Sponsor a Donkey or Become a Lifetime Supporter
It costs us about £1000 per year to look after a Poitou donkey. This is normally covered by the foals we produce, but sometimes we have a donkey who has been rescued, or an old or sick donkey who cannot be used for breeding anymore. In these situations we like to keep them here, among people they know and with their friends. Some of them can be a bit difficult to handle, (they haven't always had nice care in France), and we certainly don't want to move a problem donkey on to someone else. Sponsorship will help us to help them
Why help us?
Poitou donkeys are very rare and helping us with your sponsorship means we can concentrate on what we do best, looking after our lovely herd of donkeys and giving them a happy life, whilst ensuring that these donkeys are saved from extinction.
Sponsoring a donkey makes a lovely gift for you, a member of your family, friend or for your school, office or group.
What do you receive in return?
We charge £20 a year to sponsor one of our donkeys. Once we receive your completed form, we will send you a beautiful photo of your chosen animal, a sponsorship certificate, details of this donkey's life and an invitation to come and meet your donkey. You will also receive a news letter from your donkey.
For £100 you can become a Lifetime Supporter of our work. You will receive photos of our sponsored donkeys, a Lifetime Supporter Certificate, an annual newsletter and an Invitation to a Special Supporters' Day each year at the farm.
Which donkey should I choose?
Update, July 2010. After a long struggle with the pain in her feet , we decided to have Kado put to sleep quietly at the farm. She enjoyed being with her friends until the end, and we cannot praise her highly enough for how she coped. We shall miss her floppy ears and lovely nature.
Louisa (left of first picture) and Upton
We rescued these donkeys in June 2011. Louisa came to the UK via a dealer in Holland, she was lame on arrival - she has a deformed pedal bone- but she still had a few foals with her previous owner. Louisa was given to us to care for since the owner didn't want her anymore. She is a very gentle girl, who loves attention and her best friend Upton. Her coat was very matted on arrival but she enjoys being groomed. Her feet were overgrown too but she was very good with the farrier, and this is helping her walk better. She has even started to canter gently round the field.
Upton is a 3 year old Poitou. He was bought as a pet at 6 months old, but he nearly died after worming when he was 2. He came to us extremely thin, he has a big head on a skinny neck and hasn't reached his potential height. We are giving him lots of extra food and he has now started to put on weight and get more playful. We had a worm egg count & ID done so that we could worm him specifically and he was fine. He is a sweet boy and is making friends with the other Poitous in his field. He loves being groomed and will have a super coat in time.
Simon
Simon came to us in January 2011. He is 5 years old. He was exceedingly thin on arrival and had more lice than we have ever seen on any animal. This had made him quite anaemic and lethargic. He had no energy and found it a struggle to walk from the trailer out to his new home. The first thing we did was clip off all his hair, with all the lice,worm him and then double rug him for the winter. We then started feeding him twice daily on top of the normal grass and hay. It soon became apparent that there was another major problem, Simon's teeth needed to be looked at. We called in the vet and had Simon sedated. He found that he had sharp points on all his teeth which were rubbing both sides of his tongue raw, but that wasn't all. Simon had big diastemas (gaps) between some of his teeth. These had eroded up to 1.5 cm and had filled with vegetable matter which was now infected. After much dental work Simon had finished with his first dental experience. It has now become a regular event for Simon, he needs to be sedated every 5 weeks to have the holes emptied and any sharp points removed. We know when it is time because he dribbles and starts dropping his food. Despite all this Simon has put on weight, not as much as we'd like but he spends so much time playing with Robin and eyeing up the lady Poitous that sometimes it seems that as fast as he puts it on, he runs it off. His hair is growing back really well, and he doesn't stand out in the field as being the "sick one". Simon loves his home and is very loving.
Doris, really called Iris (Jenny)
Date of birth:03/06/1996
Doris was one of the first Poitous we bought. She came to us in an awful state, and had a total fear of people touching her anywhere on her body or legs. Her feet were a total no-go area. With time and patience we have now got her to accept grooming and cuddles, but we still cannot touch her feet without sedation. She has arthritis in her legs and so is on pain killers every day. Doris will not be able to have any more foals, but she makes a lovely Auntie when the foals are weaned. We have never seen a jenny be so lovely to foals who are not her own, including letting them suckle. We want Doris to really enjoy the rest of her life, since her early years must have been so hard.