# Donkey care site



## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

What's the best one? Or tell me what to give Donkey...

I've just acquired a just weaned donkey (for free!). She is 6 months old and a sweetie. She's halter broke, will lead, come to you, let you pick her feet up for a little bit. Dd (8) spends hours a day leading her around and checking out everything.

We got her monday. This morning she has a little bit of snot and is a little wheezy. I might should have given her something when I brought her home since it was so stressful. Add to the moving, the first night she got through the fence in with about 100 heifers. We tried for hours to catch her but everytime the calves would jump she would run. Dh finally snuck up on her later in the day when she was sleeping. She had a very stressful welcome here 

I know nothing about donkey or horse care. We are total newbies. I'm looking for a donkey site like fiascofarm is for goats. Or a book would be good, too. We know goats. We know cattle. We don't know donkey and are very tempted to treat her like a goat... But that might be harmful. What should we do?


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## 2horses (Jul 19, 2004)

Give her back.


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

2horses said:


> Give her back.


Thanks, that was very helpful.


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

If I am not welcome here, I'll be glad to not come back. 

I don't want to leave if it is just one person, so please someone else speak up if the feeling is more widespread. I had much rather leave than bother people.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

What do you plan on using the donkey for? Was she weaned before you got her or weaned at the same time and when you were trying to catch her were you churning up quite a bit of dust?


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

strangles is bad down here because we do not get enough cold down here, I bet that something went around the herd, you cant find a jenny for less than 400 hardly much less a baby that leads. I have a feeling that your free donkey isnt going to be free.
On top of strangles she can have pneumonia. Horses and mules just dont get colds, I would seek vet care now, and this comes from a vet tech that was on the large animal side of the biz, especially if she acts like shes choking or gets goopy eye.
It could be a dust thing, but since you are in the same weather pattern we are in I doubt you are having that problem.
You dont have clover rich hay or grass do you?


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

btw, a nut job like me, id keep her but i cant say i wouldnt agree on the giver her back thing, but since you have no other equines even if she has strangles she may be worth putting some meds in. Get her out of the weather if nothing else


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I don't think anybody is suggesting that you're unwanted or unwelcome but donks are a whole different kettle of fish most people getting them because they want a guard animal and end up quite dissatisfied when they find out that they don't operate or think like dogs or llamas.


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

She had been weaned for a week and a half. The calf pen is mostly dirt, so yes it was dusty and with the cattle running it was chaotic. She is eating well.

The people who had her took excellent care of them and loved them sooo much. She was healthy until the stress of moving and chasing. It's just a little snot now and I just think it was a wheeze I heard (I'm not positive, but had rather be safe than sorry). I'm wanting the head this off before it gets worse.

Where I got her from were super rich people, they have a full staff to just work on their hobby farm. They rescue horses and the place is immaculate. I only got her because they liked me and my girls. She was not advertised as free. I was going with the intention of buying and the people just wanted to give her to us.


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

wr said:


> I don't think anybody is suggesting that you're unwanted or unwelcome but donks are a whole different kettle of fish most people getting them because they want a guard animal and end up quite dissatisfied when they find out that they don't operate or think like dogs or llamas.


thank goodness they dont, they work well for me, but I did have to buy a mule to get my donkey, and in trying to find cattle for the mule since she was to pushy with feed to be kept with goat, I came across all kinds of people with failed trials with the donks, anything from males trying to be frisky, to the females stealing calves and not letting the mommas near them.


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## mamahen (May 11, 2002)

Do you have horses? Treat her like a horse. Although they are not quite horsey, that's closer than goaty . Lots of clean water & hay. They do make probiotics for horses. Might help her a bit, being just weaned.

Take it slow and easy with her. Even though they are smart little cusses, she's just a baby and like you discovered, can be over-stimulated.

Let her have lots of free time, and mix in a little (like 30-40 min. a day) "learning" time with your daughter leading her around. Lots of brushing & grooming time is good too. I like to groom while they are eating - that way they know that grooming is a GOOD thing!

As for the snotty nose, may just be from the stressful day. Donks can get "strangles". Did she come straight from the owners house, or through a 3rd party?

There are a few message boards online, but I haven't found anything that's as good as fiasco farms!!


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

I got her as a pet not for a guardian.


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

I can make a pile of poop sound good, and you can say anything you want to make yourself look good, unless they have money running out their butt they didnt give a $3-400 jenny away, and if they have the money running out their butt and want to give a jenny away ill come up, well have lunch and ill be glad to get one too. 
Theres a reason, hopefully it doesnt cost you greatly in the end. Im afraid I do not have current medical training on the equine industry, its been 10 years since I worked with the vet and 12 since I have really been into horses


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

She did come straight from the owners, where she was born. They got her mom as a rescue.


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

heres a current letter on it, it still says penicillin is the recommended drug, 
http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2003/spring/strangles.shtml


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

considering the likely hood, id dose her just because once you can comfirm it its normally too late.
can you perhaps take a picture of her and her snot? is she coughing or just wheezing?
wheezing is normally pneumonia, either way both are cause for concern and beyond back yard medicine for most folks.
Considering the mare was a rescue I would be on my toes as she can be a carrier even if shes not sick.
Hopefully shell be fine but please read up on those things I mentioned


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

Thanks for your help. I'm running late for an appt so I'll read it when I get back.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

Tennessee Mama, I've had donkeys for 30+ years -- miniatures, standards, and Mammoth -- and I'd be more than happy to help you. They're easy to take care of and train.

Write to me personally and we'll do it off-forum.

[email protected]


33 inch mini donkey:











standard donkey:











Mammoth donkey:


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

As for general management, donkeys tend to be easy keepers. Grass hay, good minerals and water should do the trick. Watch for excess weight when she gets older, especially if she is just a pet with no job. Her feet should be trimmed every 4-6 weeks by someone who knows what they're doing unless the farrier says she can go longer between trims. Take time to get her comfortable with her feet being handled.


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

Thanks, I'm giving her a handful of grain also 2x a day. I went out and sat with her for a while this afternoon, she did not have any symptoms, I am going to watch her very closely for a while. I'm wondering if I am worrying over nothing. She did the horse snorty sound and shook her head a little and then the inside of her nostrils looked wet, had maybe a half a pea sized bit of snot in the bottom of her nostril . She didn't have hanging snot or anything and I briefly heard a wheezy sound, I don't even know if it was wheezing or a normal donkey sound.... They look completely dry now? 

She will already let me pick her feet up and do whatever I want (I don't have to lift the weight, she lifts it for me after a nudge and a click sound). I picked each one up and brushed the bottom of her hoof with her grooming brush. She likes being brushed. She is a little mouthy, she mouths my hand and follows it--kinda acting like she wants to bite, I can't decide if she is being a little snarky with me or she is just being friendly. She hates my husband, I guess it's because he is the one that snuck up and caught her. She won't let him come near her, but comes up to me and my dds willingly.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Get a hoof pick. With horses and donkeys you want to keep their feet picked out regularly. This prevents thrush in the frogs. Donkeys and horses are semi desert animals, most climates are moist enough they can have frog infection if not kept clean.


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## 2horses (Jul 19, 2004)

Sorry, guess I shouldn't have been so cryptic - I read it as "Someone gave me a sick baby donkey," which is why I said to give it back. Sounds like it may be fine. Except it may take her a while to forgive your husband!


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

Congratulations on your new donkey 

We love our donk. Got him from a member of this forum in fact.

The big thing with donkeys is to not over feed them. You can ask your vet about it, but I don't think she needs any grain. Since she's weaned, she should be eating hay and/or grass.

Our donk can get way too fat just eating free choice grass hay, so we turn him out during the day with the round bale and bring him into his stall at night.

He gets his feet trimmed at the same time as the horses, every six weeks, and gets the same vaccines and dewormers.

They really are very similar to horses, but training them is a bit different as they tend to like to think things through before proceeding, which is where the reputation of stubborness comes from.

Our guy just turned 4 this summer, and he's now mature enough for me to start ground driving and lunging him. Eventually I want to train him to pull a lightweight cart.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

I agree on not feeding grain. The thing about equines is they generally can't handle much carbs metabolically. They get insulin resistance easily, just grass can have a lot of sugar. I have a long yearling paint colt that has grown like a rocket on nothing but pasture. Focus on keeping carbs down for htis guy, particularly if he's not getting worked. For example, sugar in grass is highest in the evening/night, lowest in the morning. So keeping them off pasture at night is one helpful technique. Insuline resistance is cumulative, so start early with being smart about his diet. 

The colt mentioned above, was getting grain before I brought him home. I stopped his grain, put him on a good mineral (grostrong by ADM is a good one) grass hay and water and you could immedately see better growth come down in his feet. Feet are one pretty good indicator of overall health in horses.


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## horsepoor21 (Mar 14, 2007)

We have a 15 year old burro , he's the sweetest thing on earth !!!! I got him to guard our sheep ,but he's also an awesome pet ! He came from the BLM in North Dakota as a 7 year old , he was a jack and still is . So if a wild jack can be tamed ,a little jenney should be no problem ! 
Our boy is broke to ride and drive , is awesome with children , so very gentle (though we always keep a close eye as he is a stud ) 

He can get fat just looking at grass ! LOL We have to be careful . I hear if you let them get too fat ,they'll get a roll on the top of their neck that can actually fall over to the side and is never able to go back up , yuck ! 

Anyways ,congratulations on your girl ! That's so neat she was given to you ! This has happened to us twice just this year ! Only with horses , once we went to pick up an arab mare to be my son's first horse and they begged us to take a Saddlebred gelding who is turning out to be quite a blessing ! And then I went to buy a Norwegian Fjord mare and they threw in a gelding for free ! LOL I guess we just look like nice people or something ! LOL


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

I'm not familiar enough with their sounds to know what is normal what is not.

When just got home and out of the truck she started making a sound like she was about to bray, it almost sounded like she was coughing/wheezing or something. She never did work up to a full bray and I really cannot tell if it was an extended cough/wheeze or what.

Do they do that? Almost bray?


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## horsepoor21 (Mar 14, 2007)

HAHAHAHAHA Our's "almost" brays all the time ! It sounds like he really needs to sneeze and just can't get it out so he gives up ! hee hee 

We can stop him mid bray too ! If we start talking to him it'll kind of peter off and he'll snort and be done ! 

Sometimes we say his hee-haw is broken ! LOL


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## horsepoor21 (Mar 14, 2007)

Or ..... He'll take a deep breath in with his mouth wide open , and before the hee-haw comes out he'll fart for 15 seconds straight ,I swear ! LOL 

I know ,I'm easily entertained by this guy ! LOL


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## Kshobbit (May 14, 2002)

I have been wanting a little donkey/burro ever since I met the old gentleman up by Emporia, Kansas. He had 5 of them that he had bought or rescued beside his goat herd. They were all so sweet and gentle that I fell in love with them. 
I can't give any advice but am reading everything and it sure looks like I could keep one without too many problems. One Of my good friends raises Arabians and she taught me a lot about horses, so much that I decided I didn't have the time, money or energy to have one. But....I think I could treat one little donkey real good. Good luck, TennesseeMama23 with your little jenny.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

=== Our guy just turned 4 this summer, and he's now mature enough for me to start ground driving and lunging him. Eventually I want to train him to pull a lightweight cart. ===


You can hitch any equine to a cart for light driving at 18 months old. Many do this and the cues they learn carry over to when you start riding them.

I've never lunged. Never saw the need.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

No two feed/tend alike, so it's best to take everything in, roll it around your brain, and do what makes sense to you. Nothing is in cement and things can always be changed.

I've never fed grain to my horses, mules, donkeys. Haven't seen a need for it in spite of my long, tough riding. On a 5 day ride, I asked another rider -- a friend who's a vet, raises Arabs, has a degree in equine nutrition, is a show judge -- if I was cheating my critters by not feeding grain. This was on the 3rd day of the ride. She said, "You've been holding that mule back for 3 days so you don't pass the trail boss, and you're asking me about grain?? You'll know if your mount needs grain."

They all get the same menu -- Bermuda grass hay and food grade diatomaceous earth (DE). DE (28 trace minerals) is fed daily for good health. There's been no vet bills here for 30 years. No colic. DE also deworms when the proper amount is fed, so I don't buy commercial dewormers.

My house pets and livestock free choice feed. None are confined. House pets have a doggy door. They have all the acreage within the perimeter fence except my house.

All this, of course, is what works here.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

We were given a little donkey several weeks ago. The same day we brought home a new mare. My two mares still quarrel among themselves, but both seem quite fond of Gracie the donkey, and let her come right up and eat right next to them.

Her eating habits are different from the horses. We put out alfalfa hay for them, and grain. Gracie will eat some of the alfalfa and a tiny bit of grain, but we have some bales of straw sitting out that she nibbles off of too. The hay that the horses pull out of the feeder and waste, Gracie cleans up for them off the ground. 

She used to be in a small pen before we got her. She had to eat whatever she was fed. She came to us obese. Now she has pasture and can browse for what she eats. Many things, weeds the horses won't touch, she eats. She doesn't eat much, and gets more exercise. I think that she is choosing healthier alternatives than what I would feed her.

She is 8 years old, and was a BLM adoption. She is more affectionate than the horses. Very sweet really. I think she knows pretty well what she should eat, and is taking full advantage of her newly found freedom to choose the very types of food that are good for her.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

TennesseeMama23, please make sure that your daughter knows how to safely handle the donkey. Children are the worst offenders of tying lead ropes around their waists, wrapping them around wrists and they tend to fear parental wrath if the animal should get away so they have been know to hang on for deal life if an animal is spooked a they can be hurt or killed.


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

Thanks for the reminder, I caught her wrapping it around her wrist the other day and got on to her. She's out walking her now, I'm going to sneak out there now and see how she is doing it.


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

With all that leading, this little donkey is gonna be the best halter-trained donk ever  

I think it's awesome that your daughter has taken such a liking to her.


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

Yep, she LOVES Donkey. She has wanted one for about 2 years (which is a long time for a little kid). I have no idea why she wanted one when my other dd wanted a horse so bad.

The amazing thing is I haven't let her get one because she is VERY allergic to horses. After about 5 minutes riding a horse, she is starts to get red and itchy and sneezy/we almost had to take her to the ER in the middle of a rodeo. She had enough money to buy a donkey and begged for one, we talked about having to take her to the dr and getting medicine that she would have to take every day. She decided it was worth it. She is allergic to so many animals including our cattle and goats.

But, she isn't at all allergic to Donkey!! I had read that some people with horse allergies weren't allergic to curly coated horses, but never considered she might not be allergic to donkeys. We are thrilled!!

Donkey is leading great (unless she doesn't want to, which is rare) and I've been handling her feet alot. 

She is mouthy though, always wants my hands in her mouth. This morning I let her to see what she would do, she started licking the back of my hand, which progressed to sucking, then she got my skin in her teeth. She didn't bite hard, but enough to leave teeth marks. I smacked her nose and told her no.

I think the sickness was all in my head since I was so worried about her and didn't know her sounds. She is doing great today and I haven't seen a drop of snot. She was running and kicking up her heels today with my dd. DD would run across the field (no lead) and Donkey would follow, they went back and forth for a long time. She brays at us when we are coming and going without paying her any attention.

She is a great donkey!


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

Our donkey makes a sort of coughing/ wheezing sound as he gets ready to bray in the morning. We call it him "winding up" 
It's like he's thinking about whether or not he feels like putting forth the effort for a real bray. And whether or not we need to be yelled or whispered to, lol.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Yes many young donks when they are starting out to bray, sound like they are whizzing, like winding up a clock or something. They may keep that up for a year maybe even longer before they really let a good bray out. So this may not be nothing more then that.
Some just jumped to a wrong conclusion at first on here. Not sure why. But that is life I guess.
I have even had my donks in the house they become so tame, and even have had them ride in the backseat of my car just like the mini horse in my avatar.
But I do not agree with the person that said "Treat Them Like A Horse"
On the contrary.
You always have to "ask" a donkey first, Do this by light pulls on the rope and never a steady one. Ask then release, ask the release, never just go pulling on the rope like a person might do for a horse. Never ever do that. Donkeys are smarter the horse, they "think" way ahead of you, and must be trained in a whole different way then a horse.
Here is one a had ion the house watching TV.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

I'm one who has trained my horses, mules, donkeys, steer, hog, dog the same way. All ride and/or drive.

My mini donk went to hospitals to visit patients. He went into every room. If bedridden, he laid his head on their belly so they could pet him. (His doing, not mine!)

He also went to assisted living places, schools, gave small children rides at various functions, was in nativity scenes. He gave rides to kids at a camp here for blind children.

My big rig didn't fit well at many of the places we went to, so I took the back seat out of my Crew Cab and put a thick rubber mat on the floor. I told the donk to 'load' and he jumped right in. That's the way he traveled.

I liked the idea so much that I've been hauling my riding mount in the bed of my truck for years. No trailer needed!

Aside from driving the cart, I also had a miniature covered wagon that he drove -- alone and with the steer. it was 6 feet long, 4 feet wide. The sign on it said, "Chuck Wagon For Small Appetites."

We did a bunch of parades. Most of my critters have done a bunch of parades!

I don't think any critter is happy just being a yard ornament. I've been told they live longer if they have a job. I love to have fun, so mine always have a job!


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## Cheribelle (Jul 23, 2007)

Rogo, I would LOVE to meet you. You sound like a very knowledgeable and interesting person. When my nephew was young we did all the parades. My own son isn't interested in critters, boohoo, sniff....


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

=== Rogo, I would LOVE to meet you. You sound like a very knowledgeable and interesting person. ===


Unfortunately, Iowa is soooo far from Arizona.

When you have as many years behind you with critters as I do, someone will be saying the same about you! )

Critters have always been my 'thing.' I think I fell out of my mom's belly as an animalholic! It's the one thing I've always been good at. And although I'm 71, I'm still not ready to quit! Can't imagine not riding my mule, not raising poultry and pigs (I'm a porkaholic!) I used to raise a lot more stock than I do now.

None of us tend, feed, or do much alike, but our bottom line is pretty much the same.

Can't force your kid to join you, so look for folks who enjoy what you enjoy.

I hang with livestock folks. We understand each other! -G-


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