The Farmette

25/08/2024

We had a lot of fun yesterday on our monthly sponsor visit day. Some of our sponsors visit every month. Others less frequently. Some aren't able to visit at all. We are very grateful for every single one of you for caring about donkeys and rescue. Please know that your support and your teamwork are deeply appreciated.

23/08/2024

"What's on your mind?," asks Facebook. Donkey adoptions would be my answer. We want to place donkeys in homes where they will be loved, well cared for and set up for success. That means the following:

-- a dry lot
-- appropriate fencing
-- good shelter
-- at least one donkey friend and the more, the merrier for the donkeys
-- adopters who really want donkeys and have time to spend hanging out with them and the financial means to care for them
-- adopters who have time and energy and want to invest it in cleaning stalls, picking paddocks, petting donkeys, scheduling farriers, securing hay and other supplies
-- awareness that donkeys are (1) not horses, (2) not just companions for other animals, (3) not guardians, (4) not another species to add to a barnyard and (5) not temporary commitments

If you want to "decorate" your farm with donkeys, add to the diversity of your animal menagerie, hire someone to do your barn work and spend time with your donkeys, put donkeys on your horse farm that isn't set up for donkeys, get a companion for your horse, find protection for your goats or sheep or calves, or entertain your children for a couple of years until they get bored when you won't want the expense or the work of donkeys anymore, please don't contact us. Please don't get donkeys. And please don't buy donkeys from breeders and then expect rescues to do -- for free -- for you and your donkey what your breeder should do.

Which is it?: Being able to brag about yearly adoption numbers or knowing that every adopted donkey is still happy and well cared for. The former isn't a positive thing if the once rescued and now adopted donkeys are sad, lonely, underfed, fat, laminitic, ignored, or uncared for.

I'm sure everyone is now sorry that Facebook asks the question!

21/08/2024

Hannah doesn't understand why most people, even with a lot of space, prefer mini donkeys over larger ones. There is arguably no donkey on earth more gentle and good-natured than Hannah.

"I want mini donkeys so they can be around my kids."
"I want mini donkeys because they are easier to handle."
"I want mini donkeys because they are safer."

And the list of myths and false ideas goes on.

Standard donkeys are bigger and taller and quite easy to hug!

18/08/2024

"Who would've thought?!"

When his wife watched a very brief tv segment about a large donkey rescue on the West Coast, he didn't overthink her excitement and desire to be involved. He casually mused, "Someday we'll take a great trip to visit some wineries, spend an afternoon at the rescue and enjoy an interesting vacation."

Well, Google to OUR rescue! With a quick search, she found The Farmette and, much to her delight, discovered that we were less than five minutes away! "Who would've thought?!," he often repeats tongue in cheek. After one sponsored donkey, one sponsored horse, table staffing at events, carrying boxes of supplies, moving hay bales to foster farms, multiple fence projects, one weekly barn cleaning shift and countless shifts filling in where we need extra help, he has fully come to terms with how close five minutes apart really is!

We are so thankful for you both! You were sent to rescue us on multiple occasions.

16/08/2024

When a rescue's social media is quieter than normal, there's usually an explanation and rarely is it something happy. Since Monday, we've dealt with a hoof abscess, ongoing shoe boils, a donkey with an inexplicable case of scratches, and more seriously, two donkeys who each have choked twice and one donkey with an up and down fever that has spiked as high as 103.8 degrees.

The donkeys who choked (Audrey and Miga) are doing better. Only one of the chokes didn't resolve on its own and the donkey required a vet visit. Miga was sedated and tubed through her nose into her stomach to clear out the blockage. She's now on antibiotics for about 10 days to ward off any potential bacterial lung infection that could develop if she aspirated any of the blocked material. Chokes are scary but when caught early, can usually be resolved. That said, there is resulting esophageal inflammation that makes them more vulnerable to another choke until they have healed. Miga is being monitored carefully and we are beyond 72 hours past her second -- and we hope final! -- episode. Cause of the chokes? Who knows?! Eating too fast perhaps? Their teeth were recently floated and were in good shape so we don't think that's it though we are scheduled to confirm that. Audrey is willing to eat her diet balancer with a little water on it so we're doing that for her for a while. Miga won't eat it wet so we're giving her a tiny amount at a time so she can't bolt it down.

Kate's high fever and lethargy are still a mystery. Her CBC/Chem blood work didn't show anything of real concern. She's taking a round of a strong, broad spectrum antibiotic and gets Banamine when her fever spikes but, thankfully, she has continued to eat and doesn't have any other major symptoms. We're monitoring her carefully, taking her temperature multiple times a day to be sure nothing is missed. At about 3 years old, she is the youngest donkey here so perhaps more vulnerable to various things. No one else is symptomatic. The vet returned today to get additional blood samples, a nasal swab and a f***l sample for PCR testing. Some kind of tick-borne virus is suspected but unconfirmed as of yet. In the meantime, Kate is enjoying her 24 capsules/day mixed in tasty grain that she never gets. She eats them as if they weren't even there. Thank goodness!

How does the saying go? No news is good news? Well, not always. Barns are a lot of fun but not so enjoyable in the middle of the night worrying about health issues. Thank goodness for cameras that allow for some monitoring from bed! Thanks to all of you who, one way or the other, already heard about Kate and Miga and have been asking about them. We truly appreciate it! And yes, all of this is going to cost a lot. Today's test lab fees alone are $400. If you'd like to help with these expenses, we would be grateful. (PayPal: [email protected] or Venmo or through this post.)

15/08/2024

What are bonded donkeys like?

Together.
Grooming.
Playing.
Sharing feed pans.
Checking in on each other.

Rarely is one without the other and even then not for long before they find each other again. Kai and Aggie are tightly bonded. Kai has some boy buddies that he likes to play chase and bitey face with and Aggie has some girl buddies who she likes to take sun naps and eat with but they always return to each other.

12/08/2024

They still like the shade but Sarah and Beth are quite happy that it is NOT in the 90s with horrible humidity. And their human friends wholeheartedly agree with them!

11/08/2024

Many real life stories do not have happy endings. This one does! It's the kind that keeps heart-worn rescuers at their posts. Animals that can't be helped because of lack of space. Unloved donkeys that people won't surrender. Full auction paddocks because people keep breeding beyond demand. Heartbroken owners who cannot keep their donkeys. Donkeys who die despite the best of care. Rescue work has many painful and haunting situations that don't end well, but this is an exception.

A woman in her eighties with heart problems had to rehome her animals because she could no longer care for them. Her donkey, Spunky, went to a children's camp where he would make a donkey friend, Snickers. Both were used for educational purposes, nativity programs and so on. Spunky and Snickers were very different in personality but quite bonded. Spunky was a bit more choosey about who he liked whereas Snickers was everyone's immediate best friend.

During a week at camp there arrived a young man experiencing various struggles in his personal life. He was admittedly very afraid of animals but entirely on his own, Spunky chose him. Spunky put his head on the boy's shoulder and claimed him for the week, following him everywhere as often as he could. The boy left the camp saying that his special connection with Spunky had made a huge difference for him. Eventually the camp underwent some changes. Spunky and Snickers lost their roles and their home.

Meanwhile, Spunky's original owner had lost touch with the camp. She tried to find the whereabouts of Spunky but was unsuccessful. Fearing the worst, she routinely watched kill lot, auction and rescue posts on social media hoping to find him somewhere so she could try to ensure his safety. She noticed a Farmette donkey on one of our posts that looked a great deal like Spunky and contacted us. When we compared details, unfortunately we realized that it couldn't be Spunky despite the fact that there were many similarities, and both donkeys even originated in the same southern state! She returned to her search and continued worrying about him.

Not able to let it go, I asked her to give me all the information she had about the camp and the kind people she had met there. After tracking things down, I found out that Spunky is just fine! He was ultimately rehomed with his buddy Snickers and they are living on a horse farm a few hours from where he started. There is an agreement in place that if the new owner can no longer keep the donkeys, they are to be returned to the camp associate who was responsible for their rehoming and she would then find them a plan B. I offered The Farmette as that plan B if that situation ever developed. These current photos are now in the hands of Spunky's previous owner who gave us permission to tell this wonderful story. Can you imagine the relief and the joy of seeing this sweet face again? We all need some of these happy endings sometimes!

Like this caring woman, be a donkey owner who watches out for your donkeys forever. Sadly, these stories don't all have happy endings. She told me about how it was love at first sight the day she met Spunky. Though her circumstances have necessarily changed, her love and concern for him hasn't diminished one bit.

11/08/2024

We -- and the donkeys! -- had a wonderful time today visiting with 25+ people who had never before been here. It was fun to watch the donkeys be their charming selves and do their thing! They loved all the attention and we were all grateful for a day without rain even with the little patches of mud here and there! Thanks to all of you who came today and for your interest in the animals and in rescue.

Don't forget that our big annual event at Durham Hill Farm is on Sunday, October 20th at 1:00. Tickets are going fast. If you're thinking you're coming, if you don't get your tickets soon, you might not be! We always run out of tickets so don't wait until the last minute. They are available through Eventbrite. Hope to see you there! Dessert, an entertaining auction, games, prizes, donkeys, etc.!

08/08/2024

Donkeys enjoying the cool evening — what a relief!

07/08/2024

Many thanks to Lisa and Porterhouse Restaurant for sponsoring this sweet donkey family for over a year: Flynn, Ella and "baby" Chester. This is a tightly bonded trio that is also strongly connected to another mother/baby pair, Opal and Otis. Given where they originated, it is very likely that Opal might also be related to Flynn and/or Ella and the five are very integrated. We would LOVE to keep these playmates and bonded donkeys together and adopt them out as a family of five!

Porterhouse has been voted Buck's Best Steakhouse in the Intelligencer. If you are in the Peddler's Village/Lahaska general area, check them out!

06/08/2024

Are there any history enthusiasts near us?

Donkey Halle is simply too busy to take time off but she wants to let you know of a very special opportunity in case you are local to Philadelphia and would like to do something fun that also helps donkeys!

Several tickets to Historic Philadelphia attractions were donated to The Farmette so that we could auction them off or do something with them for fundraising purposes. Rather than waiting for our big event on October 20th (get your tickets for that through Eventbrite!), we wanted to make the Philly tickets available now while it is still summer -- though fall is also a great time to visit Philly!

Did you know that there are FREE storytelling benches positioned throughout Historic Philadelphia where you can experience engaging stories about America's history near where those events actually happened?! And did you know that a Farmette volunteer designed that very unique program for the City of Philadelphia?! Our amazing mascot Hee Haw has many talents!

These are the tickets we currently have available:

Tickets to the Parx Liberty Carousel in Franklin Square (you can ride Smarty Jones!)

Tickets to Philly Mini Golf in Franklin Square

Tickets to the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia

After riding on the Carousel and playing Mini Golf, sit on a shady park bench and enjoy the many 180-year-old Franklin Square Fountain shows. Get lunch or a snack at the renowned SquareBurger. Visit one of the award-winning Once Upon A Nation Storytelling Benches and listen to a riveting story of America’s history where it actually happened! Liberty Bell Center is just two blocks away. On-street, metered parking spaces are available and there is a parking garage right across the street.

If you're interested in any of the tickets, please email us and let us know. They are free while supplies last. A donation to The Farmette is appreciated. You can check out more about the attractions and the regular cost of the tickets on this website:

https://historicphiladelphia.org/

We are happy to mail them to you! Thanks for supporting the work here.

05/08/2024

Adoption Announcement!

We don't believe in "fail" when it comes to foster fails. Falling in love with donkeys is never failing!

The very kind foster who took on four of our previously adopted donkeys that had been returned to us earlier this year fell in love with them so Napoleon, Harriet, Hamilton and Robbie are officially home! Three members of this bonded little family started out dumped at an auction in PA. In case you think that "good breeders" would never do such a thing, one of the donkeys had been brought to the auction by a breeder who provided the auction house with the donkey's registration papers so there might be a higher bid and he could make more money. The donkey was unwanted so it didn't work and we threw them out. Can you tell which of these four is "higher quality" than the others?! Of course not. Ridiculous.

Robbie came to us from a kill lot in North Carolina with another group of sweet donkeys. They quarantined at different foster farms and eventually were combined at one foster location where Robbie latched on to the three who had already shown themselves to be a bonded trio. They happily included him in their little group, now a foursome. They were adopted out together but after a few years, their family had to move and couldn't take them along so they came back to us. Our new foster took them in to be helpful to us but it was pretty clear from Day 1 that she was smitten. Who wouldn't be?! Donkeys are very good at finding their way into people's hearts.

They will be loved and very well cared for in their new home. They have a cozy barn that will be warm for them in the winter. and fans and lots of shade to help with the summer heat. They live on a dry lot but enjoy a brief adventure in a large pasture every morning where they run wildly, romp around, eat a little grass and then willingly return, often on their own, to their barn to get their diet balancer breakfast. Donkeys love routine and, like most of us, do very well when they are in a good home and know what to expect and when. This is a perfect setting for these wonderful donkeys. Thank you fosters and adopters for ensuring the safety and happiness of these sweet little lives.

04/08/2024

"Would anyone like to come visit me and my friends?"

The Farmette is hosting a visit day open to anyone: Saturday, August 10th from 10:00-12:00 (Pipersville, PA). It is free but reservations are required. Each child under 10 must have their own adult accompanying them at all times and their parent or legal guardian must be in attendance. We welcome visitors with special needs and ask for advance notice so that we can appropriately prepare for your visit.

Space is limited and car pooling appreciated.

If you'd like to make a reservation, please email us at [email protected] and include the following information:

Total number of vehicles in your party
Total number of guests in your party
How many in your party are children under 10
Are there any special needs

Waiver forms are required and will be provided at the door.

This event is weather permitting. If it is raining, we will have to cancel.

Hope you can join us!

01/08/2024

Last night my phone beeped alerting me to the kind of text that every animal owner dreads.

"Donkey on the loose!"

The photo showed it running down a back road behind our property about 250 yards away from a busy state highway intersection. To say my heart skipped beats is a huge understatement.

"What happened?," my brain was shouting. As I stepped into some shoes, grabbed the truck keys and burst out the front door my thoughts were racing. It was like entering a world of panic. Tripping down the few steps I wondered, "How did this happen? I know I doubled checked the gates. Did a tree fall or an animal spook and burst through a fence creating a gap?" I grabbed ropes from behind the truck seats and yelled to a friend to bring halters. Jumbled thoughts all at once, "There are just two of us here right now. The photo looks like Tony or Benno. But Tony is wearing fly pants. It's never just one donkey. Others must be running around somewhere, too. How can we catch them? Two of them have to be cornered to be haltered and this is wide open. This is a disaster."

As I rounded the corner I threw the truck keys on the hood so she would have them. I sprinted around the house and jumped a wide ditch not quite making it and almost wiped out turning my ankle on a large stone. "If I hurt myself I won't be able to do anything except lay in the road and watch them all get hit by passing cars." I looked down the same road as in the photo. "No donkey in sight now. Did he jog off into the weeds on the side?" As I ran, I kept watching the distance with a deep feeling of impending doom expecting him and many others to suddenly become visible. "How will I catch them or block the road? We need more help." As I rushed along, names started going through my head. Neighbors are close by. Volunteers who are good with haltering donkeys and who the donkeys know well. Some are at least 25 minutes away if I can even reach them. God, help us protect these donkeys." I kept looking and running. I heard the sounds of our truck turn the corner behind me and knew my friend was following me. I couldn't focus well enough to see names or numbers but fumbled with my phone to try to text for help. Suddenly, it started ringing. It was the neighbor who sent the text. I breathlessly answered, "Yeah, I'm on my way." "False alarm!", she said quickly, "he said it was a large deer." "What?!" My brain almost couldn't parse the words. I kept watching for donkeys but began to slow to a fast walk as my thoughts were trying to catch up. She repeated, "A deer. Not a donkey. A deer. A fat deer." My legs went weak and I almost collapsed in the road. With my heart still pounding I turned around and waved to my friend in the truck, shaking my head to try to let her know our nightmare was over. As she caught up to me I could hardly get the words out "Not a donkey. A large deer." Her simultaneous expressions mirrored my feelings. Dread. Terror. Relief.

It took a while to recover. We checked all the donkeys. Oblivious to our emotional roller coaster, they were peacefully eating hay. Peaceful reality slowly began to set back in but our brains were slow to let go of the thankfully non-existent nightmare.

How grateful we are for neighbors who watch out for our donkeys! How grateful we are that their son saw something suspicious and followed the animal long enough to report back as quickly as possible that it was a deer! How grateful we are that this wasn't what it appeared to be! It sure does look like a donkey in that photo! Oh my!

I frequently read posts of people telling stories about their animals getting out as if it was just a funny anecdote. There's nothing funny about it. It can and often does end in tragedy. There are all kinds of reasons animals can get loose, some preventable and some not, but it's always serious.

Thank you, neighbors. We are grateful for you and for your watchful eyes and caring hearts. False alarms are way, way better than no alarms.

01/08/2024

Christmas in October! What?!

Even the donkey looks a little confused! But you read that right!

Our annual event is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, October 20th starting at 1:00. Come join us for a fun afternoon at the beautiful Durham Hill Farm! Get into the holiday spirit early with our special event featuring an entertaining auction, delicious treats, Christmas carolers and much more! Games, raffles and prizes: there's something for everyone to enjoy. Adults and children welcome! Bring your friends and family for an afternoon full of donkeys, treats and fun!

Tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/christmas-in-october-a-farmette-fundraiser-tickets-969632225087

01/08/2024

Tickets are now available for our annual event! Sunday, October 20th, 1:00pm. Don't wait until the last minute to get your tickets. Capacity is limited. We hope you can join us!

Join us for Christmas in October: A Farmette Fundraiser where you can enjoy adorable donkeys, tasty treats, and support rescue work.

30/07/2024

Look at all those Amazon gift receipts! Danny wishes they were edible!

He would like to express our sincere thanks to all of you who purchased items from our Amazon wish list. Your kindness and generosity make the work here possible and we are deeply grateful. We will do our best to keep the wish list updated for those who like to shop from home. Most of our regular supplies (diet balancer, stall shavings, mineral and salt blocks, teff pellets, etc.) come from the Dublin Agway and are not available on Amazon and/or would be much more expensive online than local so we don't include them here. Many thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1RUG5LP98JMZ4?ref_=wl_share

30/07/2024

Goodnight, donkeys.

29/07/2024

Wow! We were down to just a couple of backup pairs of "donkey fly pants" but on Saturday, three generations of a family (grandma, mom and daughter) came all the way from Delaware to deliver 37 (!) pairs of leggings they had collected for us. The next day, one of our volunteers dropped off another 13 pairs! Should we hope for more donkeys, flies or storage?! Probably better go with storage!

We are really appreciative of these pants donated by people we have never even met. Truly grateful! With the hot, humid weather and other local environmental issues, this has been a particularly bad fly year for the donkeys, some of whose front (mostly) legs become buffets for the flies who chew them to death. Despite the spray, ointment and traps (we've tried and still use many varieties of them), there can easily be 30+ biting flies attached to each of their front legs which makes them understandably miserable. The pants are a welcome relief for those who are most affected. Thank you!

28/07/2024

Harper and Violet (with a little help from their parents!) are the new sponsors of one of the cuddliest donkeys in the world, Bartlett. They met each other yesterday for the first time. Seems like a special friendship in the works for this trio of cuteness! (video in the comments) Thanks to all of them for supporting rescue work and for choosing Bartlett!

Bartlett and his friend Jackie spent years at a petting zoo where they did not receive good care. When the zoo closed, the animals were sold or given away and a woman who purchased their alpacas also took the unwanted donkeys to prevent them from being taken to an auction. She kept them for several months and then put them on Craigslist where we found them. When we went to meet them, we found an overweight Bartlett in a pasture and a skinny Jackie with a drooling mouth smelling of infection. We got them safe and arranged the care they both needed.

Unsure of all that was happening, Bartlett was a bit of a kicker at first but has settled into a snuggly little guy who is quite happy (though he probably misses his grass!). It will take time to lose the pudge but he's on his way. Jackie had three teeth pulled and her issues have cleared up. Her teeth were not in good condition so she has been floated and then touched up at least 3 times since she arrived last fall in order to give her the best grinding surface possible. They are quite bonded to each other but are both making friends with other donkeys. They're beginning to act like they know they are truly safe. Jackie is a bit more hesitant relative to the super friendly Bartlett but both enjoy people.

Shaun Johnston these two donkeys were named after your wonderful HEARTLAND character.

27/07/2024

Looks like Hark's been framed!

Today was sponsor visit day and we enjoyed getting to visit with several sponsors and meeting some new ones for the first time. Hark already had a half sponsor but today she found her other half! It was such an honor to meet Officer Ed and his family who chose Hark. As a Philadelphia police office, Ed and his partner responded to a lunchtime call to catch a man who had fled an automobile stop. During the arrest, there was a physical struggle and the man pulled a gun firing it at close range through Ed's abdomen. It was quite truly the grace of God that kept him alive through an induced coma, several surgeries and the damage and loss of various organs.

The term "hero" is thrown around a lot these days. Sports stars are great but they're not actually heroes for their athletic achievements. Doctors can do incredible things to keep people alive by using their amazing skills and knowledge but not typically at risk of their own lives. Many people do wonderful things for others but if they are all called "heroes", what word can we reserve for someone who regularly puts their own life on the line for other people? Officer Ed is the real deal. This Wawa hoagie-loving officer, father and husband almost lost his life in service for the people of his city and, as a result, he and his family have been forever changed. We are so grateful to now be connected to them through our special donkey Hark. It was truly an honor to have them here today. Thank you for coming. Thank you for your support of this work. And thanks most of all for your genuinely heroic service and sacrifice.

27/07/2024

There’s always someone who does things their own way!

25/07/2024

“Hi, I’m Jackie and I like windowshopping.”

24/07/2024

Some of you have been asking how Henrietta is doing. It's going to be a slow road for her and her best friend Hannah but especially for her. Both of their blood work reports showed sky high leptin values due to visceral fat. Overweight donkeys are susceptible to all kinds of metabolic and mobility issues. Henrietta's insulin level was also elevated. Both are on medication and a low sugar hay/straw diet to begin to address this.

Henrietta has suffered for years with painful hooves caused by the rotation of her coffin bone after having foundered, probably multiple times. Every step is hard for her with one front hoof appearing worse than the other, but both look pretty bad in the x-rays. She had her first therapeutic trim to remove excess toe that works like a lever and increases pain and to drop her heels. It will take time for her tendons and ligaments to adjust to new angles so the process of helping her itself produces discomfort. It will be a very slow road and we aren't sure what comfort level is possible but we are all doing our best.

In the meantime, she lies down a lot which produces sores so we've given her a shed with extra bedding to make it softer (and a fan!) which she has discovered and that is helping a lot. The sores are almost completely healed. Since she arrived she has had two eye infections which have cleared up and also an area of fairly significant swelling on one front leg elbow that came on very suddenly. We were afraid she had been kicked but soon discovered that it likely wasn't caused by trauma but probably by some sort of insect bite (spider?) that got infected and resulted in a small abscess that has since drained. This poor donkey is going through a lot right now but the more superficial things are resolving with careful management. Her hooves will take time. Losing weight will also help her painful feet but that will also take a while.

In the meantime, she is a wonderful patient and is super sweet even while we're treating her wounds in ways that she would prefer we didn't. She never bites but she often will put her lips on us to remind us that she doesn't like something and that she could. And then she licks us. Donkeys are simply amazing. She greets us with a soft, breathy bray that is truly endearing.

Henrietta needs a sponsor if anyone would like to connect with her in a meaningful way. Her meds, vet bills, extra shavings, etc. are an extra expense right now but she and Hannah are absolutely very well worth it.