Windy with occasional light rain in the morning...then a few showers late. High 43F. Winds NW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..
Tonight
Partly cloudy skies. Low 28F. NNE winds shifting to SE at 10 to 20 mph.
...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM CDT /2 PM EDT/ THIS
AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...West winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph
becoming northwest this morning.
* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, north central and
northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana.
* WHEN...Until 1 PM CDT /2 PM EDT/ this afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects.
Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may
result.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high
profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.
&&
Molly, a 27-year-old donkey at Onarga’s Carrick Hill Farm, nurses her rare twin donkeys, named Biden and Harris after their birth on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. It’s thought about 1.7 percent of donkeys will have twins and only 14 percent survive, with only three or four sets known living in the world, farm owner Mike Willis said.
Molly, a 27-year-old donkey at Onarga’s Carrick Hill Farm, nurses her rare twin donkeys, named Biden and Harris after their birth on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, last week. It’s thought about 1.7 percent of donkeys will have twins and only 14 percent survive, with only three or four sets known living in the world, farm owner Mike Willis said.
Cole Ishmiel, farm manager of Onarga’s Carrick Hill Farm, pets Harris as her twin brother, Biden, nurses from their mother, Molly, after their Inauguration Day birth last week. Ishmiel said his wife Lindsey told him there were two babies as Molly finished labor. “I asked her if she was sure,” Ishmiel said. “It’s just so rare.” Less than 2 percent of donkeys will have twins with less than a 20 percent chance of surviving birth, farm owner Mike Willis said.
Molly, a 27-year-old donkey at Onarga’s Carrick Hill Farm, nurses her rare twin donkeys, named Biden and Harris after their birth on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. It’s thought about 1.7 percent of donkeys will have twins and only 14 percent survive, with only three or four sets known living in the world, farm owner Mike Willis said.
The newly born Biden and Harris with their mother, Molly.
Submitted photo
Molly, a 27-year-old donkey at Onarga’s Carrick Hill Farm, nurses her rare twin donkeys, named Biden and Harris after their birth on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, last week. It’s thought about 1.7 percent of donkeys will have twins and only 14 percent survive, with only three or four sets known living in the world, farm owner Mike Willis said.
Cole Ishmiel, farm manager of Onarga’s Carrick Hill Farm, pets Harris as her twin brother, Biden, nurses from their mother, Molly, after their Inauguration Day birth last week. Ishmiel said his wife Lindsey told him there were two babies as Molly finished labor. “I asked her if she was sure,” Ishmiel said. “It’s just so rare.” Less than 2 percent of donkeys will have twins with less than a 20 percent chance of surviving birth, farm owner Mike Willis said.
On Jan. 20, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States. On this same day, another Biden and Harris were inaugurated into the world.
At Carrick Hill Farm in Onarga, Iroquois County, a 27-year-old donkey named Molly gave birth to twins — a boy and girl — named Biden and Harris, respectively, to honor the iconic day on which they were born.
While farm owner Mike Willis is used to welcoming twins from his black angus cattle — the farm’s primary function — twin donkeys is something that is not seen very often.
“We should change the name of this farm to Twin Farm,” joked Willis. “Every year, we have four or five sets of twins from the cattle, which is pretty common. Donkeys are very rare. There’s only three or four sets known living in the world.”
This rarity stems from the fact that twins in many animals, donkeys included, do not survive birth. According to the farm, it’s thought about 1.7 percent of donkeys will have twins and only 14 percent survive.
Even more unusual is the age of the twins’ mother. The average lifespan of a donkey is between 25 and 30 years. Molly having one baby, let alone two, at the age of 27 is also a rarity for the species.
“She got bred accidentally because she’s 27 and we didn’t want to breed her again,” said Willis.
Molly joined the 200-acre farm in 2018 to breed with Carrick Hill Farm’s male donkey, Elmer, whose main job is to run with the cattle and to keep coyotes away from their babies. Molly and Elmer are also parents to Sadie, who was born in 2018, making their donkey family five members total.
Willis purchased the farm in 2006. He is originally from Ireland and moved to New York City in 1987, and met his wife (who is also from Ireland). The couple married in 1992 and moved to Chicago. They now own the farm in Onarga and reside in Orland Park.
Living on and maintaining the farm is Lindsey and Cole Ishmiel, along with their three sons, Spencer, 9, Brooks, 8, and Teller, 6. It was Lindsey who suggested the timely names for the twins.
Despite the health challenges that can befall twin donkeys, Biden and Harris are doing well. They are currently being kept inside due to the cold and are being partially nursed by Molly, and partially bottle-fed to help take some of the strain off of Molly’s age.
“[Before Molly gave birth] I did comment to the kids one day that she might have twins,” remembered Willis. “I didn’t realize how rare it was, and she had them.”
Taylor Leddin-McMaster is Life editor of the Daily Journal and editor of Lifestyles of Kankakee County. A graduate of Illinois State, she was featured as a prominent journalist by Thrive Global. Email: tleddin@daily-journal.com.
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