# Additional Donkey advice



## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

So I've had baby donk for almost 2 months. 

Wild caught from a reputable rescue. She turned out to be a he. And based on teeth charts he's quite a bit younger than the said.

He has 4 teeth top and bottom. Teeth 5-6 come at 6 to 9 months. No swelling, not currently errupting so age is a guess. I measured him at 42.5 inches at the withers. He's very sweet but nervous and baby like.

Intact but I don't feel balls, hopefully hes sucking them up. I have him scheduled to be gelded on the farm in july by my vet. At this point I'd rather pay the $500 for a sedated castration than a "free" standing one done by the rescue.

He doesn't know how to graze. He eats hay (that took a while he thought it was a monster) and he tries sucking on the feed scoop... 

All the donkey people shout don't feed anything but hay!!! But he's thin. He's the only animal that gets free choice hay 24/7. 

I need to know what to do for him. My gut says he needs more nutrition. 

I've seen other adults from his herd and they are giant compared to him.

What should I do?


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

I'd suggest you get a donkey book at the feed store or find a donkey website. They could probably tell you at the feed store if horse food is right for donkeys. With horses & ponies you always give at least a little sweet feed or other grain, but like with goats you can't go overboard or they could get seriously ill. We used to give our ponies bran when I was a kid too--I think it was for strong hooves maybe. Your donkey does look a little rough--did they worm him at the rescue? If he was wild before he would have to know how to graze! He sure looks tame in the photo! Does he have trouble putting his head down maybe, so it's hard to graze? If you put sliced apples or carrots on the ground does he eat them?

Everyone on this website likes to recommend a supplement called Red Cell & it's actually a horse product. Maybe that would help him. There are lots of other horse supplements & treats too-you just need to find out if donkey nutrition is the same.

He sure is cute! Good luck with him!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

PM Happybleats if she doesn't see this.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Actually you want to avoid sweet feeds and high protein with a donkey. A small amount of whole oats and alfalfa pellets would be good for him. For donkeys the CA/PH ratio should be 1:1 to 1.5:1. The protein should be around 12%.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

goathiker said:


> Actually you want to avoid sweet feeds and high protein with a donkey. A small amount of whole oats and alfalfa pellets would be good for him. For donkeys the CA/PH ratio should be 1:1 to 1.5:1. The protein should be around 12%.


Thanks. I was worried about giving him the alfalfa. Donkey people swear it's terrible for donkeys but he's growing.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

catharina said:


> I'd suggest you get a donkey book at the feed store or find a donkey website. They could probably tell you at the feed store if horse food is right for donkeys. With horses & ponies you always give at least a little sweet feed or other grain, but like with goats you can't go overboard or they could get seriously ill. We used to give our ponies bran when I was a kid too--I think it was for strong hooves maybe. Your donkey does look a little rough--did they worm him at the rescue? If he was wild before he would have to know how to graze! He sure looks tame in the photo! Does he have trouble putting his head down maybe, so it's hard to graze? If you put sliced apples or carrots on the ground does he eat them?
> 
> Everyone on this website likes to recommend a supplement called Red Cell & it's actually a horse product. Maybe that would help him. There are lots of other horse supplements & treats too-you just need to find out if donkey nutrition is the same.
> 
> He sure is cute! Good luck with him!


I have a few books. They don't cover this issue I'm having. Horses and donkeys have very different needs. I've tried but he won't eat apples or carrots. He can eat off the ground so it's not hurting him. He is just not interested in grazing. Also the feed store doesn't know anything about anything. Those folks are not helpful. They told me goats don't need hay or any concentrate...

And the vet who runs the rescue doesn't exactly give the best donkey advice either. Which is why I posted here as there are donkey folks I trust on here.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Bump


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

_This is very interesting. I've never met a donkey who didn't like carrots. Good luck finding out what he needs--he sure is cute!_


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Um, those look like adult teeth...


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

They only have 4? He's so much smaller than the other donkeys.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Could malnutrition be the cause of few teeth? But maybe not if the eight he's got are nicely sized adult teeth :scratch: 
Never heard of a donkey who wouldn't graze or eat carrots or apples :shocked: Poor little guy.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I don't know. This is so confusing. He acts so baby like. I put a mini goat in with him and she's pushing him around. And he's tamed up so fast.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Could his teeth be cause he's from a feral herd?


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I don't know. He should have 6 teeth if he's over a year.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0690e/t0690e07.htm

Maybe regardless of how the teeth look?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Not sure. Hopefully Goathiker or Happybleats will chime in.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

LOL I'm not trying to be a pain. I promise. I'm just trying to figure out if he's very young or not. I think that will make a big difference in what I feed him for the next few months. If he's an adult but stunted... I would just continue hay with a handful of grain per day I think. 

If he's a baby I'll try to find a high quality 12% or less horse feed.

Also, I'm due to have him castrated in July. BUT the rescue I got him from castrates and releases donkeys (without marking them). So far I cannot feel balls and frankly I don't want to pay $500 to castrate a castrated donkey... So there is that as well. I don't want the vet fishing around in there if there is nothing to fish for.

Sooooooo

I'm just trying to do whats best for him. I don't care what his age is, other than health/teeth/castration wise. I wanted to be able to ride him in a few years but if he's mostly grown that is not an option and thats FINE. He's an adorable puppy.

This rescue is so frustrating frankly. Rinky dink. I can't recommend them at all even though they are funded and somewhat managed by HSUS.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

He is grazing really well today now that I have two goats in with him!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Yay! Was he never on pasture before?


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> Yay! Was he never on pasture before?


He was captured from a wild herd in the Waikaloa area on the Big Island. I assume that there was lots of grass for him to eat over there. But I'm not sure for sure.

And I just saw him bounce like a baby goat and it was the cutest thing ever.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

The Donkey Sanctuary says he is probably between 6 and 9 months. He has been eating something really resinous to stain his teeth so badly.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

What a sweet idea to put the goats with him!


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

Our donkey loves peppermints. They're not a 'health food'  but they a great way to make friends with him. He likes apples, too, but will sometimes get tired of carrots. He also likes bread and pancakes a lot. He likes grass, too, and won't eat hay if he has the option not to. We give him some sweet feed as a treat, but he is starting to get a little fat so I'm cutting back on how much he gets. He's had a horse mineral block for a while now and his coat is much softer than it was last year - it's a peppermint flavored block, and he actually likes it. (He didn't really like the apple-flavored one.) 

Well, I'm not sure if any of that is helpful or not.  Good luck with your little donkey! He is cute.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Well the vet was out today. He said Jackson is a "few" months old if that. For sure under 6 month. He was gelded today. His testicles were up inside and tiny.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad you have your answers and a gelded male.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

ksalvagno said:


> Glad you have your answers and a gelded male.


He said I need to give him supplemented feed like mare and foal. The only mare and foal I can find on the Island is by "Safe Choice" and when I looked up this list of stuff I didn't really like it. Plus its 16% protein which seems very high for a donkey.

So now I need to figure out something thats not sweet feed and preferably not pellets that I can supplement his hay with.

I gave him some sweet feed and he threw a serious temper tantrum when it was gone. Like aggressive.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I always raised my burro littles on good browse, small amounts of alfalfa pellets, and plain rolled oats. They had a trace mineral block as well.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

goathiker said:


> I always raised my burro littles on good browse, small amounts of alfalfa pellets, and plain rolled oats. They had a trace mineral block as well.


I was thinking the plain rolled outs with some probiotics top dressed instead of mare and foal. 16% just seems SO HIGH.
He does love his mineral block!


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Yes, it's awful high. His breed has been adapted to the browse on the islands for generations. He doesn't _need_ extras, extras are given to make him fit _our_ mold of how he should look. He only needs something now because he was taken from the teat. If his toughness and adaption is taken away now, he will either founder or lose the ability to live off what nature provides for the herd.


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