How to care for donkeys ?

daylers

Hello,I've just recently found two a abandoned donkeys, they look to be in good health and are now living in my field, they have grass, water and a shelter and they appear to be about a year old

What else's is there to caring for a donkey as I never have cared for a donkey or horses before?


Anything they can't eat?
What else's can I feed them apart from grass ect ect

Any help appreciated thanks

aonb

wow, arent you kind.
First of all, are they male or female?
If they are 1 of each, you might need to consider gelding the male

Have you made sure that they are abandoned rather than strayed?

Their feet will need to be seen to by a farrier - to trim them. You should contact a local farrier to have him come by to see whether they need to be done.

Im not sure what the situation with a donkey and its teeth are - horses need their teeth seen to about once/year. If you reckon these 2 are only 1 year old then probably ok - just to keep in mind

I would conact<snip> for a bit of advice on caring for donkeys for the first time - Mods hope its ok to say this. <snip> has a good website with tips on feeding etc

I would call your local large animal vet to schedule a visit to have them checked. I would definately get a general equine wormer for them. 1 each - its like a syringe of paste, shove it (gently!) in to the side of their mouth, and squirt. They should be wormed regularly. Hopefully they are handled and easy to manage? You should get a couple of head collars and get them used to them, so that you can put a head collar on them for things like worming or the farrier. A couple of nylon head collars and a leadrope will cost around €20

Water is critical
Lovely for them to have a shelter
I would buy some hay and straw and put a few 'slices' in there to encourage them to use it. I believe donkeys need the fibre of barley straw, with less hay than horses. If you have plenty of grass they wont need much more than that. You can buy some basic horse nuts, and feed them in the shelter too. Donkeys are prone to laminitis (like horses) so anything that is for laminitic horses would be good. RAGWORT is a real danger - if you have much of it in your field in the summer, start pulling it. For treats you can give them a carrot or apple :P I would start to handle them as much as possible. If they are very skittish/nervous, just walk around their field every evening, or more often, talking softly. Bring a bit of carrot and hold it flat on your hand. When they get used to you, they will eventually approach and become friendly. Be careful not to get between them until they are happy with you. Watch out for hind legs!! Once you get to know them, they make great pets, and are lovely animals to have around

good luck and let us know how you get on

(You should check their coats too - for lice etc - the vet will check this for you)

daylers

aonb wrote: »

wow, arent you kind.
First of all, are they male or female?
If they are 1 of each, you might need to consider gelding the male

Have you made sure that they are abandoned rather than strayed?

Their feet will need to be seen to by a farrier - to trim them. You should contact a local farrier to have him come by to see whether they need to be done.

Im not sure what the situation with a donkey and its teeth are - horses need their teeth seen to about once/year. If you reckon these 2 are only 1 year old then probably ok - just to keep in mind

I would conact <snip> for a bit of advice on caring for donkeys for the first time - Mods hope its ok to say this.<snip> has a good website with tips on feeding etc

I would call your local large animal vet to schedule a visit to have them checked. I would definately get a general equine wormer for them. 1 each - its like a syringe of paste, shove it (gently!) in to the side of their mouth, and squirt. They should be wormed regularly. Hopefully they are handled and easy to manage? You should get a couple of head collars and get them used to them, so that you can put a head collar on them for things like worming or the farrier. A couple of nylon head collars and a leadrope will cost around €20

Water is critical
Lovely for them to have a shelter
I would buy some hay and straw and put a few 'slices' in there to encourage them to use it. I believe donkeys need the fibre of barley straw, with less hay than horses. If you have plenty of grass they wont need much more than that. You can buy some basic horse nuts, and feed them in the shelter too. Donkeys are prone to laminitis (like horses) so anything that is for laminitic horses would be good. RAGWORT is a real danger - if you have much of it in your field in the summer, start pulling it. For treats you can give them a carrot or apple :P I would start to handle them as much as possible. If they are very skittish/nervous, just walk around their field every evening, or more often, talking softly. Bring a bit of carrot and hold it flat on your hand. When they get used to you, they will eventually approach and become friendly. Be careful not to get between them until they are happy with you. Watch out for hind legs!! Once you get to know them, they make great pets, and are lovely animals to have around

good luck and let us know how you get on

(You should check their coats too - for lice etc - the vet will check this for you)

There both make which is why I think they were abandoned...none of my neighbours are missing donkeys as far as I know...they appears in the area last October and nobody has come to get then so I decided I will take them to atleast make sure they are okay

There feet don't look to bad but I'm going to have a vet check them out...there not easy to handle yet..there not wild there just a bit unsure of peolle but thy are easy to put in and out of a trailor

Thanks for all the help:)

daylers

That's them, not a whole lot bigger then a large sheep or a calf and with long hair

Rips

You are very good to take them in.
Excellent advice above, you look like you have a lot of grass so you might have to fence them into smaller paddocks to keep a lid on their consumption. Short sweet new grass is the most dangerous, but too much of any grass will have them pottery.

Its hard to tell from the photo, but have they got bloated stomachs? They might be in need of a good worming. The weather this year has been funny with worms, you might need to worm them twice within a short period to get them clear. If you are having them checked, you can also get a topical treatment for lice from your vet, for which donkeys are prone and this is the time of year for them too.

Zebrano

Fair play to you.
Its unbelieveable how people can just abandon animals like that.

aonb

was also going to say that they look a bit bloated. Definately get them wormed asap. and twice to get them clear. If the vet is coming he will tell you about that. Poor chaps...

Bring a bucket of nuts out with you every time you go in the field. Rattle it a little bit, and if they dont come initially, leave the bucket on the ground for them to come to. They will soon learn that you are bringing them treats.

How much space/grass do you have - see the tips on <snip> website advice on feeding - you might want to restrict their grazing - as Rips suggested, a bit of strip grazing would be best, if there is a lot of grass. Again, the vet will advise...

If they were in the area since October, they are hopefully yours to keep and take care of. Major brownie points to you

dogluver

Hi,

Its so good of you to take them in!

I look after donkeys and can I add don't start giving them nuts. Nuts can be very fattening and donkeys don't need that. In the summer they will be fine on grass with carrot or a apple for a treat. In the winter a good quality hay will be fine.

Mine get their feet done twice a year with a good farrier and they are wormed four times a year. Mine also have a barn to shelter from the rain and wind especially in the winter. Always make sure they have water available.

They are lovely animals to look after and don't really want for much. They will gain your trust as they get to know you. They are pretty self sufficient in the summer. It annoys me that people can abandon them like that.