There are few things I love more than watching and listening to the Boyz and Gracie eat. (I find it very therapeutic.) Because I spend a lot of time observing them, I know that when Ellsworth swishes his tail, it’s a signal he’s getting ready to move.
In this case, he’s probably doing the tail swish because he thinks Bernard is getting too close:
Otherwise, an Ellsworth tail swish at mealtime is a prelude to his rear end swinging from side to side… gradually widening his arc… until he decides which way he’s going to go.
With six donkeys in our herd now, our old round feed tub was becoming more and more problematic. Things were tight, and Ellsworth’s need to shift positions every so often was disturbing the peace.
That’s why we decided to get a new feeder last weekend:
And, bless his heart… Ellsworth still has the need to move. While I was out watching them with camera in hand, Big Red thought he would move forward over and across the new feeder (notice where his front feet are):
Maybe it was because I gasped, or perhaps it was because his brothers and sister started snickering… Ellsworth realized this wasn’t a good idea (Do you see how hard Gracie is laughing? Poor Ellsworth.):
Looks like the new feeder is also going to give us some new perspectives:
And very cute photo ops:
♥ ♥ ♥
January 19, 2012 at 5:05 am
Ellsworth just tried out how deep the new feeding tube is. So there is no need to laugh at him….
And yes, the new perspective for taking photos ist really good!
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January 19, 2012 at 5:10 am
New angles, I love it!
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January 19, 2012 at 5:21 am
Ellsworth sure knows how to make mealtimes more interesting. Will be interesting to see if they settle in to regular spots at the table. Ellsworth will no doubt be at the head.
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January 19, 2012 at 6:31 am
Oh my, yes, this feeder was a brilliant idea. I’m surprised that wasn’t Bernard trying to walk across it!
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January 19, 2012 at 7:37 am
Beamer would have all the hay flipped out in 30 seconds. His corner feeder is almost 3 feet deep and he manages to get all his hay on the ground…. sigh….
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January 19, 2012 at 8:03 am
What great photos! Maybe I should get some sort of feeder like this for the kitties…
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January 19, 2012 at 8:48 am
How cute! I think Red was just showing the guys how deep the hay was in the feeder…
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January 19, 2012 at 9:05 am
This is my favorite post. The close ups of their beautiful faces are precious!
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January 19, 2012 at 10:14 am
Awwww! Super cute! I love the photos of your herd. Poor Ellsworth, haha!
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January 19, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Such sweet donkeys:-) I had a feeder like that when I was raising young foals. As they got a little bigger, their feet ended up breaking through and it was buh-bye to the feeder.
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January 20, 2012 at 7:15 am
I predict Bernard will be standing in it before long.
With 6 donkeys in the family now, could you do a little tutorial on identifying each one. Obviously, Ells is the only redhead, but I struggle to tell them apart in a group photo. I believe that Buck is red, but much darker. The rest leave me wondering.
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January 20, 2012 at 7:18 am
Good morning CeeCee,
But of course. That’ll be a fun post to do… thank you for the idea! 🙂
I’ll work on it and will have something posted in the next few days.
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January 20, 2012 at 11:20 am
They are so cute! Sounds enjoyable to observe all them at the new feeder.
Great photos, too!
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January 21, 2012 at 10:04 am
Very cool lookin’ feeder and I’m sure that Ellsworth, Bernard, Nigel, Patrick, Buck and Gracie Belle love eating from it once they get adjusted to it, of course, with plenty of delightful hay!!! 😉
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January 21, 2012 at 2:45 pm
that is too funny! and funny how they all still stand right on top of each other despite the extra room!
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February 7, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Adorable as usual!!
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