Donkeys plowing

[Rod44]

A friend of mine brought his donkey team over to plow my bigger garden (about 3/4 acre). Plowed it all in an afternoon.

http://s384.photobucket.com/albums/oo281/Rodhorses/?action=view&current=notamule.mp4

[Jean]

They are really moving out! Did they keep that speed up the whole day? Would love a good pair of donkeys.

[FELLMAN]

Them donkeys look to be in wonderful condition and making a first class job, very nice very nice indeed im very envious ! would have liked to see the plough though 😀

[J-L]

Nice team. They did a great job. The plow looks like the small I&J plow to me. Seemed to work fine with the small animals.

[Rod44]

Yes, they kept that same speed all day. Rats, what were the rest of the questions. The plow was a 10″ and he just got his new 12″ and used it today and they handled it well. He has an interview coming up with Rural Heritage so you may see more info there later.

[Scyther]

Thanks for showing that. What size are the donkeys? They look like good size standards but I can’t really tell. How heavy are they? Also, did he train them from foals or get them ready to go? Other than as pack animals I hear little about donkeys and have never seen any used for farm work in areas I have lived.

[Rod44]

The girls are three years old this month, 15h tall weighing 950# each. I don’t know what make the plow is but it measures 9″ across and is probably intended to cut 11″. I tried out my new plow yesterday. It is an Oliver #20 – 13″plow. I find a pair this size to be lots of fun and useful but they certainly aren’t going to plow like a big pair of belgians.

[Scyther]

Thanks for the reply about those donkeys. So they are fairly good size. Do you know if they are standards or mammoths? I think you’ll like the Oliver. I used an Oliver #40 with a team of work horses for several years. 12″ molboard, it worked very well.

[Rod44]

They are not mine. They are Bob Erickson’s from the Westby Wi area. I am posting for him. Yes they are mammoth donkeys.

[Demented Donkey Dame]

Rod44, at three years old these girls are still babies! At 15 hhs they will grow till about 8 or 9 years old so they have a long way to go. They did wonderful! The huge 20-30-40 horse hitches that harvested grain in the Palouse Country of Idaho used donkeys as their pace setters. A donkey will go all day at a steady pace so the girls did not surprise me that way. Makes me wanna go hitch my teams to a plow and play!

[Robert MoonShadow]

@Demented Donkey Dame 27159 wrote:

Rod44, at three years old these girls are still babies! At 15 hhs they will grow till about 8 or 9 years old so they have a long way to go. They did wonderful! The huge 20-30-40 horse hitches that harvested grain in the Palouse Country of Idaho used donkeys as their pace setters. A donkey will go all day at a steady pace so the girls did not surprise me that way. Makes me wanna go hitch my teams to a plow and play!

And so we shall, my friend…so we shall!! 😎

[HeeHawHaven]

I’m just wondering how you motivate them to move? Our blm burro doesn’t want to move. He does better away from home. We’re even thinking about a cattle prod!

[Rod44]

This is Rod but I will tell you how Bob does it. The number one rule is that they can’t be allowed to become your pet or buddy. They have to respect and also fear you just a little. He handled them very little before starting training. He said you start them in a pen and take with you a whip, a piece of plastic pipe and a hot shot. The idea is to come up from behind and say trot. If it doesn’t give him a tap with the whip. If he starts up, even if only for a few paces, ease the pressure. Keep doing this over and over for a number of days untill when you say trot they do. If the whip doesn’t to it graduate to the plastic pipe and from there to the hot shot. The hot shot isn’t to prod them hard with, even though you are mad by now. Just kind of brush them with it so it stings like an electric fence. Best to do this before they are handled much and know that they really are in control because they are bigger than you!:)

This way they get imprinted to go when they are told to go.

Don’t know what to do if they the are already screwed up?? Bob may have some ideas for you. Try posting for him on the Front Porch of the Rural Heritage site. He isn’t much for computer time but does check that some. He is a real nice guy and will help you if he can. Just subject “Bob a donkey question”

Hope that helps

Rod

[HeeHawHaven]

Rod, too late – my wife treats him like a baby!

But, I think we can work with a progression from whip, to pipe, to hot shot! He won’t hurt her, he’s just lazy if he’s around home. If we’re out somewhere else, he does fine!

Thanks!

Dave

[Robert MoonShadow]

Try finesse: out think the critter = back off to the beginning of halter training and tap his hind leg w/ a whip while saying your “go” word. If the only problem is when he’s hitched (grounddriving), get someone to lead him for a bit…its what my part is, when first teaching Kristi’s boys – I drop back as they figure it out – donks seem to really think that they should turn to face you {so you have better access for scratching their ears}. I can’t hardly get my Jenny Mae to go, either (I’m training her w/out an assistant), so I give her the “Kiss of the butterfly” w/ the driving whip…you can so easily overdue it w/ a donkey – too much of either punishment or reward. Kristi might have more/better advice on the donk training; hope this helps.

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