Sunday, September 15, 2024

What's been happening on Our Tiny Farm

It's been a really long time since I posted an update on Our Tiny Farm. It's been an interesting and busy time as we continue to work through our transition from a very small working family farm with crops, bees, and animals to something more suitable to two mature adults who don't want to work quite so hard anymore. Last time I posted, we only had our two donkeys, Chester and Meadow, and an "unintentional" hive of bees. Well, it's still that way. The photo above is of Meadow in her blue coat and Chester in his red coat last winter. You all know what a beehive looks like, so no pic of that. 

two mini-donkeys and a mini-horse in a barn

We had a population explosion in February and March as we helped some friends as they adopted two mini-donkeys and a mini-horse. Meet Wilson, Forrest, and Harold in the photo above. They settled in very quickly.

shaggy mini-horse in a barn

Harold the mini-horse is quite the character! He tried to be the alpha of the herd, but he was no match for the donkeys. He reluctantly accepted his position in the herd and everyone got along well. These three stayed with us for about a month and a half while their new "parents" finished up the fencing and paddock for them on their own little farm. The three of them are now at their forever home and we follow their antics on social media.

two mini-donkeys eating hay from a hanging hay ball

So, now we are back to just our two donkeys and that has created an unexpected problem. We have never had so few animals on our farm, and that means there is WAY too much grass for the donkeys to eat. The paddock area, which was always our sacrifice area and had little for the donkeys or horses to eat, became as lush as the pastures. So the donkeys have put on some weight which is really not healthy for them. We now limit their pasture time even more than before, weigh the nightly hay and provide it in a slow-feed hanging hay ball, and keep the paddock closely mowed. Meadow also wears a grazing muzzle anytime she is on the pasture. We are strongly considering making the paddock all gravel.

two donkeys in fly masks drinking from a water trough

It was an interesting spring and summer here with extremely high temperatures and an extended drought followed by days of endless rain. The donkeys handled it well. They have fans in their barn and access to fresh, cool water at all times, and the fly masks keep the flies and gnats out of their eyes and ears.

two mini-donkeys in fly masks looking at a rubber chicken

I have been working to increase the donkeys exercise now that they don't have pasture friends to run and play with. In the picture above, you can see the rubber chicken I got them sitting on top of their treat tin. There are lots of fun videos of other donkeys playing with squeaky rubber chickens, so I bought two of them. My donkeys LOVE toys of all sorts. BUT they are terrified of these squeaky rubber chickens. They won't get near them. I still use them to exercise the donkeys, though. I throw the chickens and the donkeys run!

truck and trailer loaded with hay near a barn

Because of all the unusual weather conditions across the nation, a hay shortage is predicted for the coming year. It felt very good to get enough hay put up early for our two donkeys. If we board any donkeys this coming year, arranging for adequate hay for the boarders will be part of the agreement!

two images showing a pasture gate standing open and two little donkeys with big bellies

With donkeys, we know to expect the unexpected. Like the morning a few weeks back when I walked out of the house and saw the donkeys on the pasture! We put the donkeys in the double-fenced paddock at night for protection (from coyotes, dogs, and bears); so they should not have been on the pasture. Well, I found the pasture gate on the far side of the barn standing open (we rarely use that gate) and two donkeys with HUGE grass bellies looking at me with little smirks on their faces. We have no idea how they got that gate open. 

shadow of donkey head on barn floor

I just thought this was an interesting picture from the barn camera one evening. Hubby was in the tack/feed room filling the hay ball, and Chester had followed him in and his shadow was reflected on the barn floor.

mini-donkey resting his head on the back of another donkey

We love our two little donkeys, but it is clear to me that they need the company and stimulation of having additional donkeys or horses on the farm. So in the coming months, I need to spend more time with a business consultant and a CPA to figure out how to set up our business to be in good order for taxes and insurance, lower our risk, and be profitable. We definitely want to offer boarding again and donkey visits from time to time. But after our first small business consultations, we learned that the structure we had been working under for 17 years, put us under too much risk. I hope to fix that soon.

beautiful sunset over a farm in western NC

Recently someone asked us what else we are growing on the farm. Right now we don't have any other crops or animals on the farm. With everything else going on in our lives (mine in particular), that has been good. But I am looking to maybe partner with some nearby farm or someone without their own land to make use of parts of Our Tiny Farm that we aren't currently using. Doesn't make sense to me to be mowing a pasture! Hope you have a wonderful autumn and get to enjoy sunsets like the ones we are so blessed to have often here in western North Carolina.




Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Happy New Year from Our Tiny Farm

 

two donkeys looking into the barn from outside
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Our Tiny Farm! It was a very soggy and warm Christmas this year. Chester and Meadow did not enjoy having to spend so much time in the barn (they both HATE to be wet). But we went out to spend time with them and give them treats, and today it is starting to dry out and they are back on the pasture.

two miniature donkeys standing in a winter pasture in western NC

We are looking forward to a quieter and easier 2024 on Our Tiny Farm. There are only two donkeys here now and we expect to just host a few fundraisers here for local non-profits. 

photo of a fox captured on an outside camera
We plan to spend more time relaxing, gardening, playing with the donkeys, and enjoying all the wildlife who call Our Tiny Farm "home". This year we have deer, rabbits, opossums, raccoons, skunks, feral cats, hawks, several kinds of woodpeckers, many other birds, and for the first time in many years, we've spotted fox again, as shown in the pic above!



 


Friday, September 22, 2023

Some of the Donkeys Who have Called Our Tiny Farm "home"

 

two small donkeys hugging each others necks

Over the years we have had many donkeys on the farm; up to six at a time.

Mini-donkeys in a pasture
The two photos above are of Wilma and Clara. They were the oldest donkeys and lived here for about four years. Recently they moved to a farm near Edneyville, NC.
Baby donkey and his mother
The photo above is of Faith, the mother, and her newborn, Corey Love. They now live with Faith's daughter, Hope, on a farm nearby.
two mini-donkeys in a barn
This photo is of Pickles and Waffles. And this past summer they moved to Washington State!

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Temporary Donkey Home Available in Western NC

 

Donkeys on green pasture
If you have always wanted a mini-donkey but don't have a place to keep it temporarily, it might be a good fit at Our Tiny Farm in Henderson county, NC. Miniature donkeys are preferred, but we will consider standards (we have had several here before). 

Miniature donkeys leaving the barn
We are a very small farm and give our donkeys lots of attention throughout the day. We put on fly masks and grazing muzzles (if needed) each morning, carefully weigh out hay, use slow-feeders, and bring everyone into the paddock close to the house each night.

Friday, March 24, 2023

Temporary Home for Your Donkey

 

miniature donkeys walking out of a barn
This doesn't happen very often, but we will have room for two donkeys, probably in late spring. Two of our donkeys are moving away and our donkeys are happiest in a six member herd. If you have donkeys and they need a home, or if you have wanted to own donkeys but don't have your own place to keep them, here is your opportunity. We are located in Henderson County, North Carolina. Contact us through the Contact Us tab in the right side bar, or email us at ourtinyfarmnc@gmail.com.

Several miniature donkeys and their feed tray

Miniature donkeys on a grassy pasture in early spring


Saturday, November 5, 2022

Our mini-donkeys are stars in this video!

 

mini donkeys in a barn
Multi-talented book author, blogger, podcaster, and videographer, Laura Camby McCaskill, came to visit us on Our Tiny Farm last summer. She creates wonderful videos on animals, especially those in rescue and sanctuary situations. She heard about our "mini-donkey visit fundraiser" for Veterans Healing Farm and asked if she could do a video on Our Tiny Farm. Of course I said yes, so here is a link to her wonderful video on our donkeys which was released on November 1:

As for those donkey visits, our plan was to offer them as an agritourism business, but it has been a real learning experience on what all that entails. Structuring the business, finding affordable insurance, figuring out how to fit this into our already busy lives, and crunching the numbers to make sure it can be profitable for us but affordable for our guests has been a big effort. So, we are not ready for paying guests! I will let you know if we decide to move forward with it as a business.

four little donkeys on a pasture in the fall


 

 




Thursday, July 21, 2022

Pause in the Mini-Donkey Visits

 

sitting woman petting two miniature donkeys
The mini-donkey visit fundraiser we held last spring for the Veterans Healing Farm was a HUGE success, and now we want to consider making mini-donkey visits a real farm business. But we quickly learned that we weren't really prepared to do that. Presently we are working with a local Small Business Center to structure a business and with our insurance company to provide appropriate coverage for our farm and our visitors. Once we are able to accept paying visitors, if we decide to go that route, we will post it here, on our Facebook page, and on our Google Business page. Thank you for your patience.