We have ten 2009 spring babies and six yearling jennys that I will be posting on our For Sale page as quickly as I can get out in the pasture and take pictures!

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We are getting donkeys ready for the Great Celebration in Shelbyville, July 9 - 11; we will leave Monday, July 6, and since we are taking young animals, we decided it might be too hard on them to travel the 16-17 hours in one day (plus, it would be hard on our bodies too) we have a 'donkey' motel booked for that night in Brandon, MS and will arrive in Tennessee on Tuesday, just in time to deliver Holy Smoke to his new owner!  Emily w/Copper Star Miniature Donkeys is driving down from Maryland to meet us in Tennessee and plans to show Smoke in the yearling jack class before taking him home to meet her jennys!  Holy Smoke is Emily's first herdsire, and we are so excited to turn him over to such a great donkey home; he's a lucky little guy, and we wish the both of them all good things in the years to come! 

If you are going to be in Shelbyville, please stop by our stalls and visit a minute!  We enjoy meeting new breeders and catching up on the donkey news with those we have met before!

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Many, many thanks to all of our donkey friends who have emailed to check on us and make sure that we are 'still kicking!'  Yes, we are!  We've been so busy with lots of 'grandgirl' activities, plus we had a bottle baby for eight days!  Gosh!  Now I know why you have kids when you are young; those every three hour 24/7 feedings will do your body in, but then when it all 'clicks' and you see that fuzzy little foal nursing from mom for the first time, it makes your heart feel so much better, and you can relax a bit (and catch a few more winks of sleep!)  

Many thanks to Doc Skiles at Robertson County Veterinary Clinic here in Texas for your expertise and care!  On the fifth day, we noticed that the baby wasn't as alert as she had been, and we took her in for fluids.  While she was there, Doc Skiles noted that she had a temperature and 'went to work to find how why!'  Apparently, even though we doctored her navel cord stump and gave her a tetanus, her resistance was down and infection set in.  There was a small abscess right beside her navel; Doc immediately cleaned it out and started her on a high dose of antibiotics for seven days. So in addition to feeding her every three hours, we were giving her a shot every day, and by the second day, she was on the rebound!  She was talking when we went out to feed and fussing when we left! 

Today, A Little Bit of Faith (mom is Gotta Have Hope) is almost two months old and just a little pistol!  She runs circles around her mom and the other babies in the nursery pasture, and yes, ............ she is just a tiny bit spoiled!  :)

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	Wyonna DOB:  02/27/09 Birth Height:  21 1/2"	Tillie DOB:  03/09/09 Birth Height:  19"
	Sweet Caroline DOB:  04/08/09 Birth Height:  21 1/2"	Zig N. Again DOB:  04/10/09 Birth Height:  18 1/2"
	Shawnee Princess DOB:  04/28/09 Birth Height:  21 1/2"	A Little Bit of Faith 'our bottle baby' DOB:  05/01/09 Birth Height:  20" at two weeks
	Domino John DOB:  05/05/09 Birth Height:  20"	Simon Sez DOB:  05/14/09 Birth Height:  20"
	Justin Case DOB:  06/05/09 Birth Height:  21 1/2"	Redd Foxx 06/17/09 Birth Height:  21"

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June 8, our oldest grandgirl, Emily, graduated from high school!  We are so proud!  She's a beautiful young lady (you knew I would say that), and she is as sweet as she is pretty (you knew I would say that too!)  

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We were in Houston several times during April for Shelby's ballet recitals, gymnastic reviews, birthday and birthday parties!  We had lots of fun, but can hardly (or really don't want to) believe that Shelby is already eight years old; my how time flies when we are all having fun!  She went away to camp for a week this summer, and I almost had anxiety attacks, but thankfully, the camp posts pictures at the end of each day for family and friends to see!

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Texas Shoot Out (June 2009):  We took Holy Smoke and McCormick Gin for a 'practice' show here in Texas, and although it was their first time away from the farm, they did fantastic!  They walked, trotted and stood still; that's all we wanted, but as a plus, both little guys brought home a ribbon!  Holy Smoke placed fourth in a class of nine outstanding young Texas jacks, many of whom had been shown since they were six months old!  He is a real eye catcher and in another year when he matures a bit, he will be hard to beat in the show ring!  Mac placed fourth in a class of any sex/any age spotted animals, and there were some fantastic spotted animals in that class!  We also took Gypsy, Ras and Rusty (the three redheads), but they are all 'old pros' at this stuff and never miss a beat!

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Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (March 2009):  Our second show of the 2009 season will be well remembered by Harv and I, and the donkeys will probably tell you they didn't see much of us at all that entire weekend!  We grabbed a 'homestyle' burger the night before the show and got more than our money's worth .............. thanks to one of the fast-food restaurants in the Houston area, both Harv and I suffered from the most horrible case of food poisoning ever!  Neither of us remembers much of the halter competition, and as soon as our classes were over, we left the arena and drove back to the RV park and slept about nine hours; got up and drove back over to the arena to feed and water the donkeys and then went back to the RV park and slept another eight hours!  Saturday we both felt a little bit better (like we might live), and Sunday we were able to drive the 125 miles back home!  What a nightmare!

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Lots of things to catch up on, but first I need to say 'thank you' to the three families of Raspberry Sparkle (John and Jan Stallone), Rusty Nail (Dana Rathbun) and Gypsy Rose (Stephanie Dove) for allowing us to keep 'your' donkeys through the 2009 show season!  We built our plans around these young redheads, and without them this year, 'pa and ma' would be sad!

With that said, I can't wait to tell you all about our first 2009 show!  In one word, it was absolutely wonderful!  We took four to the San Antonio Livestock Show (February 2009), and they were all little troopers; they did everything we ask them to do (walk, trot, stand still and 'smile')!  Ras won the yearling jenny class and then went on to be named Jr. Halter Champion; she looked beautiful and didn't flinch when the pigs in the next arena started screaming!  Gypsy was next; unfortunately, she was coming in season, and didn't want to trot for the judge (equine PMS), but she did stand nice and placed second in her two-year old jenny class and was named Reserve Model Jenny. Chili (who we took out of retirement to stall with Rusty) placed second in the three and older gelding class and was named Reserve Model Gelding.  And then it was Rusty's turn; I was sooooo nervous because Rusty was born late in 2007, so last year, he showed at two NMDA shows in the foal class and then we showed him in two Texas shows as a yearling, and he did a terrific job for our breeding program.  This year, even though he just turned one year old in October, at San Antonio, he had to show in the two year old jack class; I thought he was too young; Harv said I was over-protective, and Rusty didn't have a choice, that's where he shows by Texas rules!  Well, the little guy didn't let it bother him!  He walked to the judge, trotted away, stood like a soldier and won the class!  Oh my gosh; I was speechless (well, those of you who know me don't believe that) and I almost fainted!  

Then we took Ras, Rusty and Gypsy back in for the Get of Sire Class, and they won that one too!  They are all out of our sorrel herdsire, My World Red Alert, but have different moms!  Many thanks to Kim Stegall for showing Ras in the Get of Sire Class!  Harv showed Rusty, and poor Gypsy got stuck with the novice ..... me! 

We did have to laugh at Chili; Harv said that he actually shut his eyes during judging!  Apparently, Gypsy's coming in season peaked the interest of Rusty, who apparently kept everyone up all night!  Poor Chili, he just can't keep up with the youngsters; he needs his sleep!

The Gulf Coast Donkey and Mule Show Chairman just notified us that Chili earned enough points at the San Antonio Show to be named the Non-Driving High-Point Champion in the miniature donkey division!  Hooray for Chili!  And to think that we took him out of retirement, cleaned him up and Rusty kept him awake most of the night, but when it was all over ............. he was a CHAMPION! 

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I took some pictures, but I was completely on the other side of the arena, so they are fuzzy!  We had the photographer take a couple of pictures for us, and when we get them (two/three weeks), I will definitely share them!

Hickory Hills Raspberry Sparkle First - Yearling Jennys Jr. Halter Champion	Hickory Hills Gypsy Rose Second - Two Year Old Jennys Reserve Model Jenny
Hickory Hills Red Hot Chili Pepper Second - Three and Over Geldings Reserve Model Gelding	Hickory Hills Rusty Nail First - Two Year Old Jacks

First - Get of Sire Class
2009 San Antonio Donkey and Mule Show

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Our farm is located in Leon County, just west of I-45N between Madisonville and Centerville. As donkey collectors, we have acquired seven outstanding breeding jacks, a herd of quality brood jennets, delightful yearlings, very sociable weanlings and a captivating nursery.  We breed for conformation, disposition, size and color. 

In August, 2002, our collection changed dramatically; actually, we doubled the size of our herd overnight.  James and Geri Peterson sold Small Wonders Ranch and offered us the opportunity to purchase their fantastic little donkeys. Since that time, we have been very busy building barns and loving on donkeys, digging water lines and loving donkeys, hauling hay and yes, loving on donkeys!  Life is great! 

We begin imprinting as soon as those little hooves hit the ground, and when they are a few weeks old, our babies  start "donkey" school ........... learning to walk, stop and stand quietly while wearing their new halters.  Of course the best part is sharing donkey hugs at the end of each and every training session!   
 

We are dedicated to the production of quality miniature donkeys for breeding, showing or to enjoy as a special family pet.  When you are in our area of Texas, please stop by; visitors are always welcome!
 

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Our "Home Page was getting so large that some folks with dial-up internet service were having trouble downloading the pictures, so I have moved the older stories/pictures to a separate page.  Just click here on Dazee, the donkey, and you will go to our second page, or you can go directly to the bottom of this page and click our For Sale Page or one of our other pages!  We hope you enjoy visiting our website as much as we enjoy putting it together; as you can surely tell, we love sharing pictures of our wonderful little creatures with the long ears!

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Welcome 
Donkey hugs can change your life forever! 

Rachel doesn't mind sharing Baby Phoebe!

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Last Updated July 1, 2009

 Copyright © 2002 - 2010 / Hickory Hill Donkey Farm - All Rights Reserved

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