I was up well before day break this morning. My wife got a troubling phone call that no one who owns animals ever wants to get. It was one of our neighbors alerting us that our donkeys were out and in the road! We franticly grabbed our headlamps, put on our jackets (it was 26 degrees) and our crocs with our PJ bottoms (mine are red, white and blue like the self defense instructor wore in Nypolian Dynomite) and ran outside.
Every time I feed my donkeys I whistle. So, as I walked towards the barn to grab a bucket of feed I whistled. The donkeys responded right away with excited brays. Four came running to the barn. They were inside the pasture. That meant only two were out. I could hear the two escapees braying as well. They were trying to figure out how to get back in the pasture and partake in whatever their herd mates were about to get. I gave feed to the donkeys that were still inside the fence, making sure I poured the feed from high above the bin so the two still outside could hear it. I shinned my light and I could see their eyes as they made their way around the pasture to the gate. So, I walked down, opened the gate and waited for them to arrive. Crisis averted!
It is SO important to associate some sort of sound or whistle at feeding time. Being able to whistle my donkeys in is a huge advantage. In this case it may have saved two of them from getting hit on a dark road as people sped off to work.
Once it gets light I have to figure out how those two monkeys got out!
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Kay
Please keep posting as there is hardly anything out there to read about Donkeys. Lots on horses and mules, but only a handful of people that share their knowledge and experiences of donkeys. Wish you put on small pack trips with them!
Nathan Spence
I’m ready for some more donkey packing knowledge from the foremost expert…. 👍😁