In my time living with animals like sheep and donkeys, the only time I have really seen them uncomfortable or unhappy is when they can’t graze.

Donkeys and sheep are grazing animals, they are desert and mountain animals, and they graze and nibble at the ground in all kinds of weather, just like horses and all equines.

They get bored and anxious when they can’t see the ground, just like chickens. We’ve seen it many times. Sometimes, you just have to let animals be animals.

As long as they have shelter, they don’t mind the cold and they adapt instinctively to the heat by being still and in the shade. They have been braying by the gate on and off all day. We have salt and protein blocks and some recently fallen limbs that we drop over the fence.

But there is no real substitute for grazing, it is a powerful drive in these animals.

We know they are restless, we’ve been putting up chicken wire to keep them from eating the pole barn gates. This weekend, they’ll be even unhappier, the cold will be brutal, and the ice will cover the ground. They show their unhappiness by gathering at the gate and braying and baaaahing.

They look good, their weight is good, and they’ve had all their shots. I went out and rubbed Lulu and Fanny’s nose.

They’ll be grazing again sometime next week – it doesn’t matter if there’s any grass; they always find things to nibble on. I took this photo this afternoon. They’ve been yelling at Maria and me all afternoon. It’s quieted down now.