Monday, March 26, 2012

Alan voices his concern

I'm often asked about the braying habits of my donkeys: how often, how loud, how come? My herd doesn't bray nearly as often or as loud as I would like. A donkey's bray is like a song to me and, if I could, I would keep putting quarters in the jukebox to hear it.

Lucy brays only occasionally, usually when she wants a date. George never brayed at all until recently. It was almost as if he didn't know how and finally figured it out. Now he and Alan might sing a little song together if I'm too slow coming out of the feed room with their breakfast.

Alan is the only consistent brayer in the herd. He'll speak up any time he perceives an injustice. I finally caught him in the act in this short video. If you're not quite sure what Alan's trying to say, I've subtitled the second half. (And if you're watching this at work, you might want to turn the volume down a bit.)

23 comments:

  1. Can't view the video, only the html code.

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  2. He sounds very much like Redford! Rafer Johnson has the big bray up front but it ends in a high-pitched squeal that sounds exactly like his father's bray, which I've heard.

    When the two of them get going it is quite the performance and the entire neighborhood gets to listen. :)

    It's so interesting that Alan is in some ways the quieter donkey but boy does he have a voice!

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  3. I understood him quite plainly without the second half subtitles... HA HA HA. You didn't know I speak Bray, did you??

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  4. Estella from Co.3/26/12, 7:16 AM

    I'm with you...can NEVER get enough of the braying. My minis bray when they think it's time to eat, or someone new drives in or they need to get my attention (come scratch our back ends). The mules bray for food also, but most of the time to get my attention to come and just be with them. I can't imagine people NOT enjoying their songs. Have you and Lucy been out riding lately???? hint hint hint Hugs to all

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  5. love it.. and why were you not letting him know it was treat time??? poor abused baby! LMAO!

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  6. What a set of pipes on that boy! And what a great way to start off the week -- thank you!

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  7. Oh my heck, wish I could just put this on a loop and play it again and again......my dog Ellie Mae Scootles of the Cibola County Scootles is looking for the villian all over the house that is singing this song.

    And of course now Ry's teacher is going to have a sweet braying little jackass visiting her class today with the Alan imitation. Told you your blog is how I got the kids out the door for school every morning.

    Love it, Oma Linda

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  8. Who is older, George or Alan? Do they have to learn how to bray?

    I had a kitten once who we found by the side of the road and was only two weeks old. She never did learn how to Meow correctly, and she lived to be 18 years old.

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  9. My boys bray a lot! About 6 months ago, my Aussie started to join in with howling and now my other dog has followed her lead. It's quite a chorus with the chickens clucking in the background. Barnyard music!

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  10. That wonderful sound is exactly why I can't have a donkey. :( I wonder why some donkeys bray all day long and other rarely do it at all?

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  11. We have neighbors down the road that have donkeys and once in a great while I can hear them bray from my back yard. It is such a happy sound- The other night I let my dog out to go potty around 3:00 a.m. and heard the braying. I was hoping that there wasn't anything wrong! I wish they lived next door to me-or better yet, at MY house!

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  12. OMG that is absolutely adorable. I just love that little black burro.

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  13. Loved it! My dog was quite curious about it as well!
    We have about 6 miniature donkeys up the hill. I always smile when they begin to talk!

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  14. Alan has a lot to say concerning his treats. Good thing he's so loud, at least he's making sure you couldn't possibly forget him in the mix.

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  15. I love the donkey equivalent of a nicker... where they ALMOST bray and it sort of sounds like a squeaky hinge/wheeze. Great video <3

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  16. I loved it! Especially the little growly sound. He's a noise maker for sure. :)

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  17. OH MY GOODNESS SAKES! How wonderful! How Beautiful! I am with you, Star's bray is MUSIC to my ears, and I only need to hear her, and I will have an ear to ear grin. Buddy on the other hand, only Squeeks! It is quite funny and makes me wonder if he even knows how, or just can't! But Star is the talker and I just LOVE IT to no end! THANK YOU for the very cute video! LOVED IT!

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  18. Loved it! Talk about living vicariously through someone else - I love your ranch and your critters!!!!

    Nancy Without Burros in Iowa

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  19. I just LOVED hearing Alan! I notice he had full flared nostrils too, must take a lot of oxygen. That was so cute! I'm so glad you got a video and I hope he got treats for that performance. They are all so adorable.

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  20. Oh, be still my heart!

    Linda, you crack me up with your subtitles. I think you've nailed it though. So...did Alan get his treat? You know, squeaky wheel and all that.

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  21. I love it! I wasn't allowed to have donkeys because one neighbor on my street said they didn't want to hear braying. There is a donkey on a farm near our neighborhood who brays. It is very infrequent and always makes me smile when I hear it.

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  22. This definitely puts a smile on my face! Donkey braying is a beautiful sound. LOVE THIS!

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  23. The subtitles killed me . ha ha ...

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