# Mini Donkey Questions



## marjaymarjay

Hello-
New to the site and new to donkeys and goat ownership, but loving it!!  I have done a lot of searching on the site and really enjoy all the thoughts and ideas I've gotten from searching the forums. 

I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what & how much I should be feeding 2 mini donkeys? One is an intact jack and the other is a pregnant jennet (due Oct-Nov), both on the young side (under 3 years, can't quite remember exactly how old now). They have a nice pasture, they love eating the Aspen leaves, and I give them some oats (or sweet grain) in the morning and night (about a cup each). I also give them and the goats hay 2x per day. I know it is their nature to act like they are starving, but I want to make sure they're getting enough to eat. 

Do they need loose minerals? Can I feed them cracked corn? Is goat feed bad for them- I try to keep everyone separate when they eat so they all get their share, but they really seem to like the goat feed and go after it a lot! Do they need an equine food or grain? Does the mama need anything special as she comes to her final weeks? 

I'm sorry to ply so many questions-- I know a lot of this info is on the site, but I want to make sure I get all my questions down so I don't forget!


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## KW Farms

Hi there! :wave: Welcome to TGS!

I would just kinda play around with the amount of hay you feed them...see how fast hey eat it up. I would think 2 flakes per day per donkey would work...but just start somewhere and adjust the feed amount accordingly...it may take awhile to get ahang of it. If they look and act hungry...then they probably aren't getting enough. When my horses are getting the proper amount of feed, they are content and will just hang around. They won't be crowding the gate or trying to get at a little nub of grass on the other side of the fence or anything and mine usually have hay leftover and snack on it throughout the day. A little sweet feed for them morning and night is just fine. Just make sure not to overdo it...they really don't need much if any at all. 

They usually don't need loose minerals, though if you can find a good horse mineral for them that works. We buy blocks for our horses and they do fine on that. Your pregnant donkey really doesn't need anything special, but you could get a mare and foal type grain and start her slowly on that. You don't want them getting into the goat's grain. A creep feeder would be good to keep the donkies out.

Make sure to have a good horse vet on call incase an emergency arrises when she foals. Also, you are going to want to separate her from the jack and goats as she gets closer to foaling so the jack doesn't hurt her or the baby and make sure she doesn't attack the goats. Mares with new foals can be extremely aggressive and if she feels threatened she very well could go after your goats.


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## zubbycat

Great advice so far. My donkeys do well on their pasture in the summer and hay in the winter. I like to give them enough hay that they have a bit left over at the next feeding as they are grazers like horses. The thing to remember is that donkeys are desert animals, so their bodies ate designed to travel large distances in search of not a lot of feed. One of the biggest issues our domestic donkeys face is being overweight, which can lead to founder, rather than being underweight. Don't feed them anything too rich as their systems are designed to eat roughage. I give my guys an equine salt block and they do fine on that. 

Now that I have a goat, I'm building a creep feeder so the donks can't get into his minerals and feed. I have a mini donk, a small standard and a large standard.


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## goathiker

Donkeys didn't evolve to handle complex carbs, so be really careful on their grain if they even need it. Simple single source grains are best like rolled oats or rolled barley. Part of why donkeys founder and colic so easily is because people feed them like little horses and they are not.
I owned a standard donkey for 30 years, the same BLM adopted burro, starting when I first started my passion for long distance hiking at age 13. The entire time he lived he never needed more then grass hay, small amounts of alfalfa, and rolled oats when he was working hard. He never foundered or coliced has whole life. We believe he was between 38 and 42 when he passed. Luckily my dad was a very smart man and taught me how to care for him.


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