Did you know? Info on Donkey Behaviors etc

Donkeys are very sentimental emotional creatures. When they are kept together they form bonds that must not be broken by separation. If a donkey has been pastured with another donkey for years they may be bonded and must be kept together or risk death. We observe their behaviors as some are free spirits will be happy mingling while others cling to who is familiar. 

Donkeys will become depressed and die if you split a pair up. We have seen it happen with pairs and trios split up. If bonded we will not separate them. About 40% of donkeys we deliver are to replace a lost companion or to give a lonely donkey a friend. 

Let your donkey settle in preferably in a small enough pen you can interact with them. Give them grass hay and water let them settle in. They take time to warm up to their surroundings. 

If you have dogs please walk your dogs around your pastures and pens with you let the donkey know the dogs belong and they won't bother your dogs. They learn which dogs belong and then will tend to go after strange dogs.

 Not all donkeys are known to be aggressive against dogs but we have found just having donkeys around deters coyotes and other predators.  Lots of people have contacted me to say they no longer have predator issues and I've seen it work. Donkeys roaming your pastures are a win win. You get a character filled pet who happens to deter predators. What's not to love? 

Donkeys are natural deterrents for COYOTES due to their territorial nature and dislike for canines.  So COYOTES will steer clear as a rule.  Though not always foolproof they are a great help to your farm ranch or homestead for various protections from predators.. We have had people call say their donkeys killed a snake, chased raccoons and they don't have COYOTES anymore.. so they work!

 If You look around you will see ranches have donkeys with their cows to protect the calves...Donkeys are an easy addition to your lifestyle. The key is not to make donkeys spoiled pets that stand at the fence looking for treats. 

When you tend to your other livestock you tend to the donkeys. Worm them when you worm your other livestock. We use Ivermectin. You can give Ivermectin pour on or paste is fine it will also kill mites both sucking and biting types. 

Donkeys have a long gestation period....11-13 months. So it's hard to ever pinpoint when a donkey will have her baby. All of our Jennys could be pregnant as they are pastured with jacks before and after we get them. There are no guarantees with pregnancies but we do our best to be accurate with what we know.

   One reason donkeys are in danger world wide due to Chinese hide trade is.  THEY REPRODUCE SLOWLY and many are infertile!

Donkeys will make dirt craters to roll in. They like to dust themselves to keep bugs off. They like to relax in their craters in the sun. So expect that.

Donkeys are playful and like to entertain you with their antics! You can give them  horse jolly balls..some dog toys...milk jugs with few rocks inside..milk jugs with holes punched and handful of sweetfeed inside...get creative donkeys are curious and like to show off. 

Donkeys like to chew wood! Most are content with tree limbs that are on ground but some will chew Trees (magnolia trees for sure)  your stair rails porch edges, wood posts, chicken brooders etc. We have 70 or so donkeys and very few chew marks on.any wood. But some may be bored and chew.

Donkeys are neat poopers...they like to poop on top of each other's poop. We keep chickens around they scratch out the poop keep flies down. 

Donkeys require salt and minerals to thrive. We use mineral salt blocks and selenium salt blocks. Selenium can be deficient in soils. You can also give sulfur blocks they help keep flies down. 

Donkeys require low protein low sugar diets..no sweet feeds no horse feeds as a rule. No Alfalfa ever..too high protein. They thrive on grass and grass hay. You can give Timothy hay pellets 8% protein for those who are underweight or if you just feel you need to feed feed. Literally 1/2 scoop is plenty for a donkey. Only feed them grass and grass hay. Obese donkeys are not healthy...treat them like diabetics.

 Feed only what they were created to eat..grass products. If you have rich grass pastures please limit their intake of grass as they are designed to live in arid dry areas that have poor forage. Rich grass is like feeding sweet feed it can cause founder and colic. But as a rule grass pastures are fine. Pen them few hours a day with grass hay if your pastures are really rich or you can keep a grazing muzzle on....but that's rarely  needed. If your donkeys starts getting a cresty neck  fat on body then limit grass.

China is depleting the world's donkeys!  Kenya just banned the slaughter for hides 24 Feb 2020! Brazil and several African countries banned slaughter of donkeys. 

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/12/chinese-trade-hides-has-led-global-donkey-massacre re

We are gelding jacks each winter. Need cool weather less flies and swelling. Donkeys die easily from anesthesia and stress of gelding procedure so we try to do geldings when cool weather.  Jacks are the most vulnerable to end up in the Chinese Hide trade. So we are gelding as many as possible each year to find them homes. GELDINGS are good pets livestock guardians and horse companions who can't reproduce. We have all sizes and colors of jacks that are being gelded each winter.  If you are not interested in breeding then geldings are perfect.

Call or text me 229 305 0801

We only offer delivery service for our animals or will meet you at a public place on a major highway for easy pick up. 

 Due to theft of our mini donkey and multiple no shows wasting our time we only offer delivery or occasional pick ups.  We also like to insure our livestock are going to places better than which they came! Our priority is the animals get good homes. 

We deliver to FL GA AL weekly and up north etc as needed. Text your address and what animals you are interested in for shipping quote. 229 305 0801

Rescue means take something out of the way of danger or harm...we rescue lots of donkeys. Some starving some literally on the pipeline to Mexico to be slaughtered for their skin to go to China. We bring in rescues on a regular basis. 

We don't use the word rescue flippant nor do we claim to be a non profit rescue. The donkeys that get new homes help pay for those who can't leave for months while we tend to them. Some never leave as people want perfect not flawed...so we keep them. 

It is our pleasure to see donkeys land in homes where they are appreciated and cared for. We always insure they are in better homes than where they came from.  So if you see on our site a "rescue" donkey...it is literally a rescue still in need of TLC. Most just need weight hoof care few more trims.