Will a donkey make a great livestock guardian?
We have had donkeys since 2007 for almost two decades. I am happy to share my experiences with donkeys. Very few donkeys make great livestock guarding donkeys. Donkeys are intelligent and emotional beings that prefer to live with their own species, eat, drink, play, groom, and sleep together, grabbing the neck, biting, playing tag, and tugging with a jolly ball. Always get two donkeys geldings with gelding’s jennies with jennies (female), jacks (stallions) must become geldings. Very few donkeys make great guardian donkeys.
Why are donkeys not good livestock guardians? Donkeys evolved from the desert; their metabolism is a gift to survive on low-protein and sugar forage. Donkeys can survive where a horse would die. Think about what kind of food is in the desert; we are trying to create this for donkeys living in domestication to stay fit and healthy. Putting a donkey in with a cow, sheep, or goat will make the donkey obese.
Can donkeys live with livestock? Donkeys can kill smaller animals quickly by grabbing the neck or stomping to death. Yes and no. Donkeys need ample space, as listed above, as well as other donkeys of the same sex and size (geldings with geldings, jennies with jennies).
Miniature donkeys cannot guard anything. They need protection. Donkeys need to live on desert pastures to prevent obesity. When livestock babies are born, they must be moved away from the donkeys to avoid death by the donkey grabbing and killing the baby by the neck. I highly recommend a Great Pyrenees dog to live with your livestock. They are the best and will cost less to care for.
Donkey care is extensive; donkeys need a farrier visit every six weeks in the spring and summer and seven weeks in the fall and winter. Donkeys need vet checks at least once a year, dental teeth and gums yearly, shots in the spring, west Nile, rabies, and tetanus. Donkeys need hay tested for 10% or lower in sugar and protein with portion control. Salt with minerals, no alfalfa, grains, oats, bread, cookies, vitamins, or sweet feed. Do not let donkeys graze on rich grass or brush 24 x 7 as they will become obese and have life-threatening side effects, hoof abscesses, fat on the neck, fat pockets, fat in the blood, laminitis, insulin resistance, and white line disease of the hoof. Donkeys need shelter, clean water, and warmth in the winter, and some donkeys need a blanket in the winter as they cannot handle the cold, as well as a horse. Donkeys need exercise, create a hot wire track if you do not live in the desert as the track will turn to dirt or have very little grass on it. https://blog.donkeywhisperer.com/what-a-donkey-needs/
Here is my free video, Bringing Your Donkey Home. How do I exercise my donkey?
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