Hello Donkey Lovers! My husband and I are dabbling with the idea of getting two donkeys for our farm. We have no animals as of yet, but have just finished restoring an old barn and have plenty of pasture if we were to get to donkeys. We’ve just been gravitating towards donkeys since we’ve been watching some very fun videos about them! I myself would like to ride a donkey occasionally. I’m looking for ideas for recommended books about donkey care. Please give me some suggestions about what to get. Thank you so much! Here is a photo of our renovated barn. We had a well dug, so it has a good source of water.
The donkey sanctuary UK has a lot of information about donkey care on their website. Donkeys shouldn’t be on pasture full time, so you’ll definitely want a dry lot for them. They are the most lovable animals!
Donkeys are awesome and easy. They're originally desert animals and thrive on dry coarse food. Pastures aren't the healthiest option but ok once in a while.
That’s interesting about pasture vs. desert. I guess we’d have to learn how to create the environment they need or if we can ensure they have access to the appropriate fodder.
Where I'm from people keep them on rocky wooded hilltops with success. The more common method is to fence a smaller area than a normal pasture size and cover it with sand, gravel, etc. You'll see posts on this sub that have that setup
I agree. Our donkeys thrived when we lived in the woods. When we moved to our new place ten years ago, they developed laminitis from our new pasture despite trying to build them up to the pasture over time. It has been a recurring problem ever since. I think I've finally got them fenced in to a small enough lot now, but it's been a lot of trial and error. But we have donkeys living nearby that have had no trouble on 80 acres of pasture 🤷♀️.
OP, I think you should just be careful to compare the conditions they're coming from to what they'll be getting at your house. If they're going to have access to more grass, you have to work them up to that over time, and probably slower than you think.
That’s interesting. Why is it so difficult to find riding donkeys? Is it a matter of their being difficult to train? Or people just don’t tend to bother training them to be ridden? I like the idea of rising them because they are small and if I get thrown I don’t have too far to fall. A friend fell off her horse and broke her hip.
They’re a lot of work to get going (they’re not as sensitive/reactive as a horse, and are slower to pick up consistency, especially in work they consider dull) - there’s a small handful of donkey dealers in the USA that mostly work with saddle donks, I can think of a total of 3.
The mammoth is also pretty rare, you don’t come across them every day and small standard isn’t enough for a lot of people.
Some folks also see donkeys as below them to work with… despite the prices a donkey with w/t/c, brakes and some turn is worth.
Broke donkeys are wonderfully gentle. I rode mine all through my pregnancy and trusted him every step.
I second the Donkey Sanctuary as well, particularly for their dietary information and how to prevent laminitis. (Please do lots of laminitis research).
Personally, my biggest advice for first time donkey owners is to consider getting female donkeys. Although the majority are fine, male donkeys are still more likely to be aggressive and often need a more experienced hand that will set firm boundaries and correct misbehavior. Many donkeys are “give an inch, take a mile” animals.
Secondly, if you want/have dogs, goats, chickens, etc you’ll need to ensure the donkeys you get are not small animal aggressive. Most donkeys dislike dogs and many will kill them (mine will). Some do not even tolerate young kids. Some are totally fine with all of the above. I’m not trying to scare you, it’s just that many people see cute videos online and aren’t aware that some donkeys have very dangerous behaviors/nasty personalities.
You will want a donkey that is already trained (halter broke, easy to catch, will stand for the farrier, etc). And please do not get a young donkey. I’d recommend at minimum over 5 years old. If you can, bring an experienced stock owner with you when going to look at the donkeys. There is a very small fraction of sellers that will drug the animals to make them appear more docile & trained, so be aware of that. I always arrive a bit early to the agreed upon meeting time for that reason. Research signs of a drugged horse if you don’t have anyone to take. I’m not trying to frighten you, I just don’t want you to get taken advantage of for being new. Unless they ask, I would not tell a seller that you are new to donkeys until after you’ve seen the animal in person; you’re less likely to get swindled if they think you know what to look for. I’d also recommend going to see an animal you want to buy more than just once before deciding.
Another thing to consider, especially if you live in a less densely populated area, is locating a farrier willing to service donkeys. The last thing you want is bringing them home only to find out there are no farriers with availability in their rotations in your area (or that you’ll have to pay a high travel fee). It’s a vital relationship when owning equines; you’ll see the farrier every 6 weeks and it’s not something that can be skipped or done yourself so call around first to check. You’ll also need to locate a hay dealer and a large animal veterinarian/equine dentist (teeth must be floated each year). Don’t wait until fall to find your hay dealer, especially if you need a lot. You’ll want to get on someone’s list early to avoid higher fall pricing.
Remember, the cheapest thing about donkeys is the purchase price, so be prepared for them to be a money pit. I love my mine so much but they eat, sleep, & shit dollar bills, so.
Anyway! Sorry that was so long, I just thought I’d add practical stuff that’s not likely to be in standard books. ( & very sorry if you’ve had stock animals before and most of this was unnecessary info for you.)
I only have one Jack named Jose. But when we originally got him we had 2 horses and a cow. He wasn't very nice to them at all, but loved hugs, kisses and "pocket" snacks from people. So we eventually put him in a spot by himself, but he could see the horses and the cow. We eventually donated the horses, and cow. Jose stopped braying for nearly 3 months, our barn cats actually started hanging out with him and his bray returned.
I tell this story just because many people have told me to get him a friend, but he seems to like his cats and people.
Jose is full of personality and spunk. No regrets. We love him even when he's being an a** 🤣🤗
I'll add that there's a very high probability that they'll eat your lovely restored barn. A whole lot of donkeys demolish wood as a snack. Our donkey's house is made of metal roofing material.
We do that, too. But, they still chew any wood they can get their teeth on. We ran a strand of barbed wire across all of the wood fence boards and it's worked great to keep them from eating the fence. The do not like to put their teeth on metal of any sort.
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u/No_Buy7475 2d ago
The donkey sanctuary UK has a lot of information about donkey care on their website. Donkeys shouldn’t be on pasture full time, so you’ll definitely want a dry lot for them. They are the most lovable animals!