# Donkey with Nigerian Dwarfs



## CodeZero (Apr 19, 2016)

Hello!
I have had chickens and goats living perfectly without any kind of guardian for nearly four years now (well, two for the goats, but four for the chickens). Any kind of "threat" that might show itself is typically dispatched by my lovely Plott Hound/Labrador mix that is quite simply, the love of my life. The best farm dog one could ask for that isn't a typical farm dog breed. He understands that the chickens are friends, the goats are not to be chased, etc. I could go on and on about him.
With the chickens, the closest thing to a predator for them would be a nice possum that decided to sleep in our wood pile. Of course, my dog chased him out and we were able to catch him and release him far away. (But even possums don't really threaten the adults from my understanding...)
Now, for the goats, all that we have as a potential problem are coyotes.
For the most part, the coyotes do their thing and we do our thing. They don't come by our house, and we don't intrude on them. I mean, as long as they don't try to do anything, I could care less. I'm all for wildlife living happily.
Of course, at night, we can hear them making their yipping sounds, and it seems like they're getting closer. Closer across the street from us, not necessarily the ones on our side, but still.
The only real "problem" we've had is one (still not sure if it was a coyote or a fox, but my mother and I are pretty positive it was a coyote) that apparently got too close to our property, because my dog took off after it, chased it back TOWARDS our house, past the goat pen, and far away.... We haven't seen one since.
So I'm getting a bit edgy about this, and I'd like an guardian of some sort. Not necessarily to fight them off, but to sort of intimidate them and let me know that there's something dangerous going on.
So I've been going through various guardians. Llamas kinda scare me and personally, I don't want to have to find a farrier AND someone to shear them. A dog would be fine, but there's no one around here that has a dog for me to get it from. Plus I'm not much in the market for another dog... although I love my guy and this dog wouldn't live in the house with us, I'm just not wanting to spend that kind of money on dog food. It's expensive.
So that's where I come across donkeys.
As a young child, my grandparents had two burros. I was in love with them. I'd lead them around. Taught the one to ride. They were great. I adored them. I've been wanting to get another one for years now, I've just been looking for the right time.
Now, I know, "miniature donkeys cannot be used as guardians because of their size, they can only take on one coyote," but that's all my mini would HAVE to take on. Our coyotes don't travel in packs. And like I said, I more want a warning so that I can make sure everything is alright, and boy oh boy do those guys go CRAZY with noise when something isn't right!
Plus, I have hookup for one, so it all seems perfect.
I don't so much want a killer, as I want a warning. The coyotes don't hunt during the day, and we're home all night. And our coyotes around here are probably about the size of my Nigerian Dwarfs.
So with that aside, how would a mini do with Nigerians? I don't really want to put a full sized donkey in with them because of their size. Right now, they're in with a horse, but my lovely doe with her triplets have to be separated.... The horse is going to be sold soon, thank goodness.
I understand that donkeys have some problems with kids, so I would make sure that my donkey is fine with them before leaving everything be. We'd probably also still make a small area that is goat friendly and for nothing bigger than a Nigerian.
Right now, we'd probably be able to get a young jenny.
So, the younger the better, right? I'm not opposed to bottle raising one (I'd probably wait until they're weaned, still), but do donkeys take well to bottle feeding? I know that I read somewhere that llamas, if bottle raised, can end up going crazy when they get older. Something along those lines...
Also, would it be possible for me to teach said donkey that my dog is a friend, but still have the donkey be aggressive towards anything that isn't him? I'm assuming with some training, this would be possible? My dog doesn't typically get into the goat pen, anyway, but I like to have that kind of insurance of his safety.
Thanks for any answers and help!


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

I have absolutely zero experience with donkeys, but what I've seen nearly everyone say is that it's best to get a donkey that has already proven to guard goats, because it's really their individual personality and there are no guarantees when raising from a baby. 

I do know someone who has a donkey that they keep penned separately from the goats, he has a "run" that surrounds the goat pen so he protects them without having the opportunity to trample kids.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

The right one would be fine. Any livestock guardian including a dog could never take on a pack.


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## CodeZero (Apr 19, 2016)

Wow... I like this place. Quick replies. 

Thanks for the responses! Of course, this is just an idea in the making, but I was thinking younger because personally, I'd rather not have dead goats, and it seems to be the ones that people get as adults that kill them.
That being said, I believe those are donkeys that were NOT proven for guarding, and were probably thrown into the mix.
I'll have to keep looking around and go and visit the place we're planning on getting the donkeys. Maybe they'll have an older one that seems to be worthy.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

A true guardian llama or donkey is worth their weight in gold.


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## CodeZero (Apr 19, 2016)

Yeah, that is what I have heard.

My problem is that no one around here has livestock guardians of any sort. So it'll be next to impossible to find one without having to travel a long way.
Is there any way to train a donkey or llama to guard? Or do I just have to hope for the best?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can't train them for guarding. Unfortunately that is instinct. Good luck on your search.


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## CodeZero (Apr 19, 2016)

I thought as much, but figured it was worth asking... Thanks for the help!


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## Cedar Point Kikos (Oct 16, 2013)

You write a good story! Enjoyed reading through that.

Sorry I can't answer any donkey questions, but we do have miniature horses with our goats. They seem to work out some kind of relationship. (all my goats have horns, so the horses respect that )
I did take them out of kidding season. Mostly because I don't think the mare would like the kids. The gelding would...he just loves little things (why? I have NO idea but it's really cute)

All that to say, it really depends on the animal.


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

We rescued a john donkey in the hopes of protecting our Nigerian Dwarfs from coyotes. Unfortunately, he does not get along well with other animals. We ended up having to separate him from the goats - the goat fields are in the center of the pasture, with the donkey's field on the outside. Our coyotes are the size of a large dog and I don't trust them not to hunt in the daytime - fortunately, our donkey hates coyotes and they must hate him as well.  A large pack lives in the woods not far from the pasture and they've never bothered my goats. 

I honestly would not trust a miniature donkey to be capable of fend off coyotes - and I don't trust the coyotes not to form a pack and come after a herd of tasty little goats. In the end though, I think it would depend on how scared the coyotes are of the miniature donkey and whether or not they would have the courage to try and fight him/her - maybe the very presence of the donkey would be enough to keep the coyotes away. 

When our donkey sees something he doesn't like, he usually stares at it and then will snort and run a little. The only time he makes a lot of noise is when I'm late getting down to the barn in the morning.  (He wants his treats!) 

Donkeys do survive very well off pasture, though, without any supplement. (We give our guy a mineral lick, and then some sweet feed as a treat.) They do require a farrier, and if you can get one experienced with donkeys that'd be great - donkey hooves are different than a horse's, and they are different physiologically as well. 

If you could find one, even a miniature, it would be worth a shot - as long as it was proven to be good with goats (like, you saw them running together happily in a field for an extended period of time - our donkey lived with my goats for about a week before he decided to kill one). I would look for a jenny, or a john who was gelded at a young age - don't get a jack as they're likely to fight with your animals. 

Anyway, that has been my experience and I hope that helps in your decision-making!


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## CodeZero (Apr 19, 2016)

Thanks, Cedar Point Kikos!  I write in my free time, so apparently a little bit of that rubbed off.
Right now, we have a Quarter Horse (best guess we can make) gelding in with our goats. I have no doubt that if something threatened them, he would take care of it. He loves those little goats! But he's getting rehomed soon, so we'll have little goats all alone once again....


ShireRidgeFarm, that's a clever setup. If we had the money for fencing, at least I would be able to look to that for a backup but if it doesn't work out, I am afraid little donkey will have to go.
If I got it from a young age (sadly, that would be my only hope of finding one... no one around here raises goats AND mini donkeys... it's always one or the other!) and raised it with my goats, do you think it would do better with them later on?
I have one little lady who I'm pretty sure would be the donkey in its place quickly. She might be tiny, but goodness, is she mighty.
At first, I would probably have the mini separated with my wethers. They're the only easy-going ones I have.


And, as luck would have it, the night after I write this post, we have our first predator attack on my chickens!
We have a Leghorn who enjoyed hopping the fence and last night, she must've been out.
My dog was freaking out. Let him out. He didn't do anything.
This morning, we woke up to feathers EVERYWHERE!
I'm not sure what it was. Again, the only thing we've seen close by are coyotes.... So that's what I'm thinking it could've been. Not to mention, my dog peed all around the area.
No one else was injured. We have six foot fence, so it would be mighty difficult for a coyote to get in... or so I think.
Boy, was I mighty worried when I headed out this morning to investigate and saw no chickens in the outside pen.... I called them, and then everyone came running out!
What to do now...


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

A raccoon might have got into your chickens - that would be my guess, anyway. I don't know how you feel about that kind of thing, but if we see raccoons or coyotes we do a little hunting... Raccoons are classified as a varmint in my state, meaning they have an open season, and coyotes have a long season (we fortunately haven't had any issues with them yet). 

I think a young donkey would have a lot of potential. If I were to do it all over again, I would probably get a young jenny. There's a lot of responsibility involved when you raise a baby, since you're the one forming and training them as they grow, but with enough research, dedication, and time (and maybe some help if you can get it!  ) I think it would work out. There's always the animal's personality to take into account, though - if they don't want to be friends with goats I doubt you can convince them. But if the donkey and the goats grow up together, I expect they'd think of each other as a herd and get along pretty well.


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## CodeZero (Apr 19, 2016)

I would think that, too, but we have not seen a single raccoon in all our years of living here. Whatever it was, it better not come back because I will do a little hunting.... Killing my chickens. Ha.
Or at least get a live trap... and see if it IS a raccoon.

Well, that is good to know! I'm sure it's more difficult than training baby goats and all that but if I could do that, then I have faith in myself for this miniature donkey.
From what I've read, it seems as though the younger you get them, the more willing they are to bond with the goats and form a little herd. Hence my reasoning for wanting to get a little one. And hopefully the personality matches up well.


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