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GentlewoodFarms
September 22, 2017

AGC #22 ~ Today's Mood

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My neighbor across the street is the son of a man who started with two donkeys - a jenny and a jack - that someone gave him to pay for some work he did. He thought they were cute and he took them as a novelty. Then he had a fatal heart attack.

Fast forward five years. The son has done nothing with his father's two donkeys, who have now multiplied into 15 jennies and 3 jacks. And there does not appear to be an end to it in sight. This morning, when I pulled out of the driveway, the jenny on the far left had a new foal - very cute - next to her. The one on the far right is IN foal, due any day now. That will bring the total population of this herd to 20.

I have no objection to someone raising donkeys. But my personal opinion is - if you're going to allow your animals to breed, then you should have a PURPOSE in mind for them, and these animals have no purpose other than multiplying. They're not halter broke, they don't get handled at all, they're just out in the field. They're inbred now for five generations, and as near as I can tell, there is no "birth control plan" in sight for them.

They don't get vaccinated or dewormed or anything that keeps them healthy. The jacks run together, so anytime one of the jennies is in heat, there's a major battle between the boys to see who's going to get to father the next baby.

This baby should be cute. She SHOULD be cute, and she IS cute. And she has the potential to make someone a fun little riding or cart project. But this time next year, she'll be in foal with a baby of her own - by either her father or one of her brothers. It's just a miserable existence.

It's irresponsible. It's not good animal husbandry. And it makes my mood REALLY foul because I'm faced with it every time I pull out of my driveway. The responsible thing to do would be to either pen the jacks up or geld all three of them.

:-(


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