WALKING with DONKEYS Sunday 19th October

Following the success of our donkey walk under the STEPtember walking festival banner Dyfi Donkeys will be providing a guided donkey walk once a month throughout the winter months of the year.

THE FIRST GUIDED WALK WITH DONKEYS is on Sunday 19th October at 10.30am prompt from Dyfi Donkeys in Commins Coch, Machynlleth, SY20 8LL 

£5  adults £2 children

BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL  so that no-one is left behind and everyone who has booked doesn't have to wait for  

call 07717020344 or email dyfidonkeys@btinternet.com by saturday 18th pm and please remember to leave a contact number. 

Sunday's walk is approximately 4 miles long and is along quiet country lanes and forestry tracks. We should be walking for approximately 2 hours but as the donkeys will set the  pace that may vary slightly.
 

 Walking with donkeys is a unique oppurtunity to view the world around us at donkey pace; we walk in an unhurried manner ,taking breaks as and when the donkeys (or walkers) see fit.  Donkeys have a different way of viewing their environment and this is both interesting and amusing to witness and share.

 Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the unique experience that is walking in the company of donkeys but this walk is classed as moderate ; including some short sharp inclines and declines. It is probably not suitable for toddlers or pushchairs.

 The next guided donkey walk will be Sunday 16th November if you cant make the October one.

FREE GUIDED WALK WITH DONKEYS along Glyndwrs Way

INTRODUCING our first guided walk with Donkeys as part of the STEPtember walking festival in the Cambrian Mountains.

When: Monday 29th September 2014 
Where: Leaving from Dyfi Donkeys , Commins Coch, Machynlleth 10am
 Cost: FREE - please book with Louise on 07717020344/dyfidonkeys@btinternet.com
 BOOKING is ESSENTIAL - spaces limited

What's it all about?
 STEPtember is a month long walking festival highlighting the wonders of the Cambrian Mountains - all walks are free and guided you just need to book.

Walking in the company of  a donkey is a unique walking experience. Both meditative and leisurely. We will travel at the natural pace of the donkeys, taking in the environment from a different perspective, taking the natural breaks the donkeys will instigate and drawing our focus to the things that the donkeys find interesting. Donkeys have the ability to instill us with a sense of peace and calm which bring a new dimension to the way you experience a walk in the beautiful Cambrian mountains.

The route follows parts of the Welsh national trail known as Glyndwr's Way and offers spectacular views of the Dyfi valley , Cadair Idris and area surrounding Dyfi Donkey Wood. While only approximately 7 miles in length the walk may take about 3.5 hours due to the leisurely pace the donkeys will set. This is considered a moderate walk on an established trail but with some short sharp ascents and descents.

During the walk you will be able to really understand the characters of the donkeys that accompany us and Louise will be available to answer any questions you may have about these wonderful creatures. It may even be possible for you to lead one of the donkeys on the walk.

This walk launches the new Dyfi Donkey Guided Walks .. be one of the first to experience them

If you would like more information or wish to book your place call Louise on 07717020344 or email dyfidonkeys@btinternet.com

Overnight accomodation can be found in the local area and Machynlleth is easily reached by rail and road. Call for more info.

For more information about STEPtember 2014 walks contact www.walkcambrianmountains.co.uk

OPEN DAYS now running Twice Weekly

DYFI DONKEY WOOD is now open every wednesday and Sunday throough to the end of August.

Come and meet mid- Wales' Friendliest donkeys in thier natural habitat.

We have 30 acres of wild nature reserve open to the public on the open days; residents include squirrels, rabbits, buzzards, chickens!, donkeys, horses and otters.

You may be luck enough to see a newt or a dragonfly.

Bring a picnic and spend the day.

 Come and groom some donkeys sessions run at 12 and 2pm

We are open from 11 am to 5 pm .

Why did we have Dylan gelded?

Many of you may have seen on facebook that Dylan had a little operation yesterday to prevent him becoming a dad.

I felt it would be good to let you know why this is always the sensible option to take whether it is a donkey,horse,dog or cat or any other pet.

Most animals will always follow the call of nature and it is their natural instinct to want to mate. The consequences of this are more animals. Now as anyone who had the pleaseure of seeing my foals knows baby animals are really cute; however they GROW UP. Donkeys can easily live over 35 years, so a foal now will still be needing care and attention in 2050... think about how old you would be then.
Having baby animals has loads of unseen costs such as extra food, vet costs and uncalculatable anounts of time in care and training, and those cost continue throughout their lives; often getting more expensive as animals get older. Even if you don't intend to keep your baby animals you need to be able to find homes for them, for someone else to take the costs on. This is extremely hard in the current economic environment and often people take on an animal only to have a change of circumstances and these animals then end up in the animal rescue industry which is already overloaded. Even the best intentioned breeder has no control over what happens to their animals once they leave their care.

Therefore unless you are prepared to take on the offspring of your jack donkey/stallion/dog/cat/etc for life or you are a really experienced breeder with specialist knowledge it is unkind to encourage more young animals into an overloaded system. There are two ways to prevent this ; ISOLATION or CASTRATION. Most animals are sociable so to isolate them from their fellow species can lead to lonely unhappy animals, which will often develop bad habits or behaviours due to unfulfilled sexually urges. The EASY alternative is a simple operation ; castration. This means that there are no risks of accidental breeding; both sex of animal can live happily together in their normal social environment and there is a decreased burden on welfare organisations. It is the kindest option for your male pets  and they will be much happy and contented for it.

Here at Dyfi Donkeys we run a no breed policy and strongly encourage you all to think very carefully before you . Remember we only have foals because we rescued two pregnant mums; who were accidently breed due to an oversexed Jack donkey seeking them out. Castration makes mens toes curl but it is always the best option. The biggest myth is that you can make money from breeding; it will always cost you more.

New Arrival at Dyfi Donkeys

Announcing the arrival of Billy the donkey.

Dyfi Donkeys have a new addition, a beautiful dark bay gelding called Billy. As far as we know Billy is about 9 years old and stands about the same height as Del-Boy and Muffin.

So what's his story ? Why is Billy at Dyfi Donkeys?

Billy used to live at an adult care facility in Dolgellau with his buddy Harry. They had both come to the home about 8 years ago when Billy was still very young. Sadly a fortnight ago , Harry passed away; he was much older than Billy . So Billy was left all alone with just a little pony to keep him company.

The owner of the care facility thought that Billy would be better of with other donkeys rather than a pony so contacted Dyfi Donkeys to see if we would be prepared to offer Billy a new home. Louise went to see him last Tuesday and realised that this was a really nice donkey. He has a lovely temperament , maybe a little timid at the moment but because he has been used to being handled by adults with learning difficulties he is used to being gentle and calm. 

Billy was a little sad to have lost his best friend and so we decided to move him as soon as possible. On Friday we headed off with the trailer to pick him up.  Billy was a little reticent to get in the trailer ; although this maybe because some of his friends from the home had come to see him go and maybe he could tell they were sad. Eventually we convinced him to mount the ramp and off we sped back to Dyfi Donkeys.

Louise decided it would be a bit much for him to be turned out with all the other donkeys. Everyone was really pleased to see him when he arrived and were very vocal, but she put him in a stable with Twister.This is good for Billy because he suffers from seedy toe so a nice dry stable is a good place to be.

 In the morning the rest of the donkeys were allowed in to meet him. Billy was a little overwhelmed but he had plenty of his own space. After a while the rest of the gang got tired of bothering him and wandered of. Then Billy asked to be let out.

Everyone made him feel really welcome and by the end of the day he was happily wandering round the the field with everyone else. By teatime Billy was ready to come back into his stable. So last night he spent with Twister again, he doesn't have to fight for his food and his feet are nice and dry.

Today Billy has been out again and has been playing with Muffin and Del-Boy.

Everyone seems happy, and  Billy has settled in really well. We are all happy to have him and hopefully he is happy to be here. We have lots of work to do with him but once his feet are sorted we hope to be taking Billy down to the beach.