ksfarmer
Junior Member
North central Kansas.
Posts: 50
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Post by ksfarmer on Mar 31, 2015 13:27:44 GMT
How about Donkeys? Any donkey people here? I can see I have a lot to learn about donkeys since I just bought 2 and never been around the critters before. I just needed something on the farm stubborner than the wife . edit: wife, me. LOL
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Post by smokey on Mar 31, 2015 14:04:19 GMT
We've got 3. Best I can tell their only purpose in life is eating and supervising me when I'm working in their pastures. They can be as quiet as deer when they want to and I've turned around to find them RIGHT behind me more than once.
Mine prefer a diet more like a goat than a horse. They are heck on hooves on young trees and will sometimes eat the bark off grown oaks.
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Post by grannyg on Mar 31, 2015 14:55:12 GMT
Mine was a rescue...He was SO mistreated...the man that owned him once castrated him in the street and drug him behind his truck...he almost bled to death...I could hardly stand to see him being treated like that...the owner died and the son did not treat him much better. It was during the winter and I would have Hubby sneak handfuls of feed to him along the fence. It was snowing and his eye lashes were full of snow and frozen...I had hubby go to the door and offer to buy him..just name their price...and he and the grandson got a trailer and tried to get him in it..He sat down as soon as he got in and they had to push him in the rest of the way..He came out of the trailer to fresh water and food to eat to his hearts content...took a long time to gain his trust. He now loves kisses on the nose and runs to get them...He protects the sheep, chickens, and he and the llama get along. He does have tantrums at times, but I love the old critter.
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Post by Maura on Mar 31, 2015 16:06:26 GMT
I had two minis, but since we are moving to town I had to give them away. They are very smart and will do better if they have something to do. Mine guarded the sheep, but that’s not really enough. Have a cart? They enjoyed pulling a cart and it got them out into the world. They do well with clicker training.
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Post by smokey on Mar 31, 2015 16:20:36 GMT
Mine was a rescue...He was SO mistreated...the man that owned him once castrated him in the street and drug him behind his truck...he almost bled to death...I could hardly stand to see him being treated like that...the owner died and the son did not treat him much better. It was during the winter and I would have Hubby sneak handfuls of feed to him along the fence. It was snowing and his eye lashes were full of snow and frozen...I had hubby go to the door and offer to buy him..just name their price...and he and the grandson got a trailer and tried to get him in it..He sat down as soon as he got in and they had to push him in the rest of the way..He came out of the trailer to fresh water and food to eat to his hearts content...took a long time to gain his trust. He now loves kisses on the nose and runs to get them...He protects the sheep, chickens, and he and the llama get along. He does have tantrums at times, but I love the old critter. I hate to hear of any animal being mistreated like that. I'm glad you were there to get him away from that.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2015 20:12:11 GMT
We have 2, mom and daughter. Mom, Jenny, was bred unknown to us when Dad bought her. We use them to guard the sheep and so far are very happy with the results. Kristy although she's only 7mos old is already very protective and will run any dog she sees in the field out immediately. We plan on breaking her to ride and hopefully drive. I've been working with her and she ties and leads well. She's not too bad getting her feet trimmed but her mother is a terror in that dept! My farrier believes that Kristy is 1/2 Mammoth. Dad said that the jack, who we assume was the sire, was very tall. She is already as tall as her mother.
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Post by Maura on Apr 1, 2015 22:31:54 GMT
Donkeys hate dogs, but they will learn to tolerate the home dog. Drive her first, if you can. You can teach her to “hitch” and she will step right where she needs to be. Just take it one step at a time. As I wrote, they do well with clicker training, but never click for ‘sort of’ what you want, only exactly what you want. I used cross under bridles.
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Post by smokey on Apr 1, 2015 22:44:03 GMT
They definitely have a lot of personality and they are not shy about reminding you it's supper time. Cute lil' rascals when they're young too.
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ksfarmer
Junior Member
North central Kansas.
Posts: 50
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Post by ksfarmer on Apr 1, 2015 22:46:17 GMT
Maura; could you elaborate some on your training methods? I'm so ignorant on this subject that I don't even know what you mean by "clicker training". I'm wondering about training my young foal, 6month jack. Jenny is older, age unknown, both are very friendly and love to be brushed , (especially if I have an apple in my pocket).
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Post by mzgarden on Apr 2, 2015 12:32:44 GMT
Great to find knowledgeable folks about donkeys. and now I have a question, lol. We have a tiny herd of goats (4) and have tried to add an experienced LGD and the goats refused to accept her. So, now we're thinking maybe a donkey as an added deterrent against whatever...? We have had zero issues with predators and the goats spend the night inside the barn, but e'd feel better if something was in the field with the goats. Can someone point me to pros and cons of adding donkeys as predator deterrents for goats? thanks.
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Post by smokey on Apr 2, 2015 13:46:47 GMT
mzgarden, When we got the first donkey (male) We had several goats and he chased them unmercifully and bit them when he could. They had to be separated until we found a jennet to keep him occupied. I really think Donks do better as a pair or with animals large enough they can't bully them. At least that was our experience, The goat chasing stopped as soon as he had another of his own kind to pal around with. A jennet might work out better if you're only going to have one. As far as dogs go, We have always had Great Pyrs in with the animals. We get them as pups and the other animals get used to them pretty quick.
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Post by mzgarden on Apr 2, 2015 14:26:59 GMT
Smokey, thanks. The dog we tried was a Pyr that had been an LGD. She charged and bit our goats and our goats were terrified of her, she also wandered and chased our cattle farmer's cattle :-(. I guess we better think again about a donkey or two. Thanks for the input.
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Post by Maura on Apr 2, 2015 17:22:06 GMT
As for a guardian donkey, just as with llamas, they need to be bonded with the goats when foals. I got my minis at 4 months and 7 months of age and kept them in an adjacent pen for three months. Jennets are used as guardians, rarely a gelded jack.
Clicker training uses operant conditioning. A sound, smell, touch or something is associated with a reward or punishment. Clicker trainers use a sound as a cue there is a reward coming. So, you use a treat to lure your dog into a sit, and when she starts to drop her rear, you click and give her the treat and praise. Each time withhold the treat/praise until her bottom hits the floor, then click and treat/praise and give an additional neck rub (the jackpot). Next times, only click and treat/praise for the complete sit. Then omit the click and just treat/praise. Then omit the treat and just praise. This is a shortened version.
Look for The Ultimate Horse Behavior and Training Book, by Linda Tellington-Jones, or one of the many books by Karen Pryor. Just remember that donkeys train differently than horses. They are much quicker and remember well. If you hurt them they will stop working for you- a major reason that horse trainers have difficulty training donkeys. Once your donkey learns about the clicker he’ll be very receptive to training. This doesn’t mean you can’t teach him something without the clicker. I taught the donkeys to come to me to a whistle using carrots, later hay, and no clicker. I taught them to come to me from a short distance by holding out my hand, palm up, and making the ‘come to me’ cue by using apple and carrot pieces in my hand.
Do not let them grab treats from you. Use treats as a reward, not just to be nice. You can use brushing as a reward. For instance, lift hoof, pretend to do something to it, and after you put the hoof down, commence brushing that quarter. Do this with each hoof and each quarter. They love to have the spot above the tail scratched. A donkey will turn his rear end to you, like he’s rejecting you, but it means he trusts you enough to give him a tail scratch.
Right now you can get donkeys cheap, but a true guardian may cost you. If you can’t find a guardian, get a foal (get two). Like any other animal, they will need to be trained and well socialized, so if you just want a lawn ornament with a few goats, I suggest you not get a donkey. As a guardian dog, you may be better off getting a good farm dog. A dog will protect his property even if he doesn’t protect the goats per se. A dobermann or beauvier des flanders may work for that job.
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Post by aoconnor on Apr 3, 2015 3:03:59 GMT
I have 6 little donkeys, one a Jenny, the rest are johns. Beware, your jack colt will breed his momma when he is big enough, so get him gelded before that happens.
My little donkeys are extremely tolerant of my two deaf grand daughters, they are as gentle as can be. With me as well. I love my little guys, they are very fun to watch and hang out with. They come in daily when it is time to eat, I give them all a handful of grain and they wander around cleaning up after the horses. Very sweet animals. They hate my dogs though, I have to be careful to watch out for my old German Shepard girl or they would get after her and hurt/kill her.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2015 5:52:56 GMT
I've been craving a pair of mini donkeys to haul firewood. They are the cutest things I have ever seen!! As far as having them guard goats - I don't know if I'll try it. My brother-in-law's donkey picked the baby goats up by the head/neck and killed them
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Post by Maura on Apr 4, 2015 18:31:07 GMT
fffarmergirl, this is why you use jennets instead of jacks, and why you put them with the goats while they are still foals. You also don’t have them around new babies when donkeys are young because they are too rough in their play. I did not have a problem with my two jennets, but I separated the moms and newborns to avoid problems. Once the youngest lamb was a week or so old I’d put everyone together again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2015 2:38:03 GMT
That is very good to know!
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Post by aoconnor on Apr 6, 2015 13:07:25 GMT
Also, make sure you get them able to have hooves trimmed a couple of times a year. Most donkeys don't like having their legs messed with, you will need to get serious about getting them over that so the farrier can get their feet cleaned up for them from time to time.
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