I love how the donkeys have really warmed up and begun letting their personalities shine. I went out today to get them set up with hay and fresh water for the evening and as we're tossing down hay, Saffron comes in and just starts braying as loud as could be. Gwyn was standing in the stall, pressing against the door whickering and Arwen was watching expectantly.
I ended up tossing a few flakes of hay outside so I could work in the barn in peace. You can see their paths through the pasture in the snow. They're not staying in one place. They're fuzzy and warm, despite the snow and cold and are drinking plenty of water, so colic risk is low. Obviously winter isn't over, it's only just begun, but I'm happy that things are going well so far!
I'm also really loving my hay pillow slow feeder. It keeps them eating consistently through the night and has lasted to abuse from Gwyn. I started using a Tough-1 slow feeder at the same time and it's already destroyed (The brand name is a lie, this is the second product of theirs that hasn't lasted at all, the first was a water bottle holder that broke on first use!) Gwyn discovered immediately she could eat from the top if I hung it low enough for the donkeys to also eat from. Then I tried hanging it high and it tore. Then I just hung it and said to hell with it and discovered the webbing had been chewed through, making a slow feeding just a regular feeder. Not impressed. But my hay pillows. Those zip up and are durable, even with hay bits getting caught in the super heavy duty zipper all the time.
My one complaint is that the mini size pillow is a bitch to load hay into unless you break down the flake and make a mess. But I'm making due. I wish there was a size between the standard and mini. Standard is perfect for Gwyn. I can fit 4-6 flakes in depending on my determination/laziness and I clip it low so she's still in a more ideal grazing position, rather than eating from an overhead hay rack. But high enough she won't paw at it and get a foot caught.
We weathered the storm well and got about a foot of snow, more than predicted. All of my cold weather prep worked great! The only last minute thing I needed was a long enough extension cord for the tank de-icer. The cord connection is now propped up, off the ground, so it won't get soaked in melt and there's plenty of water that's ice free and some that isn't in heated buckets that got a little slushy. One of the buckets was dry, and a few were down from yesterday when I filled them, so I'm happy to see they're drinking. No colic here!
I did check on them because in the back of my mind I was worried that no one was blanketed. But the donkeys seemed toasty warm, Gwyn was melting snow and her belly was totally dry and they had plenty of shelter to stand in and dry off out of wind if they needed. Obviously the temperatures weren't crazy low, but it's still good to see that Gwyn has a good enough coat (something I'm always worried about). Since I'm not riding this winter I'm trying a low maintenance approach with her regarding weather. I'm keeping an eye on her, but otherwise not micromanaging. Everyone is barefoot and snow is packing in their hooves then falling out and not balling up. Hooray! So many things to think about with winter! Rate of hay consumption vs supply available sets us up well for the whole season as well. I'm going through a little less than a 1/2 bale a day. Keeping them eating keeps them warm. There are several eating stations as well so they keep moving. Now that my one slow feeder is toast I've pulled my hay net out of the trailer and I'll probably fill that and hang it outside on the hitching post for daytime munchies and use the hay pillows for nighttime into morning.
This was early in the day yesterday. You can no longer see any grass in the pasture or yard.
It was a sunny day today and everyone seemed happy!
Paths through the pasture
