Gosh, I Hope So
As you can see, Daphne has lost all of her recent baby weight—and Dolores has found it. We thought Dolores had miscarried last winter when we discovered a large bloody spot in the snow, but it looks like we were (thankfully) wrong. I don't remember Dolores being this big when she was pregnant with Dinky and Esmeralda, so I'm thinking—and hoping—she must be very close!
Can't wait for more cute? Try these:
The First Daily Doses of Cute
Daily Doses of Cute Part 2
Daily Doses of Cute Part 3
Daily Doses of Cute Part 4
Daily Doses of Cute Part 5
Daily Doses of Cute Part 6
Daily Doses of Cute Part 7
Daily Doses of Cute Part 8
Daily Doses of Cute Part 9
Daily Doses of Cute Part 10
Daily Doses of Cute Part 11
© Copyright 2009 FarmgirlFare.com, the pregnant foodie farm blog where it really is possible to start with one adorable little donkey and suddenly have a whole herd of them.
Twins perhaps? She sure is big!
ReplyDeleteOh She is huge!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see and hear of the arrival!
What great news. I think the donkeys are just beautiful and the babies just warm your heart. I look forward to seeing the newborn when she/he makes an appearance.
ReplyDeleteKelly
haha! I think I've found some of Daphne's baby weight too!
ReplyDeleteI am positive I looked like Deloras , and felt like her also when I was ready to deliver. She even looks like she is thinking she can't wait to get this over with. Poor girl, I do have empathy for her. So bulky, so uncomfortable, so unwieldy. Can't wait to see healthy cute baby donkey photos.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought: "Good LORD, that looks uncomfortable." My second thought: "That's what people are going to be thinking when they see me in a few months."
ReplyDeleteExcept I won't be having a baby donkey. We hope.
How long do donkeys gestate?
ReplyDeleteLove your donkeys! Looks like a baby on the way to me, but then all 7 of my donkeys (both male and female)look like that from overeating! ;) Donkeys are wonderful!
ReplyDeletePeggy in East Texas
Wow! This is really so exciting! How many donkeys do you have now?
ReplyDeleteThese donkeys are so adorable - I love them!!!
I really think your donkeys are adorable! And, I'm wondering...are they pure entertainment....or is there some other use they have on the farm? Hope you are feeling good!
ReplyDeleteAll I could think was, thank goodness it's cool out now. Can you imagine being that large in July or August. The poor thing. Give her a hug and a kiss for me and some extra treats too.
ReplyDeleteawwww! or maybe it's twins! I can't wait to see the new baby donkey!!
ReplyDeleteYou thought she miscarried last winter, but she didn't? How long do donkey's incubation periods last anyway? Poor girl.
ReplyDelete(even my word verification says "bless" - ha!)
Of course, I meant gestation period. I know they don't really incubate - lol.
ReplyDeleteSusan! Baby Donkey countdown! This is my favorite kind of time on Farmgirl Fare... I'll be checking in like 10 x per day so be sure to keep us updated!
ReplyDeleteHi Everybody,
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed this photo - and are as excited as I am about a new baby donkey!
Farmer Jen and Amber,
I'm wondering about twins - but I'm really hoping there aren't two baby donkeys tangled up in there! : )
Nisha,
You're not the only one. ;)
Jackie and Kristin,
LOL, but huge or not, you have to admit she's adorable - which means you had/have to be, too!
Peggy,
I once read somewhere that the easiest 'bad' thing you can do to your donkey is let them get fat - and it went on to say that's because it's so easy to give in and give them more treats! (I did decide one time last year that perhaps the girls weren't quite as pregnant as I'd thought when I realized Dan was nearly as wide as they were. ; )
Barb,
Right now we have a total of six donkeys: Dan, Dolores, Daphne, Evie, Esmeralda, and Daphne's baby boy Fernando who was born in late July.
Jenn,
Just yesterday Joe was talking about how often guys ask him just what we do with the donkeys, and he usually says, "Oh, we feed them. . . and feed them. . . and pretty much just feed them."
Now that isn't exactly true. : ) We originally acquired Donkey Doodle Dandy (aka Dan) several years ago by chance (you can read that story here), though I'd heard that you could use donkeys as livestock guard animals so we thought he could help protect the sheep.
While he did love to hang out with them, I'm not sure how much actual protecting he did - and when we brought home not one but two girlfriends for him, the new herd pretty much, as Joe put it, focused on protecting themselves. ; )
I do know of some donkeys who are amazing guard animals, though. Meanwhile, the pure entertainment value of ours is priceless. I've fallen head over heels in love with donkeys and can't imagine life without them now. They have wonderful personalities and are very companionable - especially the girls who just love to be hugged.
These days Evie (who isn't getting much attention from her mother Daphne since little brother Fernando is stealing it all) loves to lightly bump into me if I'm standing nearby and not paying attention to her. She's really funny. I can't tell you how many times I've laughed out loud at our wonderful donkey herd.
Liese and Anne in SC,
According to The Donkey Companion: Selecting, Training, Breeding, Enjoying & Caring for Donkeys, a wonderful book I've just started reading, the gestation period for a donkey is 360 to 375 days or more, though I've read in other places that it can vary from 10 to 12 months - which seems like a huge difference.
I'm wondering if the shorter time might be for miniature donkeys, though I really don't know. I could do a little more online research, but it's taken me about half an hour to finish this comment because I got carried away reading parts of The Donkey Companion out loud to Joe.
I mean, you gotta love a book with a sidebar titled, 'How to Bray in 17 Languages.' The section called 'I Am Donkey, Hear Me Bray' had us (sorry, couldn't help it) laughing our asses off. Here's an excerpt:
If you don't appreciate the music of donkey braying (or your nearby neighbors don't), forgo owning a jack. Jacks sing for the sheer joy of hearing their lusty clarion calls echo across meadows and bounce off trees. They do it a lot, and their voices are loud.
That explains a lot about Dan - and reminds me how fortunate we are not to have any neighbors! : )
Okay, I gotta go see if Dolores is still intact or if the herd has increased!
We have a donkey photo that is almost a duplicate. My Dad has a cattle farm in Kentucky and 2 donkeys. My daughter makes me take her back every year to feed "Shortbread" - one of the donkey's names. Great photos.
ReplyDelete