Kikas’ New Role
From January 2017 Kikas takes over the role as an Adoption Donkey from our dear Lonnie and we know you’d like to hear a bit about him. Vital statistics first of course!
Name: Kikas (pronounced Kee-kas)
Born: January 2015
Sex: Gelding (castrated male)
Colour: Very dark brown
Height: Still growing!
From: Larnaca District
Arrived: 21st July 2015
Best Friend: Castoris
Hobbies: Playing with Castoris, galloping fast, food, being groomed, throwing his feed bowl around, getting cuddles, rolling and getting dirty!
The reason Kikas came to us is a slightly unusual story; the farrier we use had trimmed the hooves of Kikas’ owner’s donkeys but the owner wasn’t able to pay the farrier. As Kikas was an unwanted baby, and recently weaned from his mum, the owner offered him in lieu of payment and so the farrier collected him and took him home. Partly due to our expanding Outreach Programme, the farrier’s workload was getting heavier and heavier, and he soon realised he wasn’t able to spend the time needed to take care of the little donkey.
And so Kikas came to us and we named him after our farrier! Being so young he had thick, fluffy almost orange coloured hair and although he was rather confused to begin with, we soon discovered what an adorable and friendly little chap he was.
While he was in our New Arrivals Unit, we began to handle him every day, gradually getting him used to being caught, brushed and having his hooves picked up. This was all very new to him but he was a quick learner and his mischievous, fun personality began to emerge.
As he was so tiny and young, he was too small to live with the older donkeys and so we thought we could put him with Castoris in a separate paddock and see how they got on. Dear Castoris really didn’t like living with lots of other donkeys and was very nervous of them but, as he was only five years old, quiet natured and very good to handle, we thought he would be the ideal companion and could teach young Kikas some donkey etiquette.
When we put them together in the paddock for the first time, Kikas wanted to play but Castoris wasn’t impressed at all! For more than a week Castoris did his best to ignore Kikas and would put his ears back if the little chap kept annoying him. However, after a while, Kikas began to learn the rules of being a donkey and Castoris realised he had someone he could boss around. This increased Castoris’ confidence and it wasn’t long before they became best friends.
Kikas is growing into a handsome donkey and, after losing his baby fluff, his coat has changed to being almost black. He’s also proved that he can gallop incredibly fast as he and Castoris spend a lot of time in the early morning and late evening going as fast as possible racing up and down the paddock. They love playing tug of war with an old rugby ball, a stick or what’s left of an old sandal. Watching them is so entertaining and we’ve tried numerous times to capture their antics on video but as soon as they see you with a camera they stop! We’re sure they will be BFFs (Best Friends Forever) so we’re going to keep trying.
If you’d like to Adopt Kikas, just click on the Adopt button in Adoptions section and you’ll be helping to ensure that he, and all our other donkeys, get the best care they deserve.
