So exciting!
These sweet, innocent donkeys were rescued from a kill pen in Texas last October – saving their lives from the donkey hide trade. These pinto donkeys would have been purchased for their hides FOR SURE – even the babies are slaughtered for their hides.
Halter Ranch adopted them back in November, but because we don’t have barns or smaller paddocks at the winery, the donkeys stayed at ALL SEATED IN A BARN until this new property was secured.
Today was the day! The new property has 500 acres plus 5 huge paddocks with shelters, and a barn! With some quick cleanup and updating, this place will be glorious. Escrow just closed and the first thing on the list was to clean up the donkey paddock, get fresh water/feed buckets and bring home the burros!
Today they arrived! Two Mama/Baby pairs. Both of the Mamas are pregnant. So, in a few months, there will be another set of babies. By that time, the barn should be setup to house them at night, just in case there are any wildcats around.
Oh and the babies on the ground are adorable jacks!
HERE WE GO!
The truck arrives
Ted, the only other animal there, was eager to watch the truck as it backed up
VIDEO!! Click image to watch them hop off of the trailer into their new paddock!
They get the paddock and the aisle.
It was raining and a bit muddy. They hunkered down for a bite. The babies are very fuzzy boys.
One Mama meeting up with Ted.
The other Mama was very sweet and she let me pet her.
This gate leads out to the 500 acres. There is a huge stream that runs behind the houses that they dammed here to make a road.
I walked out on the dam. You can see the water rushing over the road. It was a very rainy day.
We will probably let them into this area with the gravel road so that they can wear down their feet a bit as we train them. Right now, they don’t wear halters or pick up their feet.
The ranch is set up for sorting cattle… lots of gates to segregate and house animals. PERFECT for untrained donkeys! We can easily push them into holding pens, in case they need to see the vet or farrier.
By the time I left, the sun was out and everyone was at peace. Fresh water, fresh hay and fresh new friends!
Thank you… personally, I feel contented that this came to be.
LOVE THIS. As far as I’m concerned the more donkeys, the better (and more donkey posts, please?). I cannot imagine why these beautiful donkeys ended up in a kill pen. Just a few short years ago you couldn’t purchase a standard spotted donkey (or mule either, for that matter) for anything less than several thousand dollars. Once upon a pre-pandemic time, those guys had real dollar value but of course it’s probably just like the fashionable dog craze, clueless breeders jump on the bandwagon and then the bottom falls out of the market, for whatever reason. Thank heavens for the All Seated in a Barn people, for you, and for the winery for stepping up to save them.