Grand Oaks has another sort of equine in one of their pastures. They have two donkeys. Cute, fuzzy donkeys. It turns out that they are rare Poitou donkey that originated in the Poitou region of France. The Poitou were originally used to breed with horses. The offspring of a male donkey bred with a female horse is a mule. The offspring of a male horse and a female donkey is a Hinny. Generally the offspring, whichever way they are bred, are sterile. The Poitou are rather large, by donkey standards, and the mules they fathered were prized for their size and strength. With the advent of gasoline engines the market for mules declined and the population of the Poitou plummeted. In the 1970's there were less than 100 world wide.
The donkeys are very friendly and promptly come up to the fence for loving....
and carrots!
It was a challenge to get a picture of either donkey.
Don't you just love those ears?!
(The donkeys are fuzzy year-round. In cooler regions their
coats will form dreadlocks that can grow to the ground!)
There will soon be three Poitou donkeys at Grand Oaks.
Everyone has been anxiously awaiting the birth.
I walk by their pasture every morning... just hoping I'll see three sets of ears.
Nothing yet.
Ooooooh, I love!
ReplyDeleteMe, too!!
DeleteLove this fuzzy-buzzy donkey, Dreaming. I'd never heard of it before. I'm glad to know it's still around.
ReplyDeleteThey are so sweet I find it hard to imagine people basically throwing them away when they couldn't use them. But, I guess another mouth to feed is sometimes too much.
DeleteHow interesting! :)
ReplyDelete