Donkeys on the farm

royster999

How many stocking units is it per donkey?
Is there a difference in stocking units when compared to the donkeys age?

sonnybill

royster999 wrote: »

How many stocking units is it per donkey?
Is there a difference in stocking units when compared to the donkeys age?

A donkey once chipped with passport in your name counts as 1.0lu and that counts for both mares/jacks / gelding ass and a foal couple of weeks old once chipped and registered !

Capercaillie

djmc wrote: »

Land needs to be maintained by grazing it
Not always a lot out of cattle and more work and expense eg. Slurry they make a lot of it tb testing brucellosis testing vet fees bvd testing calf regs getting cards signed and stamped vet fees silage slurry spreading
A few donkey's or horse's will graze tighter and you would have to worry about none of the above

don't know about donkeys, but horses will destroy fences and ruin fertility. They ****e in one corner of field and strip fertility in rest of field.

djmc

Some ponies can thrive on rough grazing like heather and Molina where cattle might struggle especially in winter without supplementary feeding.

Base price

Capercaillie wrote: »

don't know about donkeys, but horses will destroy fences and ruin fertility. They ****e in one corner of field and strip fertility in rest of field.

+1000
Many stud farms/equestrian farms use cattle or sheep to complement the grazing regime in their paddocks. Cattle will graze sour "horse dung" grass and visa versa.

Base price

djmc wrote: »

Some ponies can thrive on rough grazing like heather and Molina where cattle might struggle especially in winter without supplementary feeding.

Every day is a learning day . I hadn't a clue what Molina was until I googled it.
While I agree that ponies/horses can and will thrive on rough grazing I would add that it depends on acreage available per head, body score heading into winter and other factors like worming, feet condition etc, likewise cattle will also thrive in such equitable conditions.

pedigree 6

Base price wrote: »

Every day is a learning day . I hadn't a clue what Molina was until I googled it.
While I agree that ponies/horses can and will thrive on rough grazing I would add that it depends on acreage available per head, body score heading into winter and other factors like worming, feet condition etc, likewise cattle will also thrive in such equitable conditions.

The hardiest little fcekers that would fatten on nothing are welsh or Shetland ponies. Have a small stallion here on the area of a garden here and it's a job to watch that he won't get too fat and laminitis and die. They're the most efficient of grazing animals to put fat on their backs with the least amount of grass. Afaics.

Base price

pedigree 6 wrote: »

The hardiest little fcekers that would fatten on nothing are welsh or Shetland ponies. Have a small stallion here on the area of a garden here and it's a job to watch that he won't get too fat and laminitis and die. They're the most efficient of grazing animals to put fat on their backs with the least amount of grass. Afaics.

Of all the small breeds I have a personal dislike to Shetlands, horrid feckers that should have been kept on the Scottish Islands. In my mind they are as invasive as grey squirrels.

Rainman16

I asked my father, a life long farmer, the same question and he said nowadays Donkeys are pretty much useless on a farm but some people keep them as a farm pet.

topmanamillion

What do people think of an Ass roaring?

I remember a few years ago a neighbour had a Jack and he never stopped it. Thankfully he's gone now.
When I say neighbor she was about a mile away and I could still hear the jack.

Base price

topmanamillion wrote: »

What do people think of an Ass roaring?

I remember a few years ago a neighbour had a Jack and he never stopped it. Thankfully he's gone now.
When I say neighbor she was about a mile away and I could still hear the jack.

A neighbour across the fields keeps a gelded jack with his sheep. Have no issues with him roaring and would miss the sound if anything happened to him. He seems to roar more during the winter evenings than the summer.

phelixoflaherty

A Jerusalem 2 stroke

Kovu

Base price wrote: »

Every day is a learning day . I hadn't a clue what Molina was until I googled it.

Me neither, just colloquially called them tussocks :pac:
There's two donkeys within a half mile of us....both owned by ladies so when they're roaring Dad will turn to me or vice versa and say ''Oh there's Mary's/Patricia's* ass showing off again!'' (or similar)


*Mary/Patricia may not be their real names, to spare their blushes!

djmc

Shetlands are known for being wicked other mountain or moorland breeds like the welsh mountain breed the dartmoor or kerry bog pony are a lot more placid and do just as well to keep condition on.
The donkey actually belongs in the desert and not on heath especially during winter.
There are few true mountain breeds of cattle except maybe the yak or highland and think nearly all would need hay or silage over the winter if kept out on a bog .
They all do ok during summer grazing but the breed and age of animals are important factors as well.

Ave Sodalis

djmc wrote:

Shetlands are known for being wicked other mountain or moorland breeds like the welsh mountain breed the dartmoor or kerry bog pony are a lot more placid and do just as well to keep condition on.

Just a point on the Kerry Bogs. These are still a rare pony, having only recently been brought back from near extinction. My own feelings on them is that ownership should be left to experienced handlers as there's only about 300 of them registered.
The Connemara is a very hardy breed too, but with all horses/ponies/donkeys, it depends on the individual. However, you can't go far wrong with native ponies. I wouldn't get a Shetland, due to the risk of over eating. We have a miniature, and in summer, he gets tied to a tree with a lunge line in the garden and other than a handful if hay at night to keep him occupied, that's all he eats.