Advice On Donkeys

[cletus99]

Most have probably read my thread on our goats being killed. We're considering a donkey to keep our livestock safe. I'm looking for everyone's inputs on raising a donkey. I know to get a Jenny. What do we need to look for when purchasing a donkey? How young or old? Health issues to look for before buying? I see ads around here all the time for people selling real cheap or even giving away donkeys for free. This makes me ask the question why, is something wrong with it. Why so cheap or free? So what do I need to know before getting one? Thanks for your advice.

 

[lockhaven]

free donkeys and horses are not inferior many people think of them as pets and want a good home only. If the animal looks healthy as in well fed and is in a clean environment it could be the best you could get. One thing to be sure of is why the people are getting rid of it, it could be nasty as in biting or kicking. You should have a vet check for equine virus's and also take a close look at the feet. Long curled up ridge lined feet are a sign of founder, a farrier could determine this for sure.
As far as a guard, none better. A friend has one for her sheep, dogs beware.

 

[rsallen]

Are burros as good?
I think there's many that have been captured from the wild in need of homing.

As a dog person I don't know squat about burros or donkeys.

 

[foreman Etexas]

Free cause not worth the feed for most. I have watched donkeys watch coyotes chase a calve around pasture,i ended up chasing them off,i told the landowner next time i seen him,he said yeah great guard dogs they are,my wifes animals. My in-laws have lambs,they use the big white dogs,never had one killed in 20 years, they also have 4 worthless donkies,folks have dropped off,cause she thinks they are cute. Go with the K-9...

 

[buickanddeere]

Donkey has to have a bond with the other herd animals or they don't care. They don't chase coyotes because they don't like coyotes.

 

[grsthegreat]

My male donkey killed both of our sheep. Seams the sheep used to play king of the hill on him as he was sleeping, and it pissed him off.

Ive been told that the animals need to be raised together at young age. Also female donks are better than male donks for this job.

But i think a good dog would be even better. There are specific dog breeds that protect sheep/goats.

My own donkey used to try and attack my own dogs. Took several years to break him of this.

 

[foreman Etexas]

They have the Great Pyanees

 

[Bird]

Our nearest neighbor in Navarro County had a jack and 4 jennies with his cattle and everything was fine for years, but then he decided there was no reason to feed hay and grazing to donkeys, so he sold all of them. Then when the coyotes started getting his newborn calves, he realized he'd made a mistake and bought another pair of donkeys. That jack chased calves and even attacked grown cows if they came close. He was worse than nothing.

And I bought a young gelding and put it in with my goats in a relatively small pen. He could see and hear other donkeys off in the distance, paced up and down along the fence, then went berserk and attacked the goats, breaking one's neck. Donkey AND goats went to the auction barn the next day.

 

[DennisArrow]

Besides the questionable usefulness of burros for guarding pasture animals, they must also be fed and maintained. One cannot just turn them loose on whatever grass you have and be expected to thrive, let alone stay alive. Wondering, for the op's information, what would be the maintenance needs and supplemental feed???

Feet, worms, flies, parasites?????

When we first got into goats many years ago, we tried a burro.......She did fine with the goats; but ate their feed and hay, wollowed several places in a pasture ruining those places, and destroyed grass as a plant by pulling the plant up by the stem and destroying the root system. Not so very great for pasture maintenance.........God bless........Dennis

 

[RichZ]

I have llamas that protect my goats and sheep. Llamas naturally dislike predators. My llamas have chased off coyotes, foxes, dogs and even raccoons. Most predators are intelligent, and when they see a large animal like a llama chasing them, while giving a war cry, they don't ask questions and take off. If a predator stands his ground, llamas will kick to kill, and they are very good at it. They can pretty easily kill a coyote or a wolf, but it's rare that they have to. They have bonded with our goats and sheep, and play with them all the time. In this cold weather, they even sleep curled up with the goats and sheep. They even let goat kids play king of the hill on them. The llamas eat what the goats and sheep eat, and just need shearing in the spring, hoof trimming and worming if necessary.