Bathing and shampooing the donkeys once they have been clipped has proved an effective method to minimise their lice burden and means that we have not had to use chemicals on them with the aim of gradually lessening the resistance to the drugs that the lice have shown. Some of the donkeys do look a bit odd with their extreme haircuts but their hair will grow back and they are much more comfortable without the lice.

The towels that many of you kindly donated were essential to dry the donkeys off once they had been bathed, giving them a good rub was also beneficial in removing the dead lice. The grooms then went over the donkeys' clean short coats with a nit comb to remove any eggs. I remember my mother doing my hair when I caught nits at school and I’m sure most of you can remember that too!

This year we were so lucky with the milder weather that we did not need to use many duvets under the donkey rugs that were donated last year to keep the donkeys warm.

We have plenty of duvets in reserve now so that if we do get a cold spell we are ready for it and each farm have a good supply of towels for drying their donkeys.

If we need any more duvets or rugs, we'll let you know. In the meantime, a huge big thank you to everyone who donated them.