URI Surprised by Birth of Baby Guard Donkey

When three-year-old guard donkey Jenny was “getting kind of chunky” over the winter at the University of Rhode Island’s Peckham Farm, the animal science students there speculated about a possible pregnancy, but it seemed unlikely.

Jenny, who helps ward off coyotes and feral dogs from attacking the farm’s sheep and goats, lives with just one other guard donkey — Rosie. And as the name suggests, Rosie is also female.

“Over the winter we started to mention that she was getting kind of chunky, but we thought it was just that the extra food they get to keep warm in winter was sticking to her in unflattering ways,” said Sydney Day, a senior animal science major from East Greenwich.

This past weekend, URI Senior Kathryn Voelkner showed up at the farm on a Sunday morning to feed the animals when she saw Jenny lying on the ground, breathing heavily. Nearby was her first foal, still wet from being born.

“When I walked over to Jenny, I noticed that her attention was focused on something behind me,” said Voelkner, an animal science major from Clarks Summit, Pa. “I turned and saw the baby trying to take her first few steps. She was still wet from the birthing process, so she must have been born just minutes before I arrived.”

It appears that Jenny was pregnant when she came to the farm last May. Donkey gestation lasts about a year, so there shouldn’t be any concerns about a rogue donkey infiltrating area farms.

So far, Voelkner and Day said Jenny has been a loving mother and very protective, “glaring at any cow who dares to look at her baby with even the slightest glance,” Day said.

“The baby is starting to get more curious around other people, but Jenny is very watchful,” added Voelkner. “In the past few days I’ve seen Jenny and the baby lying next to each other, Jenny grooming the baby as they soak up the springtime sun.”

The first guard donkey at URI, Bonnie, arrived in late 2003.

Peckham Farm, located across Route 138 from the URI athletic facilities, has sheep, cows, pigs and goats that are used as part of the University’s animal science and pre-veterinary classes.

Photos by Nora Lewis

With reporting by Todd McLeish