[Jacob-list] Horace

[Linda]

When I was a kid, we bought a couple of donkeys from a sheep farmer.  He ran a jack and jenny with his flock of 
Suffolks all year round and sold the foals off.  The jack never bothered the lambs.  But, as you say, donkey 
personalities are very individual.  Our jack, Strider, is 14 years old and we've had him since he was a yearling.  He 
is by far the mellowest of the donkeys, but we haven't really had him with the sheep much.  I may keep him with some 
freezer lambs this fall to see how he goes.  We recently sold the mother of his two jenny foals.  Both the jenny foals 
have been with sheep from a couple of days old and do fine.  If I'm changing from one area to another, I do let the 
jennies, Lili and Arwen, go first for a few minutes.  They love to run and buck for 10 or 15 minutes everytime they get 
to a new place.  I have never seen them chase the sheep, but I have seen them jump over the sheep when they are tearing 
around.  No damage is done, but it unnerves the sheep abit :-).  

Linda

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 08:48:26 -0700, Matt Smith wrote:
>Hi All, Linda asked if Horace was gelded and he's  not. Reading the other post
> makes me wonder about him but he's never really  caused a problem. I work at
>home and love watching my critters so I like to  think I'm very aware of what
>going on in the herds at most times. My biggest  problem with Horace is
>sometimes he doesn't want to cross the street when it's  time to move one herd
>to another pasture. In doing so he may end up changing  from the sheep herd to
>the goat herd. Right now he's with 5 almost yearling  Angora bucks. He gets
>along with them great. He goes where he wants to go when  he wants to go.
>Putting a rope on him puts him makes him want to do the opposite  of what your
>hoping for. With this said he changes pasture mates a few times a  year.
>Doesn't seem to disturb him unless he's left alone. That breaks his  heart.
>I'm assuming individuals very from one Jack to  another. Horace was raised on
>a big exotics farm with lots of other animals all  living together. He may be
>special (I know he thinks so). I find him to be very tender in his care of the
>others as well as people. Rarely is there contact and that is confined to his
>nose directing someone. He does chase but those who don't want to run stay
>away  from him and he leaves them alone. Those who want to join in chase him
>or be  chased and it generally seems to be all in fun. But I always watch when
>he's  running.
>
>He's around 10 years old.
>
>If some of you think I should not have him in with  sheep please tell me. I've
>only been breeding Jacobs for two years so I  may still a little green at it.
>Thanks everyone. Matt Smith Happy Valley Angoras. Utah county Utah.
>zonata at utah-inter.net


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