Donkey delivery
SLIPPERY ROCK - A newborn donkey huddles against his mother, gingerly stepping back from the entrance of its stall into a corner. Just a bit of hair allows him to hide his eyes.
Born just a few days earlier, the baby, or foal, is one of a group most recently born on Paul Suorsa's farm, Arcadian Exotics, on Branchton Road. More are on the way, with several pregnant female donkeys, or jennies, roaming throughout the barn.
Suorsa, 80, is a retired veterinarian from the Slippery Rock Veterinary Hospital which he started, and he has been involved in donkey breeding since 1994. He has owned the farm since 1966 and is a member of the American Donkey and Mule Society.
Suorsa's love of horses is what originally drew him to the idea of breeding donkeys, and today, his hobby keeps him moving.
"Taking care of the animals twice a day, you have to feed them and carry water and it is the activity, and you are really astounded every time you get a new foal," Suorsa said.
"You don't have any idea what you are getting and you aim for a certain cross, and very often you'll even exceed that expectation. They are just laid back."The uncertainty of what kind of donkey will arrive is all a part of the excitement, Suorsa said. Now he is working to breed as many black donkeys as he can, which are in high demand.Suorsa has 30 donkeys at the farm, and any of the foals that meet the high standards for sale will be sold privately or at a sale in Cincinnati later this year.While donkeys do not have a specific purpose on a farm, Suorsa said other breeders look for certain blood lines and buy the donkeys to replenish their stock. He also said people buy the animals because they are good pets and can be trained to drive carts."An animal used for breeding has to have really good confirmation," Suorsa said. "It has to conform to a standard which is good legs, a pretty head and a nice neck."The gestation period for a jenny the term for a female donkey is about 11 months, and breeding is best done when it can be guaranteed the foals will be born in the spring, avoiding the cold winter season.Suorsa said he always tries to be with the donkey as it is giving birth. He can look for some key signs telling him the foal is almost ready to arrive."When the udder swells, you know it's coming," Suorsa said. "They also get real uneasy, and if they start pacing a lot, you know it's not far off."
Once a foal is born, the period right after birth is the most critical. Suorsa said the early milk includes key vitamins and nutrients that act almost as a blood transfusion for the young foal.The donkeys also need to be immunized beginning with shots for rabies, then tetanus or lock jaw, influenza, eastern and western encephalomyelitis and West Nile disease.The foals remain with their mother for five months and are slowly weaned away after growing stronger.Suorsa said during a birth years ago, a mother died, and they found a tumor in her body. The foal, still alive and named Molly, was fed with a bottle."If you bottle feed them too closely, they think they are people and might just come up and sit in your lap or get right up to you when they are older; things they might not usually do," he said.Mother donkeys can be protective around strangers because they are trying to keep predators away."At a different farm, I delivered the foal, and a stranger showed up, and the animal almost charged after them," Suorsa said. "Someone they don't know, they treat like a predator. We don't let children get too handy when there is a newborn because there is always that possibility."The donkeys are of the miniature Mediterranean variety, with temperament as one of their key attributes. They are gentle, loving and responsive and are generally kind and willing to please, Suorsa said. Their colors range from gray, brown, spotted and black, which is prized for its rarity.While the females are known as jennies, the males are called jacks.
Suorsa grew up on a farm in Slippery Rock, where he developed a love for horses. He said he has a natural love for the donkeys as well."My interest in equines includes donkeys, which are in the same family, and I have studied them and knew how to take care of them, and they have very similar types of activities," Suorsa said.He bought his first sire, a spotted donkey, eight years ago and named him Dewey Meadows Valentino."I have studied genetics, and in studying the black and the spotted, they are really good sellers," Suorsa said.Suorsa also bought a red sire, which recesses to black. If a red sire is mixed with a black dam, or mother, often a black donkey will be born. There also are gray donkeys that carry a black gene, which can be seen if they have a black nose.To get a spotted donkey, you need one spotted parent."We have two black sires, and a red sire, and we have an average of 15 dams, and have another group of six ready to breed for next year," Suorsa said.After a dam has given birth, she will be back in heat within a week. Suorsa waits 21 days to introduce her back into the herd for breeding for next year.Leah Patton, office manager, editor and registrar for the American Donkey and Mule Society, said donkeys once were widely used as working animals, but those bred in the United States are primarily used for show, as pets and as livestock guardians.Although many of the society's 4,000 members live in the United States, many live in Canada and 27 other countries.
Miniature donkeys, classified by size and type, are the primary U.S. animals.Patton said the price range for donkeys varies widely, from "free on Craig's List to the good show stock that sells within the thousands of dollars."Whatever the price range, Suorsa said donkeys are perfect for the family, and will come right up to a visitor in the pasture. During a family reunion he hosted eight years ago, Suorsa said they put a saddle on one of the donkeys, and the children took rides around the pasture."The donkey took right to it," Suorsa said.His wife, Gertrude, shares her husband's love for donkeys. After she developed arthritis, donkeys seemed to be the best animal for which she could help provide care."I just love the animals," she said. "I can go up to the barn and all of your worries and troubles fade away as you interact with them."She also said living on the farm and working with the donkeys has brought her great satisfaction."A lot of them are similar to horses, but their disposition is laid back and they love attention from humans," she said. "They don't take a lot of work, and they are great animals to have around."
