# EEEKKKK Ive totally lost my mind!!



## happybleats

A lady and her hubby are moving out of state and she was frantic to find a good home for her remaining mini donkey herd...so we are taking them!!! all of them!!! 6 jennies and one gelded jack!! what is wrong with me!!! Im excited but still shaking my head...!! we now own 16 donkeys!!.will post pix when we get them here and settled in :wallbang:


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## SalteyLove

Oh I just can't wait to see photos!! Do your donkeys eat lower quality hay than your goats? I know around here, folks will buy pretty stalky not super green grass hay for donkeys to keep their protein down as they gain weight easily?

Are mini donkeys as loud as standards?


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## nancy d

:dancedgi:Oh Cathy this is one reason we all love you.


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## Trickyroo

I knew you got new additions as soon as I saw the title of this thread !
Oh my goodness Cathy ! LOL. 
That's so sweet of you and your family to take them in and give those people peace of mind knowing they are going to a safe and loving 
family !


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## toth boer goats

Wowza.


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## happybleats

> Do your donkeys eat lower quality hay than your goats? I know around here, folks will buy pretty stalky not super green grass hay for donkeys to keep their protein down as they gain weight easily?
> 
> Are mini donkeys as loud as standards?


__________________

Donkeys do thrive on lesser quality browse..less protein...They do get fat rolls and once they do they don't loose them, so keeping them fit is important...we don't offer grain either...they are pretty easy keepers...we have right now...three minis and six standard donkeys...minis can hold their own in the loudness department lol

We will put the new herd in the front pasture and let them fence visit with our current herd until we feel comfortable letting them roam together in the back pasture


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## Goats Rock

Happy donkeying! That was good of you all to take the herd! Donkeys are neat 
critters!


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## happybleats

I love donkeys...they are so smart and interesting..with a rep of being stubborn, I find them wanting to please most days...we have tamed most of the ones here who came scared and untouchable..I love to watch them transform into a in your face loveable "pet me pet me" kind of personality lol


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## Trickyroo

Good luck with them and once they settle in you've got to share some pictures with us   

It is awesome watching them change from frightened non trusting scared souls into loving friendly "babies" 
That is a wonderful feeling !


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## happybleats

Meet our new donkeys....Pic One: VP, she is only 30 inches at the withers...pic two is VP mom Sadie, Pic Three is Bordeaux the gelded jack, Pic four is Sara..the paint..pic five is Minnie ( dark) and Carmela) ..


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## happybleats

oops..forgot to upload the pics lol...


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## Dayna

they are super cute!


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## Brink4

They are sooooo cute!


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## happybleats

Minnie, Carmela and Sara are in my pocket friendly...Sadie and VP are shy but coming around...Bo is happy being left alone..unless we have treats lol


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## ksalvagno

They sure are cute!


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## billiejw89

Cute!


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## sassy

Awww so cute!


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## happybleats

Thank you..Im smitten with them...they are shedding winter hair..but still so adorable


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## nancy d

Donk heaven!


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## LuvMyNigies

Well, if we lived closer we'd be happy to easy your burden and take a few off your hands!  They are sure cute!! Our neighbor in the pasture next door has a donkey that thinks he belongs to us and greets my husband on his way to work in the morning!  He loves attention and getting treats too, but minis are even more adorable. Good luck with your new additions!!


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## SalteyLove

Oh they are just so so beautiful! I love the shades of colors of donkeys! 

That's it! I need more pasture fenced in! (oh and another 50 acres of hay fields to harvest!)


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## Trickyroo

They are adorable Cathy  And look very well taken care of too !
Love the different shades of grey and tan , very pretty animals 
My favorites for today are VP and Carmela


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## happybleats

VP is so cute...and Carmela is super sweet!


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## happybleats

My son built this shelter our of pallets for the new donkeys just before the storms hit...good timing!! and not bad...( he missed calculated tin..we need to buy one more..but not bad) He's quite handy!!


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## ksalvagno

Nice!


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## Dayna

That is awesome!


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## happybleats

Thank you...Joseph has become quite capable building things...we are very proud of him...he just turned 16...yikes!!


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## luvmyherd

They are beautiful! It is so great that you have room for them. And what a nice shelter; your boy deserves praise!


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## happybleats

we love the donkeys...they are so friendly...My daughter, Maureena had graduated high school and so we were out taking pictures...the girls wanted to be in every one lol..Sara, as you can see..loves her butt scratched...


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## happybleats

Jessica has been training Troy....he is 11 months old now...he was born here but mom was still wild and we didn't get to mess with new foals..so he was not tame and would bite lol...Jessica has a gift with these animals...she has him halter broke..and leads..he will load and unload in the trailer, she worked with him less then a month or so!...she will train him to be a jumper...: ) 

She is also working with a mini Jack, Hooper...she has him halter broke and learning to lead...he is so cute!!...


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## goathiker

Cathy, are you taking the weight down on those girls? When Donkeys get that line and roll on their necks it means that they are foundering. You should always be able to feel every rib on donkey.


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## Karen

Such fun, and such cuties! You definitely have a donkey-shaped spot in your heart, so they fit right in! Hey, you should sooo nominate one of your existing herd for Pet of the Day! You know they deserve it, right?


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## happybleats

Jill, these donkeys we have only had a short time...they get no grain...graze only...they are older..in their late teens...One did founder 3 years ago per owner, so we do watch her close..so far they are doing good...Once donkeys get a fat roll...they never loose it, at least from what I read.. and soon will have full run of the place and get plenty of exercise, once we get our other donkeys used to them, all have been vetted and wormed and deemed healthy,..Fingers crossed they stay that way!! ;-)


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## anawhitfield

We got our donkey in November when he was only 6 months old. He was sad and lonely and my goofy goats all picked on him and pulled on his tail, except for Pecan who decided she would be his mom. So they are un-separable now. You should have seen how concerned he was when she kidded last month. 
We named him Michael (after the Bible - the guardian of his people). He is the most gentle animal you've ever met and has the cutest face. I love to mess with his bangs and give him different hair-dos.


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## happybleats

awe...too cute!!


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## happybleats

well looks like we found homes for three of our rescue donkeys....kind of sad...but happy for them...they will be pets and help ward off coyotes for her goats..its an approved home where there is money for proper hoof and medical care, she's had donkeys before so there is at least basic knowledge of feeding and such...she's coming friday for them...Thelma is our first standard rescue...who later foaled Stormy, which we are keeping them together and she is also taking Isabel, also born here to Agatha, a rescue standard who was living in a junk yard eating dog food...this will leave us only three standard size donkeys....but also will open space for a few more rescues...This is why we started taking in donkeys...to restore their trust in us humans, train them for a job and rehome them...so time to start rehoming them I guess...UGH...its best...I need to put on my big girl pants and do the job!...I just want to keep them all...but know that is silly!!


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## groovyoldlady

Sheesh, Cathy, I want to live next door to you! What a fun farm you have!


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## Trickyroo

groovyoldlady said:


> Sheesh, Cathy, I want to live next door to you! What a fun farm you have!


Take a number , lol.. Me too


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## Trickyroo

Cathy , i don't know how you do it , rehoming them after you rescue , nurture them back to health and basically fall head over heels in love with them.

You do these animals a world of good , then hand them off to the "right" homes who will love them just as much…Bless you for all you do :hug:
I don't think i could be as strong as you to give them up , thats for sure !
And look , sometimes , when we can't let go , there is a reason…they might be meant to stay and help other new ones that come it…
But like you said , it also makes room for the ones that need rescuing.
Its so rewarding , but can be the toughest thing to do too….
Your a Godsend to them


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## luvmyherd

Very cool.


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## happybleats

lol..thank you Laura...it is hard to let them go...especially Stormy..but her mom would be crushed to leave without her...and knowing they will be loved does help...I would never let them go other wise..


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## ksalvagno

That is great you found a good home for them.


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## happybleats

I have the three penned up to make things easier tomorrow...in doing so we found a Guinea nest...one dead baby eaten by ants and a few lethargic with ants on them...we collected them all and the rest of the eggs...mom was less then happy with is...but they were getting killed..poor things..hopefully we can save these....eggs are finishing in the incubator and babies are in there too until tomorrow...they are so tiny...I bet just hatched today..dumb birds lay out there where donkeys and a horse trample around...Im all for letting mom raise them until they do dumb things lol


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## Trickyroo

Good luck tomorrow ! Here's a :hug: you can do it  
Will she keep you posted on them and send pictures ? 
Makes things so much easier IMO .

I LOVE Guinea Hens , but from what I'm told and hear , they aren't the sharpest crayons in the box , lol..
Good that you found them , they most likely wouldn't have a chance in heck of surviving if you didn't. Some just aren't cut out to be moms i guess. I have a duck here with one chick , thats all she had , and she loses it almost every time she goes on walk about. Poor thing is always scrambling as to keep up with her.. My husband locked her up in the coop with her baby until it got older and was able to keep up. 
Glad she only had one ! Sheesh !


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## goathiker

Well, it really isn't the fault of Guinea, horse, or donkeys that ants attacked the nest...I've seen ants kill kittens before...


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## Trickyroo

They aren't the best mothers , my husband had many Guinea babies raised by chickens cause of being terrible at parenting. 
Case in point…four Guinea hens , laid their eggs in one nest. Im guessing they all thought the other was going to care for them.
Once they hatched , it was a open food bar for any predator that wanted a free meal. All four hens never went anywhere near the nest .
Smartest hens in the dumb row IMO.


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## happybleats

well we lost two chicks..they just were too weak...but four are doing well....we will see how it goes...

on the donkey note...

It went very well...Thelma took to her new owner like she known her forever!! What a perfect fit!!.all three loaded in the trailer like it was a normal thing to do lol, I mean just walked right in...we were prepared to beg pull and push them in lol..a wonderful women with a huge caring heart for animals....not to mention her sister who purchased my two Nigie/ saanen boo boo does ( Genevieves girls, Charoltte and Pippa) Fell in love with Faith, my kids little nubian doe who has the wry face...and so bought her too as a pet...it was funny, Faith didn't leave her side almost the entire time we were out there lol..all in all..a good day...


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## ksalvagno

That is great!


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## Trickyroo

Aww , sorry about the chicks  

How awesome ! It must feel wonderful to see how well the new owners and the donkeys get along , that means so much !
We all know how they choose their own people , and that is a perfect example  It hurts to see them go , but seeing the animals bond with with their new family has got to be extremely rewarding for you 
Nice going Cathy :hi5:

Boo boo does :ROFL:


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## happybleats

Thelma, Stormy and Isabel with their new owner, Robbin....( she promised the feed was just a calming treat after a long ride home lol..)


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## happybleats

sadly we lost all but one chick... the one survivor is chirping so loud and she os strong...she has other chicks to keep her company...kids were bummed, I told them we gave them a better chance then the ant hill they lived on...they just were not strong enough


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## Trickyroo

What a great picture  Wonderful ! 
Question though….donkeys shouldn't have grain ? 

Aww , sorry about the chicks  Bummer 
But , your right , never would've had a chance otherwise.
Hopefully the little survivor will flourish with all the care , being so strong is a good sign


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## happybleats

Donkeys need to live lean...a little grain like in winter months, while mom is nursing or to babies growing is ok...in moderation but for the most part no grain...they get fat rolls that never go away ( ha..I know that feeling) its not healthy for them...they actually do best on weedy brushy pasture then a good grazing pasture...


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## Trickyroo

happybleats said:


> Donkeys need to live lean...a little grain like in winter months, while mom is nursing or to babies growing is ok...in moderation but for the most part no grain...they get fat rolls that never go away ( ha..I know that feeling) its not healthy for them...they actually do best on weedy brushy pasture then a good grazing pasture...


Thanks for explaining that Cathy  They sure know the right way to live , lol.
Rolls&#8230;.when i was young , i thought i would never know what those were&#8230;&#8230;.
I was soooo wrong :sigh:


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## valleyhavengoats

I know this is an older thread, but I saw it mentioned a few times hat once donkeys get the fat rolls they never loose them. Our donkey was 85 pounds over weight when I brought him home. He has since lost the weight and he fat rolls. So maybe it depends on the donkey.


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## goatylisa

Can you let the donkeys eat the goats hay or is that bad too? Does their poop break down like goats or more like llamas ?


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## valleyhavengoats

I take the hay the goats goats don't like and feed it to the house and donkey. I don't know how llama poop breaks down so I'm not really sure how to answer that question. Maybe someone else can.


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## goatylisa

We use goat poop in our compost for our food plots. We got some free llama poop and it never broke down, after three years we can still see full sized rock hard berries. It might need to be crushed, I don't know. 
Thanks, Lisa


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## valleyhavengoats

Oh no donkey poop is like horse poop is breaks down.


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## valleyhavengoats

I didn't know llama poop was like that. We have llamas up the road from us and I always was so impressed with how clean thier pasture was... but if they only poop little berries I understand now why it always seems so clean lol they have like 8 llama.


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## happybleats

> I know this is an older thread, but I saw it mentioned a few times hat once donkeys get the fat rolls they never loose them. Our donkey was 85 pounds over weight when I brought him home. He has since lost the weight and he fat rolls. So maybe it depends on the donkey.


once the fat roll on the mane breaks the crest ( falls to one side) its there for life...I have never heard of a donkey loosing his fat rolls once trimmed down...I have several who are still lumpy although not over weight any longer. ?? So Im not sure...maybe you caught it early enough?? I just joined a FB page for donkies..maybe post your question there? 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/688070011309593/


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## goatylisa

valleyhavengoats said:


> I didn't know llama poop was like that. We have llamas up the road from us and I always was so impressed with how clean thier pasture was... but if they only poop little berries I understand now why it always seems so clean lol they have like 8 llama.


I don't have llamas either so I am not sure if all are the same but my girlfriends all poop in one spot. She gets lazy and doesn't clean it as often as she should. So it turns into a huge black mound of poop. She has around 8 I think, she sells the babies but even the babies will go over to the mound and poop on it. Pretty amusing.


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## happybleats

Llamas and alpacas have community toilets...they usually pick one to 2 spots and everyone potties there..their poop is very good fertilizer and there is no need to compose it first I believe, like rabbits poo...use it straight off the mound : )


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