisome is that she isn't drinking very much - typical of her but I couldn't manage to catch her pooping either!  Now Dorrie is very private about these matters - you've got to know your donks, they're all so very different in their habits.


Dorica had a dangerous impaction colic last winter so I watch her like a hawk.  I make sure water buckets are clean and plentiful.  I checked her gums ... hmmm ... a bit on the dry side?  Donkeys are so stoic - all kinds of things could be happening before you realize, so I've developed a kind of radar that seems to have its own internal warning system!  But can I trust it, or am I just a worrier?

I decided to take precautions and do a few things that can't hurt, even if I'm imaging a problem.  I gave her a warm water enema and a warm bran mash.  My vet loves bran mashes - I'm not so sure!  I've read stuff that suggests that it doesn't really work as a laxative after all, but maybe just the superstition that it will, helps! 

So I soaked up 1/2 cup wheat bran in warm water and added 1 or 2 tablespoons of plain applesauce.  At least it gets a little more liquid into her, plus her daily beet pulp/ soy mash at 4:30 should help too.  She's had that twice now and I think that's enough as I have seen her poop (relief!)

I also took her out for some grazing and gave her the choice of a few different kinds of plants.  She particularly loves a wild mint that grows nearby but also gobbled down sword fern, Oregon grape, huckleberry and or course grass!

This morning, Dorrie seems just fine so I decided not to do anything special.  That feeling in the pit of my stomach?  Well, it's still lurking a bit but I think I can talk it into submission ... for now!

Dorrie's Day Out

Well, as per my New Year's rez, today was a promised walk for Dorica.  She was waiting by the gate ...

when a neighbour showed up ...    

so she waited some more ... sigh ...

Finally, we hit the road!
First stop - the mailbox, where we read about a sale at the bookstore.

Then we thought about checking out the house for sale on the next street:

but decided against it.  

Ran into a bizarre (and rather scary) old cement sculpture ... weird!

Yikes!















We enjoyed some trails through the woods and studied the flora ...

And, finally a chance to do some grazing ...

Then up the road and home!

Dorrie goes to the Fall Fair!

Well, yesterday was very exciting - I took Dorica to the fall fair!   We set off in the trailer with Forrest and her friend:

This was taken when we got to our parking place - a large lot where I could manoeuvre the trailer easily!
Dorica had never ridden in this trailer before and was none too pleased when I shut the door on her but the roads are bumpy, and she had to brace herself when we were driving, so the kicking stopped!

From here, we walked to the fair - through traffic and people, about 15 minutes.  Dorica was super keen and only a bit phased by a weed-eater at one point.  As soon as we got to the fair, the girls ran off to greet their friends and Dorrie and I walked around and were swarmed by kids and adults alike - she was a star!

It wasn't terribly crowded yet as we went early but hot, lots of wasps, dogs (on leashes!) and a parade too!
I had decided not to walk with Dorica in the parade as I felt the fire trucks, horses and vintage cars might be too much for a first outing, but as it went by, she let out a HUGE bray and diverted everyone's attention to herself!

She loaded back into the trailer nicely and home we went.  When I opened the door though, she was in the shape of an A frame - legs braced radically to steady herself on the bumpy, windy road.  I drove so carefully and felt every bump too!

Today, I thought it would be a good idea to see if she would load again, given the rough ride and walked her out and up to the waiting trailer.  She was as keen as could be and walked right in!  I think she was disappointed that we didn't drive off!  What a great beginning for both of us - can't wait to take her and the other donkeys out and about!

Clicker training for animal husbandry

The above title is descriptive of a very important way that positive reinforcement training is used.
Although it's so much fun to train for agility work or tricks or trail walking etc., it's really so important that we take the time to train for veterinary procedures too.

And I think it's a fair generalization that many of us overlook the nuts and bolts until we need them - like trying to load your donkey into a trailer because you have to get her in NOW, but you haven't practiced or
if you have practiced trailer loading, it's only been in one location on a sunny day, not in a downpour on the road or some such thing.

So part of training is to vary the circumstances and in the case of vet work, vary the people too.  In other words, sure your donkey will stand still for you, but will she stand still for the vet?  Case in point:  my work with Dorica prior to her West Nile virus vaccine did NOT pay off!  Soooooo sad!  And completely my fault!
I thought I had her ready (we had about five practice sessions) but her nerves got the better of her "stoic" nature and she became a rodeo queen!

I'm sure she was remembering her colic episode (2 IV injections  and nasal-gastric tubings) and a recent dental float ( IV sedation) so how could I possibly expect her stand still when the same vet approached with yet another syringe?

We got it done but chock up another bad experience for Dorica.  Now she's due for her Tetanus shot.  It's my job to work her through this.

There are amazing stories of zoo keepers training many species of animals to present their neck or rump or shoulder for blood draws, and injections of all sorts.
Just Google "positive reinforcement for animal husbandry" to read about practices and accomplishments!

Getting Dorica ready for her vaccination

Of all my four donkeys, only Dorica is afraid of shots.  She really hates them!  Two years ago, I worked with her to get her ready and here's what we did:

Step 1: Separate her from the others and ask her to stand on a mat (providing you've already taught this, it's a good place to do stationary work.

Step 2: Working at liberty, begin by tapping the side of her neck - click/ treat for standing quietly

Step 3: Gradually increase pressure of tapping - click/ treat for standing quietly

Step 4: Poke her neck, click treat for standing quietly and gradually increase strength of the poke

Step 5: Use the tip of a ball point pen to press into her neck, being careful not to press deeply enough to  hurt her! 

Step 6: Instead of poking, now pinch her neck.  

note:  If she walks away, that's okay!  Ask her to return and back up the training, i.e. decrease the pressure of tapping/ poking and build it up again.  Reinforce her often for standing quietly.

I asked Dorica to be brave and stoic - after all, she is a donkey!

Two years ago, this worked well - by the time she needed her Tetanus shot, she stood quietly for the vet and this resulted in far less stress and zero swelling or hot spots after the injection.  But this winter, she had two IV injections due to the impaction colic and now she is worried about shots again.  So I have started working with her again to build her confidence before the vet comes this Sunday.

If I can get the vet to pinch her neck and click and treat her a few times, it should go well!