Polly, the Donkey

Polly was born about 1993. She moved to Ide Adobe in 1998 when she was adopted from the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Shingletown. She makes her home in the corral, but she is often

tethered to a tree on the lawn in the historic zone. She likes to greet visitors with a loud bray as they cross the Bridge of Time from the day use area to the historic zone. Her favorite foods are apples and carrots. Polly is so popular that the staff estimates that fully half of our visitors come to see her!

A considerable amount of confusion exists concerning the difference between donkeys, burros, and mules. Donkeys are true asses (Equus asinus). Burro is simply the Spanish word for donkey, thus they are the same animal. The noble mule (Equus asinus x caballus) is the infertile offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Crossing a female donkey and a male horse yields a hinny, an animal of no commercial value and thus extremely rare.

Ezekiel, the Cat

Zeke was born in 1992. He came to live at Ide Adobe in 1993. Zeke is very fond of people, often preferring human company to food, although one can tell by looking at him that he gets plenty of the latter. If you listen closely to Zeke when you pick him up you will hear him purring contentedly.

White-Faced Black Spanish Chickens

These days, White-faced Black Spanish Chickens are a rare, relatively expensive show bird seen almost exclusively in poultry shows. During the 1850s, however, these birds were fairly common on California homesteads and ranchos. They are a Mediterranean breed brought to California in the 1700s by the Spanish missionaries. Ide Adobe tries to maintain a flock of four hens, but illegally unleashed dogs make this a difficult task.