We’re not quite sure what to make of this behavior from Ellsworth. As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the flies are bad here this year, and we’re doing everything we can to fight them.
Over the last week or so though, we’ve been finding Ellsworth standing around with his mouth hanging open. Odd.
Aside from this strange behavior, it’s business as usual. There have been absolutely no other changes in his routine or behavior. He’s eating fine and plays like he always does.
Any ideas out there? We’re thinking it’s not the flehmen response. Is he just letting the flies have a party in his mouth?
Be sure to check out the For the love of donkeys page today. You’re going to love it. ♥
Morning Bray Farm 
July 23, 2010 at 4:02 am
Can’t say as I know. Teeth? Bee sting?
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July 23, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Leah,
We checked his teeth and don’t think it’s a bee sting… after all of today’s comments, we’re thinking it’s most likely his weird way of dealing with flies crawling on his nose. I was hoping that someone else had seen this behavior. 🙂
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July 23, 2010 at 5:15 am
If Ellsworth were here, I’d guess allergies… :-\
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July 23, 2010 at 7:06 pm
June,
I take that to mean that you’re sneezing a lot lately? 😉
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July 24, 2010 at 12:49 am
Not sneezing so much as feeling as if I’ve been hit by a 2×4 or bitten by a tsetse fly…
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July 23, 2010 at 6:23 am
No idea why he would do this. Hope he’s alright!
Di
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July 23, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Di,
Thank you. We hope you’re alright. We’re so sorry for your loss. xoxoxo
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July 23, 2010 at 6:41 am
Hmmm. I wonder if doing that with his mouth scrunches up his nasal passages so the flies don’t go up there??
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July 23, 2010 at 6:56 pm
carson,
I’ve been watching him today. As usual, I think you’re right. You’re the best, donkey whisperer.
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July 23, 2010 at 6:45 am
Don’t you hate when there is anomalous behavior? You never know when to get them looked at, Just In Case……
I DO love Sam and her person. Love that 8-day pic (ears!!!!!! 🙂 ), love the one of both of them smiling, and then … wow … living happily ever after……….
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
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July 23, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Vicki,
Yes, the anomalous behavior makes me crazy. I’m so glad you liked the pics! 🙂
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July 23, 2010 at 6:50 am
Girl – you know I don’t have a clue but I seriously hope it’s nothing but PARTY TIME…
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July 23, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Nancy,
No worries. We’re sure he’s fine! Have a great weekend. 🙂
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July 23, 2010 at 7:00 am
It looks to me like the flies are tickling or biting around his nose and he’s scrunching in response to that. The roll-ons work well around the eyes and on the nose if you’re not opposed to using products. Either that or lightly spray a cloth with fly spray and wipe it on his face. Poor guy! Don’t we HATE the flies!!! You need chickens to keep down the fly population:-)) Better get Hubby busy building a coop.
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July 23, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Denise,
We talked about chickens today! We’re just talking about it… 😉
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July 23, 2010 at 7:17 am
Maybe you should try some natural, organic fly repellent? You could Google it…. I hope he is really ok, though.
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July 23, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Sandra,
Thanks! We’re sure he’s okay… we’re thinking he just has a very eccentric way of dealing with flies. 🙂
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July 23, 2010 at 7:49 am
I had the same thought as Carson; the scrunching closes his nostrils enough to keep the flies from flying straight in.
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July 23, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Shirley,
Thanks… I honestly don’t know if I would have thought of that. Thank goodness for people like you and Carson. 😀
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July 23, 2010 at 7:51 am
Have you tried the fly predators yet? It’s hard to know since we’ve only gotten two shipments, but I think they are working at our place….although, we don’t have near the amount of flies you have with all the equines! Good luck.
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July 23, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Lilla,
We did our first application of fly predators last week. We realize that we got started too late, but then we decided it was war and we were going to do everything possible. We’re going to stick with the fly predators, so next year should be much better.
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July 23, 2010 at 8:26 am
I was thinking the same thing Linda was—scrunching that nose closed. The gums aren’t nearly as sensitive to fly bites as the nasal passages.
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July 23, 2010 at 8:27 am
I have no idea why as I don’t know much about donkey’s, but it does look kind of cute 😉
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July 23, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Lynda,
No worries! Thanks for visiting today. 🙂
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July 23, 2010 at 8:55 am
If it’s constant I would worry about some sort of paralysis–allergy, bite, injury caused. Other than that, I like Carson’s guess.
As for the flies, by religiously composting my manure (six horses requires a tractor to do so), I have considerably less flies. I’m thinking about adding the fly predators to cut that even more.
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July 23, 2010 at 7:04 pm
EvenSong,
Thanks. Thankfully, it’s not constant and does appear to only be a reaction to when flies are crawling around his nose.
We just started the fly predators last week… even if we started late, we hope they’ll help somewhat this year.
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July 23, 2010 at 9:16 am
I have never seen a donkey do that. Have you checked his teeth lately? If they have any sharp points they could make sores in his mouth. Getting them floated will remedy that. He could also have been bitten by something that he’s allergic to. Or it could be the flies. Don’t you wish he could tell you?
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July 23, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Rosanne,
We have checked his teeth and found no sharp points. We do wish he could tell us!
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July 23, 2010 at 10:08 am
My first hunch is he is trying to keep the flies away from his nostrils. Does he do that all the time or just when the flies are overy annoying?
Roll on fly repellant works great unless you have someone who doesn’t like it. Then it is a cloth sprayed with repellant, then wiped onto the face.
Gotta love our critters for keeping us on our toes 24/7!!
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July 23, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Cindy,
Guess what I went and bought at lunchtime today? The roll on fly repellant. It definitely appears to be working. Bernard, Ellsworth and Fergus don’t have flies bothering them at the moment… poor Nigel does.
From what I read on the roll on instructions, we should only apply it once a week. I wonder if it continues to work all week?
I was spraying repellant onto a cloth and then putting it on their faces, which seemed to provide only temporary relief.
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July 23, 2010 at 11:21 am
Weird ! never saw that before
Nice start for The love Of Donkeys page.
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July 23, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Mel,
Thank you!
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July 23, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Can you attach some kind of a long fringe onto his fly mask, or would that be just as annoying to him as the flies? Do the flies bite? Poor baby.
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July 23, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Lynette,
The flies do bite. You had a great idea, except for the fact that Bernard would be all over that fringe before you could say blueberry pie. 😀
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July 23, 2010 at 1:07 pm
You know something else I thought of—-you need chickens.
Chickens tear apart every single manure pile and eat the maggots of whatever has been laid. It really drops the fly problem according to Joel Salatin at Polyface Farms.
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July 23, 2010 at 6:58 pm
CeeCee,
I love you. 🙂 We’re talking about chickens. I might have lots of questions for you. 🙂
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July 23, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Lip synching?
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
Poor boy. It doesn’t look comfortable, but I have no idea…
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July 23, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Winter,
No apologies necessary. We know you couldn’t resist. 🙂
As always, thank you for bringing a smile to my face. 🙂 Ellsworth does appear to be talking to himself when he does that.
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July 23, 2010 at 6:07 pm
I agree with CeeCee about the chickens!
One other thing I forgot to mention…
http://www.springtimeinc.com sells a product called Bug Off garlic that is supposed to work wonders for flies. We’ve tried some of their canine products and were satisfied. Check out their website.
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July 23, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Lilla,
Yeah! Chickens!!! We’re talking about it. Just talking about it at this point. 🙂
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July 23, 2010 at 6:59 pm
p.s. Thanks for the tip on springtimeinc.com.
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July 23, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Makes you wonder what the heck is going on there? He’s always cute! Our fly problem here in MO is the worst I’ve ever seen. Every day I try a new remedy. One of my favorite standbys — Blue Dawn dish liquid (25%) plus apple cider vinegar (75%) works for a little while. Nothing helps for long though…
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July 26, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Wasn’t there some old saying: Close your mouth before the flies fly in?
Or something?
Oh, and “blueberry pie.”
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