Working Donkey teams

I’ve started driving a 2 1/2 year old jack and doing some very light skidding (very small poles). Will pack him this coming fall.
Joe (Ak)

@Rod 1176 wrote:

I wonder if any readers are using donkey teams or singles to do work on the farm or homestead. I have a pair of standard Donkeys that pull and am thinking about jobs that they can handle if spring ever get here.

Rod ~ I’m new here… saw your posting >>> I’ve sent for a 4 yo standard jack from Texas, I market-garden & sell firewood (and work for a guy w/ his draft mules building trails in wildernesswes)… how’d your attempts to work your donkeys ever come out?

considering a relatively low (sometimes free in US!) prices of good sized donkeys, they could be used for agriculture, too. a small farm would do on donkey power, given the soil isn’t too heavy, and the climate is right.

i found these donkeys harnessed to a plow in africa. they are pulling a double-furrow plow:
the pics are in upper 1/5 of the page.

or, this vid:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iHf69orG1I&feature=related

the donkey is used to cultivate a greenhouse (?), which lowers fuel costs, AND keeping a donkey gives one excellent greenhouse manure.

Anybody got some advice for Robert and Me?:D
~~R

My first draft animal was a donkey. His name was Danny and he was bout 10 hh, I got him to drag my pony cart around and had him for several years. I gave him to a nice girl when I was headed to college. It took a while before he was a good cart donk, but he was very forgiving and was willing to do about anything for me. I wish now that I had done some things different and had taken more time to see just what I could have done with the little guy. His favorite speed was a walk but would go for many miles with a heavy load of kids in the cart.

I would say that if you had acess to some donks give them a fair shake, they are a great animal and would be very nice if handled with love and attention. They are also thrifty so feed is much cheeper than some other drafts.

Joshua

Now that is what I call a great Christmas Present!!! Please post pictures and keep us informed with your progress…..

Your Dad must have had a change of heart…..;)

Hey, great for you, ‘R’!!

Bivol; some of what you point out is pretty accurate…dpending, of course, on the donkey! No, you can’t work a donkey to death…they’re too much self-preserving to be used in battle, either. Most animals – including humans – respond to kindness & praise with a major increase in effort to please.

Donkeys are especially attuned towards attitudes, it seems. I know my attitude when I first walk into the pasture sure seems to be “read” by my donks, from clean across the 26-acre pasture. If I’m in a hurry, or agitated about escaped goats, or… they just “give me space”. If I’m in a good mood or feeling silly or singing, then they’re apt to “sing” and come nosing around just to see what I’m about. My donks are pretty independant-minded, yet over the last several months, they’ve decided that they like me…and although they’ll still play ‘donkey games’ (do I wanna play ‘chase’?), if I come out with their halters & try to catch them, if I stand still & call them – or speak to one & not the other – they’ll come right up to me. I can now pick/clean Kinsey’s feet out with her standing loose…Jenny-Mae’s only good for lifting the front ones, unless she’s tied. I thought to work on this, getting the idea from Carl & Jason about teaching them to stand for harnessing w/out being tied. I haven’t gotten their harnesses paid for & sent to me yet, but I’m thinking that if they’ll stand loose for hoof-cleaning, then harnessing will be a breeze. Jenny-Mae doesn’t like the wheelbarrow yet, but is starting to reconsider; might have something to do with it being used for bringing Her Majesty her hay. :p So, I’m just doing basic things around them, and I’m pretty sure they’re learning about me: my moods & actions thereof (if he’s mad about something else, how will he act towards me?) and what I expect from them as to what the rules & acceptable behavior is. Kinsey has learned that I WILL NOT be intimidated or pushed around; Jenny-Mae recently learned that I am more stubborn than she is >>> I most definitely WILL ‘walk her down’ over 1 1/2 hours over the entire 26 acres, if she doesn’t come to me when I call to her. Just standing still was no longer acceptable…she had to actually come 5 steps to me, but we did enjoy that apple, once she did. 😀