Jenny quickly settling in as mother to rare twin foals
Tom and Mary Dalton, Baltinglass with Jenny the donkey and her twin foals Photo: Joe Byrne
IT was a surprise for Tom Dalton and his wife Mary when their pet donkey, Jenny, gave birth to not one, but two foals.
The ‘Two Johnnies’ as they call them, are happy, hardy and running around the place, their daughter reports.
Tom, aged 83, lives in Baltinglass, Wicklow and the three donkeys are his “pride and joy” according to his daughter.
He is a lover of horses, ponies and donkeys and has always kept them as a hobby.
Jenny had given birth to singular foals before; but never twins.
She has taken to her role as mother of two very well and is coping beautifully.
“She’s a great mother. She’s delighted with them and is in good form,” said Ms Dalton.
The two little ones were born on 6 November and were a lovely surprise for the family as it's is very unusual to see twin donkey foals.
The birth of twins only occurs in less than 2% of donkey births with a survival rate of just 14%.
Thankfully, the Dalton fouls are thriving and are fairly self-sufficient already, after just two weeks of being born.
Their coats are not very thick yet however, so the family keeps them indoors when it's raining.
“They love playing with each other and being out when it is dry,” said Ms Dalton.
Just like children, then!
