Hello, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Melody Johnson, Donkey Trainer, and a coach and teacher for humans who own and care for donkeys.I teach worldwide via Donkey 101 & 102 video on demand. Donkeys are a bit different from a horse as well the donkey is super intelligent so much that the donkey usually has the owner trained before the human has the donkey trained. If you have never been around a donkey let me share my favorite quote to help you understand,“Horses dream of being trained the way a donkey demands to be trained” Melody Johnson.If you would like to see what I do for a living come on over to the Donkey Whisperer Farm ® store.
2020 is the year of sitting down and re-thinking how to keep our families and business healthy. How to adapt to our new way of life. For most of us, the pandemic created a dramatic change or shift in thinking and behavior. Jesus brings peace.“Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way, prosperity will come to you.” JOB 22:21 NIV
Are you a city person or a farm person?
Living on a farm seems to be a simpler way of life in so many ways living with covid our farm is truly a blessing. For us, the Covid was not much different than our normal life. You see, we have so much to do on the farm, each day the donkeys and horses and doggies need to be fed and cared for. Last spring my husband Scott planted the seed (hay) in the field during the beginning of the pandemic. While city folks were trying to find ways to adapt we were just living our natural way of life. The sad part was we could not have visitors on the farm, we look forward to having our most fragile world return to normal.
If you are having a hard time finding anything positive in 2020 let’s think outside the box. It’s easy to get caught up in what’s wrong in our lives and miss what’s positive or going well. If you have lost a loved one in 2020, I am deeply sorry for your pain I pray GOD gives you peace. I truly understand suffering and pain and my heart breaks for your pain. Please know this too shall pass. Jesus will bring peace “Start each day in prayer, meditating on the good things in your life.” Thank Jesus for something good in your life every day, God loves all of his children deeply.
God bless you and your family two and four-legged!
Melody & Scott Johnson
GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!
Melody Johnson, Trainer/Owner
Donkey Whisperer Farm ®
Farm life is the best life! I love our farm, and all of the animals but let me be clear this is not the life for all humans. Our farm animals require twenty-four-seven care, seven days a week no exception.
Our farm is growing low sugar & protein hay and boy does this require some work. My husband Scott is a seriously physically fit middle-aged man, he is constantly lifting heavy items for the farm, moving hand lines, building fences, lifting heavy bales of hay. Did I tell you farming is hard work?
Farms Require Work!
* Farmers work full-time seven days a week, twelve moths out of the year.
*Farmers must have another full-time job to keep the farm alive.
*Farmers do not take vacations very often.
*Farmers must have passion for the farm and the animals.
*Farmers use their personal resources as its difficult to pay someone to run the farm.
*Farmers work in hot, cold, wet, windy, mudy and freezing weather all hours of the day.
*Farmers pray! Farmers pray for sunshine, rain, wind, and for favor to keep the farm running.
*Farms with animals require the farmer to provide food, water, shelter, fences, vet care, and basic husbandry of boring choirs such as picking up poop and composting at least 2 times a day. Picking poop out of the hooves at least three times a week for donkeys, mules and horses, no hoof, no equine.
*Farms require the owner to work full-time with very few breaks or trips away from the farm.
If you can agree to all of the issues above, hurry and get your farm up and running! Congratulations you are indeed a rare human, you are a hard worker and you are a farmer.
God bless you and your family two and four-legged!
Please remember to mow and bag the track before letting the donkeys out as the grass height in the photo above is way too high. Mow the track down as low as you can go! The donkeys will take care of maintaining the track and even turn to dirt. The purpose of the track is to get exercise never to get meals. Our tracks we have three on the Donkey Whisperer Farm ® connect back to the dry paddock and shelter for water and salt. Meals are given two times a day and that’s it unless we have severe cold in the winter and lunch is given.
Owning a small farm is a dream come true for me and my husband Scott. As children we both have found memories of the family farms. Now that we are in our late fifties something has drastically changed, small farms are being sold for cash something most farmers would never think of doing ever.
Hay Field Plowed
Scott plowing the field fall 2019
What has changed over the last sixty years?
Big farms can sell their produce much cheaper than small farms. Customers support the big farm over the small farm by shopping in the store over and over and not thinking about the little farm down the road. Another huge issue; the new workforce does not want to work as hard as a farmer they want a desk job no more than eight hours with a half hour lunch.
In the past people started farms for the lifestyle and the freedom to work hard and earn a fair living. Today if a person wants to start a small farm, they had better have a full-time job or savings to pay for it. Why? Farming is expensive it’s not a business anymore but more of a hobby for most people new to farming. No profit is seen for up to seven or ten years. That’s a long time to not get any profit while working seven days a week, long hours and no vacation ever. Farmers rarely take a vacation as the cost is not prohibitive to leave the farm.
Please support small farms. Purchase from our store now.
Enjoy this beautiful piece of artwork capturing miniature donkeys Rocket Man and Maximus playing Who’s The Boss. Donkeys love to play games, donkeys love to play tag, grab the neck, ear and tug with a toy. Donkeys are intelligent and playful at the same time. This is a limited edition collection for 2019.
Melody Johnson, Donkey Behaviorist captured miniature donkeys Rocket Man and Maximus playing on the Donkey Whisperer Farm ®. Introducing Kay Lodhal our watercolor artist! The Donkey Whisperer Farm ® paid Kay Lodhal to paint the watercolor made exclusively for the Donkey Whisperer Farm ® store.
8 X 10 Water Color Reproduction Print Is Ready For Framing and Hanging. We proudly ship worldwide. E-mail us at Info@Donkeywhisperer.com for a quote to ship anywhere in the world.
It is difficult to tell the print from the original water color as each print was created using giclée. Giclée prints appear much more realistic than other reproduction prints. Giclee prints delivers a vivid image with maximum color accuracy and exceptional resolution. The standard used for museums and galleries around the world. Each print is professional grade printing for artist specifically spraying millions of ink droplets on high-quality paper. Giclee provides expert detail and smooth transitions of color gradients. The high-quality paper (235 gsm) is acid free. Next each print is attached to a ClearBags® 4-Ply White Backing Board inserted ClearBags® Plastic Bags Acid Free. Your print is ready for you to frame and hang.
Shipping is FLAT RATE Medium Box to protect the artwork.
USPS Priority Mail® Medium Flat Rate Box 11″ x 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2
All equines are herd animals, but donkeys are especially bound by strong herd instincts. Donkey’s are considered “Species-Specific” which means they prefer to be with their own kind.
This is why two is a magic number. Two donkeys mean health, happiness and longevity. It has been shown that a single donkey, living alone, is more likely to suffer from psychological and physical health problems than two donkeys living together.
So, if you want less vet bills, less worry, a happy donkey and a healthy donkey, well, two is the magic number!
If your donkey is laying in mud be sure to get the mud off when it drys. Why? Mud has the potential to give sores to equine. The best way to remove the dirt and mud is a brush in the winter. Be gentle around the eyes and ears. We place sawdust down in the high traffic areas and a place to sleep outside.
How nice would it be if I was able to come to your farm and train you how to train your donkey? Please take a look at Donkey 101 & Donkey 102. I train the owner or caretaker how to not only train the donkey for basic social skills. Learn how to stop the bolt, kick and bite. Prepare for the farrier and more.
Donkey 101 & 102 Video On Demand – Use your smart phone or any smart device on the farm.
1. What is a sign of stress in my donkey? 2. What is a sign of a relaxed donkey? 3. What is the Donkey Hand Shake? 4. What is the 3 second rule? 5. What does walk-on mean? What is the ground tie whoa? (gas and breaks) 6. How can I help a donkey who wants nothing to do with me ever? 7. I have a kicking donkey, how can I help this donkey and stay safe. 8. How can I use the honor donkey to help my donkey learn? 9. Why is my donkey refusing to pick up the feet? 10. Why is play important in training and caring for equine?
Your donkey is waiting for you to learn donkey behavior and how to lead the donkey as a fair leader with a plan. Each time we step into the donkeys world we should be a fair leader. Scanning and aware of how to respond and never drilling or stressing our donkeys out. Stay ON DONKEY TIME ® . 🙂
Donkeys on the whole do not show their feelings of pain in very obvious ways, but behave as a human would who is called ‘stoical’, i.e. tolerating pain without complaint. They may make an initial violent movement of avoidance, but after that they become silent and as nearly as possible immobile in the face of pain and/or fear.
Therefore it is sometimes difficult to know when they are suffering acutely, and their behavior may look like ‘stubbornness’ rather than stoicism.
One indicator of pain or fear can be diarrhea, just as in humans. Since this may also dehydrate the donkey, it will be adding to its problems if it persists. A donkey who stops eating and drinking is at risk for death.
Please call the vet ASAP to save your donkeys life.
Please do not feed farm animals without permission. Our donkeys and horses are on a serious diet.
Sadly most people just do not understand throwing apples, pears, bread, grass clippings can make the equine sick and yes even kill the equine. Colic, founder, cushings, laminitis, insulin resistance, abscesses, rotting hooves are all part of over eating and or eating the wrong diet in domestication.
Education creates awareness and awareness will save a life!
GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!
Our Barn is such a wonderful place, GOD has blessed our green barn with beautiful donkeys, horses and birds. The horses and donkeys are always busy and in need of some clean water, poop pick-up and of course food. Rocket Man is twenty-five a gray miniature donkey he wants a but rub.
Spring has arrived on the Donkey Whisperer Farm, the birds have returned to help combat fly’s and insects. The birds are busy building nests, chirping and planning for their children to be born. Spring brings the hope of a brand new beginning for humans and animals. Life is bursting with joy everywhere I look, I thank GOD for our farm and the blessings our farm brings.
This morning as I was preparing the morning meals for the donkeys and horses I noticed a different bird talking to me and looking down in the hay. This is not a barn swallow. The barn swallows place their babies up high in the barn. This mother bird has placed her nest in the middle of the hay stack. I will need to get my bird book out to determine what kind of bird she is.
The birds are a bit messy but they have a very important job now that spring has arrived and insects are bursting around the farm. Prepare a safe place for their babies and eat the flys and other insects. This really helps the horses and donkeys to live in a fly free zone. Nature is balance, without the birds we would have insects biting our horses and donkeys. I say come on in birds we love you. I will gladly clean up the bird poop if you will keep my farm insect free.
But why is cut grass bad for horses? It doesn’t seem to make sense, since they eat mostly the same grass on the other side of the fence and the hay we feed is just cut and dried grasses. But even though the grass may technically be the same variety, it’s not the same as a fresh mouthful in your pasture or hay that’s been properly cured. The issues:
Grass from your lawn may contain fertilizers or anti-weed (herbicide) or anti-insect (pesticide) chemicals that should not be consumed by horses.
Recently cut grass doesn’t dry uniformly, leaving wet clumps that can ferment and grow mold and mildew. Microbes introduced this way can cause colic in horses. Unlike lawn clippings, hay grass is tetted and sometimes re-tetted (spread out evenly in a thin layer) and dried/cured in the field before baling.
A mouthful of small cuttings may be quickly consumed by a horse. The small, wet clumps can compact and stick in a horse throat. Hay or fresh grass is chewed in manageable amounts.
The horse digestive system works best with consistent feeding. It adapts well but not quickly (as in day-to-day). Sudden shifts can lead to digestive problems and laminitis.
We are pleased to share the Donkey Whisperer Farm website is now officially an E-STORE. Please take a look at our new store select OUR STORE
Notice you can zoom in on our donkey halters made by hand in the U.S.A. with soft yacht rope, a brass screw on snap, leather end. SELECT the size of donkey you want to build a halter and the halter color will change on the donkey.
We proudly Ship Internationally. If you would like to ask a question simply E-MAIL us at INFO@DONKEYWHISPERER.COM
GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!
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