Tell me about mini donks?

goneriding
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Tell me about mini donks?

Postby goneriding » Mon Dec 05, 2016 7:27 pm

I am down to just my two mares, and they aren't too happy to be left alone when one is off working. I'm pondering a companion animal but don't really want another horse. Ponies can be escape artists and prone to founder, neither something I'm eager to deal with. I wondered about a mini donk? Are they any less prone to laminitis? (mine are turned out in grass pastures). Are they good company for horses (in the horses' opinion)? Would a large goat stay close to horses or would they be getting out all the time?

PaulaO
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby PaulaO » Mon Dec 05, 2016 7:52 pm

I know nothing about mini-donks, but this thread will be useless if there are no pictures!

fergusnc
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby fergusnc » Mon Dec 05, 2016 8:03 pm

I will be getting 1 or 2 donkeys when the place is a little further along. Some horses loooove them and play a lot, some tolerate, some don't like them. Just like new horses I guess. :D

My plan is to adopt from Virginia donkey Rescue. I have been emailing with them, and will apply when the place is donkey-ready. I asked if they would help me find a good match for my boys. Some donkey are reaaaaallly playful...and they play rough. Some would only like life if there were at least two donks. Some in rescue are more suitable to donkey owning newbies. Etc etc etc. so I will rely on their expertise to make a good match.

My big boy has lived with a mini donkey before, and all the horses did great with him.

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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby Tuddy » Mon Dec 05, 2016 8:13 pm

PaulaO wrote:I know nothing about mini-donks, but this thread will be useless if there are no pictures!


Go check out my thread "Wardrobe Malfunction"

As for the donkeys, I have 2 minis, and they keep to themselves. They could care less if the other horses are there or not, and the horses could care less if they are around or not as well.

I think you might be able to bond a regular size donkey into your herd, but I don't think minis would work. Horses can be jerks, and I think that because the minis are not the same size as them, that they don't qualify to become part of the herd. But I could be absolutely wrong though.

As for care of them, they are pretty easy. Mine are quite sassy and vocal, so they let me know when they are feeling deprived. I live in a cold climate, and since they are desert animals, I have to stall and blanket them in the winter. They actually have a heat lamp in the barn that they stand under. And they really can't stand to be wet. If I am in for three day rain, they get a rain sheet too. It's like their coats can only insulate so much and then they get bone chilling cold.

Hope this helps.

Briarwood
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby Briarwood » Tue Dec 06, 2016 3:17 am

back to back compressed.jpg
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I have 2. Tulip on the right and Joe on the left. Tulip was my old Lip mare's BFF for several years. I got Joe so that Tulip would not be alone when the time came so say goodbye to my mare. The 3 hung out together for quite a while. I found Joe at a place that had 20+ horses and lived outside all the time. Joe was the only donkey. He appreciated having a roof over his head in bad weather from the first day he was here. I do blanket them when it is cold and wet. Their coats are not as waterproof as that of a horse. Easy keepers. I really enjoy having them.

Tuffytown
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby Tuffytown » Tue Dec 06, 2016 3:29 am

This is a friend of mine. She breeds national champions in both conformation and performance but she often has pet quality to find homes for.

I'm sure she would answer any questions you might have, she loves to talk about them. We get to go visit every summer to see the mares and babies. Standing in a pasture with 18-20 baby mini donks running around you is about the funniest and cutest thing there is.

http://www.jfranch.net/

Owners name is Julie.

https://www.facebook.com/JF-Miniature-Donkeys-268494679848033/?hc_ref=SEARCH

fergusnc
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby fergusnc » Tue Dec 06, 2016 1:26 pm

I started my inquiries and research into donkeys long ago...pretty much when I knew we would be getting our own place "some day". Then the mini donk showed up where we boarded. Plus I had a friend who got a standard and a mini at a sad, local auction to 1) give them a soft landing and 2) have buddies for her horses.

I was so saddened to lean what goes on with donks. People get them for inappropriate reasons, or know nothing about their health care or handling. Seems like if you followed the path of one donkey (in my general neck of the woods), it is likely it could have been sold on and on, or given away a few times, and maybe even landed at auction...or any combo of the above. They get used for some awful roping "event" in backyard rodeos apparently. They are all over Craigslist and Facebook horse community pages...being sold or even given away...sometimes traded for hay or some other random thing...at least around here. There are two big rescues within 3 hours from here...they have sooooo many, like 50, with so many varying stories, all different sizes and colors and ages...the kindest back story I have seen are of owners passing away before the donkeys, as donks apparently can live 40+ years. People I know who have attended auctions say there are always a lot there, every time. Maybe 1% of the ads for males are gelded, maybe. Owners just don't seem to geld donkeys for some reason. Yet around here you also see all the ads for breeders...and fields full of large herds and babies. I just don't get it. I do understand the place that responsible breeders of various species hold, and I understand ongoing breeding of species of meat animals for those who eat meat, but I just don't see why (around here) people are making all these donkeys. Seems like they are everywhere you look, and many in such unfriendly situations. I would be afraid of the high potential for a hard landing (around here) for one I produced...moreso with a donkey than a horse or dog...they just seem to be looked at as disposable.

I am really excited to adopt one or two when the place is ready for them. They are so sweet and funny and affectionate by nature. DH surprised me the other day...I was mentioning something about future donkey and he said "so what is your plan with this anyway? You keep talking smack about adopting these donkeys...when are you doing to quit messing around and bring some home?" :D I have a feeling they are like pit bulls, tattoos and potato chips...you can't stop at one. 8-)

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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby kande50 » Tue Dec 06, 2016 1:48 pm

fergusnc wrote:Maybe 1% of the ads for males are gelded, maybe. Owners just don't seem to geld donkeys for some reason.


The jacks are often laid back and easy to handle, if they're handled at all, so a lot of owners see no reason to spend the money to geld them. So they leave the males intact and generate large herds of cute little donkeys, and then realize the market is flooded and the only way to get rid of them is to sell them to the local dealer who will ship them off to slaughter.

With good marketing it is possible to sell the babies because they're so cute, but that's not often a particularly good market other than for babies because so many of them end up at the killers as adults.

I would be afraid of the high potential for a hard landing (around here) for one I produced...moreso with a donkey than a horse or dog...they just seem to be looked at as disposable.


The combination of their longevity, and marginal usefulness compared to horses and mules, means that there are way more cute little donkeys than there are homes for them. It's shameful, but as long as the world is full of irresponsible owners the slaughterhouses will stay in business.

fergusnc
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby fergusnc » Tue Dec 06, 2016 2:07 pm

Kande...what is donkey meat used for? Not human consumption in any country, is it? Would it be pet food or maybe for zoo animals? Just so sad. :( :(

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Saddlebum
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby Saddlebum » Thu Dec 08, 2016 9:58 am

When my goat left us due to old age, I got a standard donkey from a rescue. I love him and my horse loves him. After 2 years, I called an animal communicator in CA for some advise about my horse. She knew nothing other than his name and gender. After a few minutes of conversation, she yells "NO MORE GOATS!". Ha, my 17hh horse and 12.2hh donkey play a LOT and have so much fun. Horse is fine when leaving for a trail ride without his bud but take his bud out of his pasture, he pitches a fit.

Even tried to board a friends horse for the winter months for her but NO WAY. If her horse got between my two, it was kill kill kill.

The woman at the rescue said the geldings like to play more than the females. FYI.

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Suzon
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby Suzon » Fri Dec 09, 2016 2:33 am

Just because...here's my husband's ass:

Image

I have always had my donkeys and horses separate (except for my mammoth jennet who got turned out with a horse and mule), so I'm not a lot of help.

kande50
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Re: Tell me about mini donks?

Postby kande50 » Fri Dec 09, 2016 11:44 am

Suzon wrote:I have always had my donkeys and horses separate (except for my mammoth jennet who got turned out with a horse and mule), so I'm not a lot of help.


I keep my donkey separated from most of the other horses because they're too rough with him. He's in with an older mini mare and an ancient mule, and the mini bosses both of them.


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