Working Donkey teams

[Robernson]

Okay I need opinions.
Her hooves look aweful. Well,I have seen worse on “rescue” horses but they are a little over grown. They don’t seem to be causing her pain but they need to be trimmed. She is also EXTREMELY thin. My question is,should I clean her up and put some weight on her now or after I get her hooves trimmed? There is a distinct ridge where her spine is,so in my book, she needs much better quality hay. (just the timothy/orchard grass mix that we feed but it is better than the rotted mass that they had) So should we tidy up the donkey or the hooves first?
~~R

[Joshua Kingsley]

Have your neighbor come by and look at ther hooves, they are typically longer on a donkey than on a horse. I would get her better feed as soon as she is home and then work on getting to know her ect. R- Check your PM as I will send you a note. Joshua

[Rod]

She may need to be wormed also.

[Rod]

Try giving them a treat for coming. I/we have a rule with our donkeys that we don’t chase them they come to the gate when called. The way we got to that point was to always have a treat in our pocket when they came ( we no longer need it but do have it irregularly). If one came without it’s brother then that one got the treat and we too it out of the paddock for grooming or what ever. It wasn’t long before the straggler was at the gate begging to get out also.

[Robernson]

Oh yes I would think she needs to be wormed:o
R

[Robernson]

I don’t know how she’ll act when we get her home,but right now getting her to come isn’t a problem! She was in my pocket the whole time…… Don’t know if it was because of her loner type attitude towards the other donkeys or what. Be she let me pet her and even walk her on halter for a little:D.
~~R

[CharlyBonifaz]

Robernson,

Her hooves look aweful.

donkeys are prone to founder; let your neighbour check it out, might influence what you feed her trying to “round her up” 😀
sounds like an exciting year you’re having ahead

[Robernson]

Well everybody,
We are going tomorrow (spelling??) to get Gertie (short for Gertrude). After we stop by my brother’s place to exchange gifts,and admire the new addition to the family:). (FYI: they had a daughter on Wednesday, this is their second)
But I will let you what happens!!!!
~~R

[Robernson]

Well,
She’s home,fed,watered,and brushed. I will update you in the morning.
~~R

[Donn Hewes]

My Two cents – If her feet are truely long, You may not achieve the desired hoof the first time you trim her. A severely over grown hoof will take two or three trimings to get back to the desired shape. There is no reason to wait to start. As far as feeding her, just give her good quality hay free choice. There is no reason to fatten her quickly as we are not planning on eating her (I hope). She will think this free choice good quality hay is the best life a donkey ever had.

I am curious about the choice of a young donkey. Has she been driven already? Do you plan to train her your self? I think that is a big challenge, and I wish you luck, Donn

[Robernson]

Don,
She was driven at one time. The guy we bought her from said that she had a cart/harness that he got when he bought her,but sold it:(. He really wasn’t that bright in my humble opinion)
I’ll post pictures of the “creature” when I figure out how…………….
~~R

[Robernson]

oh one more question! When I walk past her to feed cows or sheep or whatever. She comes up to the fence and makes this,”wheezy,wheezy,wheezy” noise. She doesn’t bray she just wheezes until I pet her. Is this a “happy Donkey sound” or what?!?!?!?!?
~~R

[Rod]

She is just warming up her vocal cords for a good bray, a sound that brings joy to most donkey owners and irritation to neighbors.

On the feeding be aware it’s easy to let donkeys get too fat and very hard to take it off afterward.

[Robernson]

Well,
She has settled in pretty well and knows the daily routine by heart (feeding especially:D) We have already started the bad habit of “making” me pet her when I pass by:). The hoof situation will be addressed next week. Not to much phases her except for cats. Oh my god, does she love cats! She tries her hardest to try to make friends with the cats but to no avail. (for some reason the cats don’t like to be brayed at?????:confused:) That is about all that has happened so far,I’ll keep ya posted!
~~R

[Robert MoonShadow]

A couple of notes: donkeys’ hooves are trimmed differently than horses…and mules are about half-way in between (from my understanding about mules’ hooves). I’d reccomend contacting American Donkey & Mule Society for their excellent booklet on the subject – it costs about a dollar. Also, donkeys’ excess weight is often carried on the neck crest – if it’s large (or broken over), they’re too fat!
As mentioned, too rich of hay (forget the alfalfa), and they’ll founder…any weight-gain should be gradual & timothy hay is good for them.

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