Hands up if you have a soft spot for donkeys! Most people can’t resist these cute animals.
However, did you know there are miniature donkeys? If you stay at The Cottages at Blackadon Farm, you’ll be able to meet three Mediterranean Miniature Donkeys. Tiny Tim, Cody and Freddie. They only arrived with us in December 2019 and are already making a big impression on us and our guests.
We think they are the cutest lads on Dartmoor. Our guests are given the opportunity to mingle with them. It’s such a memorable experience.
These cute animals (or should we call our boys handsome beasts instead?) were originally from places like Sicily and Sardinia. They became popular in the United States of America before being introduced to the United Kingdom. There are only around 700 in the United Kingdom so meeting one is pretty special.
We did a ton of research before deciding to take on miniature donkeys. Whilst doing our research, we considered other animals and settled on these good looking fellas. We needed to make sure we had animals that like being around humans and other pets. The animals would need to help to keep the grass short in our fields. Most importantly, we wanted animals that like cuddles and being brushed. The miniature donkeys ticked all of the criteria.
Our boys will be with us for 35 to 40 years. They give pleasure and our guests are wowed by them. In time, we hope to be able to do charity or social work with them.
If you’d like to meet Tiny Tim, Cody and Freddie, come and stay with us. It’s something you can only do in very few places. If you can’t get enough of our donkeys, a branch of The Donkey Sanctuary is only a couple of miles of us in Ivybridge and they also welcome visitors.