Pets, pets, pets (of the non feathered kind)

Hi Ann tell me about your minis, i have five, i have had two foals from my mare, i planned on selling them but couldnt so ive stopped at five. You must have a foal, donkey foals are beautiful.
 
I started out with one mini shetland - Lucky, an 8 yr old gelding - when I took early retirement 3 years ago - and because I can't have one of any species - I found another - Hazel, a fifteen month old filly who hadn't been handled. She quickly became very handleable - trouble was she became too attached to me and didn't like it if anybody or anything was in between me and her. She would run up and push them out of the way so I had to ignore her for her sake as well as others. It was so hard because she obviously loved me but it could have been dangerous - especially with my grandchildren. Now she is fine - although she is a mare in every sense because she will chase the poor Lucky away from the hay until she has had her fill and then he is all owed back. I have tried to act as mediator but it only works while I am there and actually, Lucky is anything but thin - so she is probably doing him a favour !

Then I got my mini donks - I had my name down for 2 standard donks from the donkey sanctuary but none were available ( apart from those with 'minor' health probs) so I decided to go for minis. I joined the Miniature Meditteranean Donkey Society and found my first, a gelding called Sky when he was just a few days old - so, so tiny - like a little toy donk! I wanted a little girl to go with him with a view to breeding from her but it was not easy and eventually found Grace when she was 3 months old. They are absolutely adorable - full of character. Grace is the overall boss - even Hazel gives way to her. I would love to breed from both Hazel and Grace - my husband thought I would then sell the offspring ! :o - silly man - he doesn't know me very well. Like you I would keep them all! :lol:
I also have alpacas - one of which had a baby a year past July - kept him of course and I have another pregnant - due June. That one will be staying too - what are we like ! :roll: :lol:
 
Thanks for that Anne,how hard would it be to find a mini donkey stallian, as there can not be to many in this country? Up the road from us a couple have at least 20 alpacas, and larmas, and a couple of mini donks. How long are alpacas in lamb? for. I would have thought it was the same as sheep 5 months. I have sheep as well, and pygmy goats. Do you do any thing with your mini shetlands, i do a bit of in hand showing.DSCF0174.JPGDSCF0178.JPGView attachment 2
 

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Lovely pics ameeyal - I have pygmies too - 2 pregnant ones - never had baby goats before so am excited and nervous. They are due march/april.
Alpacas are pregnant for 11 months - they only have 1 baby although there is the occassional one that has 2 but seldom.
There are quite a few mini donk stallions around - I am going to take my Gracie to the lady I got her from as she has an unrelated stallion we can use. There is concern within the MMD society that some male foals are being sold entire - mine was done at a few weeks old - and a donkey stallion can be very dangerous. I think some believe because they are small it wouldn't be a problem but it is!! If ever you consider buying any beware of this - The 2 women I got my 2 from both have stallions as they are breeders and they have to be extreemly careful with them.
No I don't do anything with my mini shetlands - it must be interesting showing . Trouble is I am interested in so many different things that I need several lifetimes to carry out what I would like to! :lol:
Lovely to hear from someone who also has a menagerie. I keep thinking of other species I would like to get but have to hold myself back and make myself be sensible ( :o :roll: ) -there is going to be enough going on around here what with the alpaca, pygmies, donk, silkie chucks and the fact that I now have an incubator to hatch out more :shock: :lol:
 
Anne- I hope you got a large enough incubator - alpaca,a shetland,a donkey, a couple of goats+ eggs are gonna take up loads of space?Ros ;)
 
:lol: :lol: :lol: Yes! surprising what you can find on ebay :lol:
 
Hi Ann you sound like my kind of woman, im always thinking what else i can buy, baby pygmys you must post pictures of them, i might breed mine next year. Regarding entire donkeys can not you tell if they have been castrated when you buy one {by feeling underneath ;) } why would they have them castrated, then tell the buyer they are entire? {its all cloak and dagger in the donkey world ;) }
 
The breeder would tell you if it was castrated or not - it's mainly because a lot of people buy them when weaned at around 6 months (as I did) and the donkey wouldn't show much stallion behaviour by then - but as it grows .....
Talking of considering other animals - I nearly bought some wallabies just before Christmas - but luckily they had sold :lol: Have seriously considered emus or rheas too and constantly have to talk myself out of it :o The thing which stops me is that they live for 30 yrs plus and I may not be around that long :( I think my other animals would be able to be rehomed - but emus and rheas??....
 
Hey Wallabies, i havent thought about them :lol: I have thought about having, im going to expain what they look like as i can not think what they are called, they look like a large pig but they have a large nose, they have the body of a small hippo, they are really placid animals. How would you have kept a wallaby? can i ask how much a wallaby is?
 
Do you mean a tapir ? Yes thought of that :lol: Also thought I may like a capibara ( not the right spelling) - looks like a giant guinea pig . Largest rodent apparently. I wouldn't though because they need a special diet and it would be ok until something went wrong and can you imagine getting a vet with knowledge?

You can get differnt types of wallaby - Bennets wallaby is what I have thought of but you need high fences - as you can imagine :o The ones I saw on 'preloved' - you can get all sorts of animals on there - were small ones - can't remember the name of them but they were the size of a very large hare - or so it said. They were asking for £150 ono for 3 of them.
 
Im going to go on preloved right NOW {never heard of it} you are right it was a tapier, its a good job me and you dont live together, we would have a mini ZOO :lol: Got to go prelove is awaiting me!!!!!!!!!!
 
Tapir's are lovely.The problem with Capybira's is they are a large water rodent.Some escaped and have been breeding in Norfolk(i think)area.not sure what the local council did about them.
Capybira's and Tapirs might be animals that you need a wildlife licence for.
 
They are obtainable from either DEFRA or (oops,I can't remember which government body it is)they must be quite straight forward to get as people who keep venomous snakes also have to have them.
 
Lydia you seem to know what your talking about, i bet there is a woman inside you that wants all different animals like me and Ann, GO ON GIRL and get your self a tapire i will be really jeulous.
 
Ha! I know you would if you could Lydia - in fact.....dare I say... you would be worse than us :lol:
 
LOL,moi,worse,never :lol: .
Maybe when I get some room.I've been really tempted by the emu eggs that are for sale on ebay,but,there is only ever 1 egg so it would grow up thinking it was a human,dog or chicken :? .
 
Funny you should say that, I've had half an idea about getting a few emus once I get my smallholding project off the ground. I think they'd struggle in the exposed fields I'll be using though.

Has anyone ever eaten one? It must cost a fortune in paxo to fill one up. And imagine how long it would take to get through a leg?!!!

I wonder how Rambant would take to a bird the size of an emu :?: :)

Osric
 
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