For those of us who own domesticated donkeys we understand some donkeys are diggers and some are not. Our big boy “Mammoth donkey Rio Johnson is a digger.” He started digging at the age of one when we lived on a smaller five acre farm. I study the behavior of donkeys, horses and mules extensively it is really one of my obsessive compulsive passions. We have video surveillance on our farm. I am always in the student mode when working, cleaning stalls and teaching. Thank you Jesus for giving me this passion and purpose in life.
Donkeys dig looking for roots and in desert water. Donkeys dig when bored.
Select Wild Donkeys Digging
Please never leave any halter on your horse, donkey or mule while not in 100% attendance to avoid death or self-mutilation.
Please never feed your donkey alfalfa, bread, grass clippings, and limit citrus fruit as this can cause colic. Donkeys are stoic will not show pain until it is to late. Sadly this means death for the donkey.
Donkeys have a serious diet of low sugar/protein hay testing at (10%) or lower.
Select our store.
Why did Rio dig at the other farm so much?
My theory is that he was bored and did not have a large paradise paddock track like he does today. On the former farm of five acres, he lived on a dry paddock with my first young horse and Rocket Man, our mini donkey. Rio would dig 3ft deep holes. Looking for roots and then boredom. This was a problem as he dug; he put dirt and rocks into his hooves. The dirt Rio dug up was also used to make a soft bed and keep insects off the donkey. I had pinchips down for a soft bed for him. It did not matter; Rio wanted a dirt bed as he was a Mammoth donkey with a serious mind. Donkeys also dig to find roots. The paddock on the former farm had many trees, and we removed them to create a paddock for the equine. Here on the Sequim, WA farm, we have no tree roots. Rio is happier because he has more space to move. Donkeys enjoy walking and taking a bite here and there.
Learn how to make a paradise paddock track.
Here on the Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC in Sequim, WA, we have a huge paradise paddock track for him to go out in and walk back to get water, shelter, etc. He can graze some. Let me explain. Donkeys evolved in the desert, and their diet is extreme.
GOD bless you and your family, two and four-legged!
Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC
Select OUR STORE
Thanks for sharing this about Rio. I’ve never wondered, because I didn’t even know donkeys dig. Yet, like you, I enjoy all of God’s critters and finding out about them. If I owned a donkey, which I don’t see in my future, you would be my main source of info. I’ll stick with my birds for now and enjoy hearing about your love for your big critters. Blessings.
Hello Lee,
Yes some donkeys are natural diggers. 🙂 Thank you for taking a moment to leave a note and for reading my blog. Melody
[…] Donkey owners have reported their donkeys digging holes and well like spaces in their farmstead. […]
My large standard BLM donkeys dig. They love to dig. They love to dig holes, put their toys in them and then move the toys from one hole to another. I give them mesquite branches to nibble on and when they are done, they drag them into their holes and pile them up. Sometimes they use sticks as digging tools. They have dug up some very interesting rocks, crystals, car parts, and other oddities. And yes, they love to take dirt baths in the digging. I love these donks to pieces.