as teh british would say..." we'll have a walk-about today-----with the donkeys " most of our donkeys are due to leave in a trailer load to that lovely big farm in topsfield where they will have a party- and probably be back around noon... i may be involved becaus0e janine already moved our lovely wooden cart to the farm with hopes of "hooking" pockets- and tho janinde=e has hooked 1000 of my mini donkeys in teh hitch... she has never hooked to a cart.... and it is slightly different---
for those of you intent on increasing your knowdge........ with a 2 wheeled cart, it is possible for the driver to lean back and tip the cart backwards..... unless yo have a "cart strap" running under teh belly of teh pulling device ( pockets) it can be a simple piece of rope-- or hay string-- but otherwise those shafts can lift skyward and the driver will land on hs/her back,
there is one other thing she must have-- and 4 of my 8 had it-- that is a breeching stap-- big wide comfortable strap which goes behind the rear of a horse/pockets -- this keeps teh cart from running into the rear end of teh animal-- whch coudl be scary and cause a run away.. the way that breeching strap is attached to the shaft can be a little tricky -- a figure 8 that will tighten if tense... janine is not familiar with that- with the 8 hitch, the force was transferred to the front of the 2 rear donkeys with various straps that delivered teh force to their rear ends...
teh harness for a working animal is really very specific-- and as comfortable as possible for the worker.
my 8 donkeys in the "hitch" were very forgiving- if they were horses i would not have survived.... the most spectacular was teh day i was to pick up the bride and groom from a reception-- ( THIS WAS A VERY FANCY DEAL) aND FRIEND ANN GETCHELL H elped me hitch them a block or so away- the donks followed teh police cruiser to the driveway,, and turned in very politely and stopped at the "party" at which point another horse friend said "do you realize you forgot to attach the reins TO THE LEADERS ???..."
GOTTA LOVE DONKEYS...
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NOW ABOTU TEH BABY GOAT== A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME FOR ME--
MOSTLY WHAT I KNOW OF GOATS I LEARNED FROM DR PAL ON ? TEH ANIMAL PLANNET?? BUT I KNOW I HAVE SEEN BABY GOATS RUN ALL OVER FARTHER AWAY FROM MOM THAN MOST HORSE BABIES... AND TEHN MOM'S MILK BAG GETS FULL AND SHE STARTS LOOKING FOR THE BABY TO NURSE... IS HOW THAT SEEMS TO WORK..
I KNOW EVERY ONE IS WORRIED ABOTU THIS BABY-- AND -- THANKS TO TEH CHICKEN BRICK DEPARTMENT-- YOU (CP'S) HAVE ALL "CHIPPED IN" FOR A FUN FUND HOUSE CALL FROM DR BRYAN-- SO I WILL CONTACT HIM WHEN I POST THIS.. BEING SUNDAY IT IS AN EMERGENCY CALL FEE WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT-- BUT BLESS THOSE CHICKEN BRICKS-- IF YOU WANT IT I WILL CONTACT HIM... SOMETIEMS HE IS FULL OF EMERGENCIES ON A SUNDAY ( LIFE IS LIKE THAT) AND MIGHT HAVE TO GIVE US A FREEBEE CONSULT ON CAMERA- BUT I WILL TRY..
THE OTHER THING I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT GOATS, IS THEY CAN LIVE VERY WELL ON VERY LITTLE-- PROBLEM THERE BEING IF EVERYONE COMING TO CRAZY ACRES GIVES THE MOM A HANDFULL OF SWEET FEED ( OATS ETC) SHE WILL DIE OF BEING OVER FED... SO I HAD TO SAY NO ONE FEED HER.
SHE IS SURROUNDED BY GOOD HAY- WHICH IS PROBABLY ALL SHE NEEDS ANYWAY-- THE ALPHAFA GOAT TREATS SITTING THERE CAN JUST BE TROUBLE... SO JANINE AND I SHOULD BE TEH ONLY ONES TO FEED ANYTHING BUT TEH HAY AND WATER..
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AND IT IS SHATTING DAY-- THANKFULLY WE ARE SOLD OUT ONCE AGAIN.. 87 PEOPLE-- BY ACTUAL COUNT.. BAILED US OUT YESTERDAY-- 87 !! THAT IS ALOT FOR ONE DAY-- I THINK THE BABY GOAT HELPED-- BUT WE ARE ON THE BONUS PURPLE EGG SECTION NOW... AND SHATTING WILL TAKE PLACE AT 3:00 THIS AFTERNOON- WE MAY HAE A NEW MEMBER OF
TEH
"SHATUPON SOCIETY OF IPSWICH "
