# Wild donkey for protection



## gwith (Aug 12, 2014)

What do you think about having a wild donkey for protection. I am having trouble finding protection for the goats after ours died. I found some at the animal shelter. The lady said they were wild. She said they move away when a person enters the pen. I stood outside the pen and watched them. They just kept their distance. 

They have an older female that is possible pregnant. They have a male that is 6-8 months old, a 18 month old male, and an older male. All the males are intact. 

Are any of them worth the risk?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Not unless you know without a doubt that they get along with goats.


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## gwith (Aug 12, 2014)

Every donkey I have had was a gamble. I have been lucky all but once. 

I can never find donkeys with goat experience for sale.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I'm surprised an "animal shelter" would have un-gelded donkeys and allow them to breed! 

They aren't actually wild or feral like they were captured in the wilderness right? They are domestic just not hand-tamed?


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

We rescued a donkey and turns out he kills anything he can catch. He was abused and shy, but he's come around to be very sweet with people he knows. I know he'll keep any coyote or dog out of the field, but he'll also do the same to any chicken, turkey, or goat that comes his way as well. 

What we've done is the goats have a field on the inside and the donkey has a field that goes all the way around theirs on the outside. In this way the donkey and goats never interact but he still is able to protect them.


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## gwith (Aug 12, 2014)

They are not tamed. She said they had a heck of a time doing the coggins test on them.


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

If you have somewhere to separate the donkey(s) from the goats and let them slowly get used to each other then it might be worth a shot. You can find out for yourself if they are nice to goats or not, and if they aren't you can separate them so you don't loose any goats in the process.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I have a wild/feral donkey. He's slowly getting tame. He's still not allowed unsupervised with the goats. Eventually he will be a herd protector (I hope). Join "only donkeys" on facebook, read up as much as you can at the donkey society webpage. A wild donkey is nothing to sneeze at, it's a lot of work and they are the smartest creatures I've ever met.


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## gwith (Aug 12, 2014)

I have been looking for protection for a while. I found some wild donkeys, post on here and immediately find better donkeys. I am going Friday to look at two jennies that have been around goats and sheep their entire lives. They are about 10 and 15 years old. A little older than I wanted, but plenty of time left. Wish me luck and thanks for the responses.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Those are youngsters actually, donkeys live about 40 years if cared for.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Donkeys are well known goat killers-a lady I knew adopted 2 & they killed both her goats. Another lady gave my daughter her goats free because she had to get them out of there immediately before her new donkey killed them. Those are just 2 cases I know of personally; there are plenty of other stories out there. If you get the donkeys, make sure you have a Plan B in case they don't work out with your goats.


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## gwith (Aug 12, 2014)

Here are the friendly ones. I am going to slowly introduce them with supervision. I will give them some time to settle in before I introduce them.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Cute! Sounds like a better choice.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Sounds like you have it under control. Good luck! I'm 5 months in and have them together part time.


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## maxgarder (May 4, 2012)

*Donkeys*


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We have 4 donkeys that we have raised with our goats from day one. They are the best protectors we have had in 12 yeas. They will do anything to protect the goats. We do not use the donkeys for anything but this work.


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## gwith (Aug 12, 2014)

I have the new donkeys walking in the middle area of our land. They can visit all the pens and see all the goats and other donkeys. I have seen them sneak up on the goats and sniff them. I am not sure if they would hurt them if there wasn't a fence between them. One of the new ones does not like one of our female donkeys. She runs at the fence and tries to fight with her. The original donkey puts herself between the new donkey and the goats. 

One thing that bothers me is that my boys take their show goats out of the pens and walk them in the middle area. The new donkeys walk towards them like they are interested. They usually stop about 50 yards away and blow at the goats. From what I have seen this is an aggressive behavior. I don't like the donkey doing that towards a goat. 

I won't put them together for a long time just to be safe.


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