Donkey Whisperer Farm ®

Feed Straw?

April 25, 2017December 27, 2021 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 1 Comment

FEED STRAW?

Feeding straw is controversial in donkey circles, so we would like to address the pros and cons.

Upfront straw seems like a good feed for donkeys. It appears to imitate the woody, dry, chewy material that donkeys innately browse on in their natural desert environments. It is high in fiber and low in sugar and makes a good ‘nibble all day long’ feed. But, straw can be deceiving!

Straw may be low in sugar, but can test high in sugar and is traditionally HIGH in non-structural carbohydrates. These are the carbohydrates that are converted into sugar through the metabolic process. It also contains a lot of ‘lignin’ a non-digestible fiber that makes the straw shiny. This non-digestible fiber does not pass through your donkey’s digestive system easily.

Straw is also very low in moisture making it difficult for your donkey to digest and pass through the intestinal tract.

Due to these attributes, straw is known for causing chokes and colic impactions in donkeys, mules and horses.

Our experience with straw has not been positive. We realize that many people have good luck with straw, but at Donkey Whisperer Farm ® we don’t feed straw to our donkeys and don’t advocate that others do so. We feed a high quality, low sugar, protein low non-structural carbohydrate orchard grass hay and we test our hay every year to make sure the protein, sugar and NSC levels are in the low range 10% or lower.

If you choose to feed your donkey straw you must also feed hay!! Feeding only straw will not provide your donkey with the nutrition it needs and he/she will eventually suffer from malnutrition! Straw is only a between meal nibble! You must also provide plenty of fresh, clean water and the donkey must have the ability to move and exercise in order to digest the straw.

Lastly, if you choose to feed straw, even a little bit, we highly recommend you have your straw tested! Some straws are extremely high in sugar, carbohydrates and protein and will cause obesity and metabolic disorders.

In the end, you must make the choice, but from our vantage point straw is best left out of your donkey’s diet.

Provide clean water and warm clean water in the winter along with salt to prevent colic. Coic in donkeys is life threatening as donkeys are stoic and will not show pain until in most cases it is to late to call the vet.

Source

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm ®

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https://donkeywhisperer.com
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Donkeys, Mules and Horses – Parasites, resistant free WORMS

February 6, 2017February 6, 2017 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

Kidney Failure In Cats

December 18, 2016December 18, 2016 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 2 Comments

One of our two rescue kitties (black Purcilla) manx mix died two weeks ago of kidney failure she was only eight years old. We adopted two feral kitties from PAWS in 2008.

Our Anatolian puppy sat down next to her barked once to alert me something was wrong. She went into shock and then the vet had to put her to sleep. This all happened so fast. Rest in peace sweet Purcilla you had the best life we could give you.

This kitty could not go to the vet ever. She was a feral rescue and refused to be touched or held.

Lessons learned from rescuing feral kitties?

These cats will not adapt to humans in a way to enjoy being held and loved.

They will show you they appreciate your home and love.

Feral kitties will learn house rules and are smart.

Not all feral kitties should live outside. Our kitties lived indoors 100% of the time and were happy.

Feral:

A feral cat is a cat who has either never had any contact with humans or her contact with humans has diminished over time. She is fearful of people and survives on her own outdoors. A feral cat is not likely to ever become a lap cat or enjoy living indoors.

Kittens born to feral cats can be socialized at an early age and adopted into homes. Maybe!

Select Cat Kidney Failure

Rest in Peace Sweet Purcilla! Purcilla died three weeks ago it has taken me this long to talk about it on my blog. She was a feral rescue meaning she never really liked people. She loved us we know for sure, she loved our dogs too. Our kitties were indoor only kitties.

Select Foods We Should Never Feed Our Cat no ham products either.

Select Stray or Feral Cats

Here is her sister Jasmine. She is doing good but misses her sister. She sleeps with our dogs. Did you know cats can have different dads?

I have learned cats act like donkeys. Cat’s are stoic just like the donkey and will not show sickness or pain until it is too late. Purcilla was playing the night before with her toys. Rest in peace sweet Purcilla.

GOD Bless You And Your Family Two And Four-Legged!

E-mail info@donkeywhisperer.com

Around The Donkey Whisperer Farm

November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

The Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC sells donkey (mini, standard and Mammoth) donkey rope halter with a matching lead line custom made to fit your donkey. Our donkey halter is made in the U.S.A. with yacht rope to never mold, a brass screw on snap and a leather end. Training is simple now.

Select OUR STORE to order. Yacht rope will never mold. Lifetime warranty with all new halters and FREE SHIPPING in the U.S.A.

Mini donkey halter with matching lead line comes with a 6ft lead line.

Standard donkey halter with matching lead line 9ft lead line.

Mammoth donkey halter comes with a 12ft lead line.

All of our Donkey rope halters are custom made to fit the head of a donkey not a horse. If you want a longer or shorter line simply unscrew the brass snap. The brass snap is used for training the donkey too. Additionally each lead line has a leather popper on the end for touching not beating your donkey.

All of our donkey halter/lead lines come with a lifetime warranty and have free shipping in the U.S.A. You will not find quality like this anywhere else. Select Our Store to order your donkeys halter lead line. Secure store via Paypal. You do not need a Paypal account to use our store.

Shipping out of the U.S.A.?

Send us an e-mail for a quote INFO@DONKEYWHISPERER.COM

Thank you for supporting our small business!

Please never leave any halter on a donkey, horse or mule while not in attendance to avoid self-mutilation or death. We train you the owner to train the donkey to come to you. Never chase your donkey!

“Horses Dream Of Being Trained The Way A Donkey Demands To Be Trained” Melody Johnson, Trainer.

Melody teaching via skype and Dropbox worldwide. Melody teaches the owner how to train virtually worldwide! Why? Donkeys are smart not stubborn. Training the owner to train the donkey saves donkeys lives from auction, sales and slaughter. We purchased our twenty acre farm in Sequim, WA with nothing on the land. Finally after everything is competed for the donkeys and horses we are going to build a home. Living in a 5th for two years now. Our home begins in 2017, thank you Jesus.

Looking for training?

Select DONKEY TRAINING

Hubby Scott with one of our rescue donkeys wearing the Red halter/lead line.

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

https://www.youversion.com/

Thinking About Colic for Donkeys, Horses and Mules

November 12, 2016March 16, 2019 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

Do you know the signs of colic for your donkey?

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Apples and Pears

May 12, 2016October 12, 2021 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 17 Comments

Dear Friends,

Select grass clipping

Donkeys, Horses and Mules get Sick, belly aches and gas from eating too many apples! Eating too much human food can increase their risk for colic.

This is one of the most important posts I can write. I will do my best to write it in a way to educate and not offend people as the equine (donkey, horse or mule) need us humans to learn. In fact their lives depend on it!

When you drive by a farm please do not make your hot rod scare the equine as they can and do run through a fence in fear. Not to mention the vet bill for falling down and possibly breaking a leg. Please do not throw bread, apples, pears, watermelon, grass clippings, beer bottles or garbage over the fence at the farm animals.

Horses, donkeys and mules will die of colic if not treated quickly! Bread will get wrapped in their intestine and they can die.

Please never stop and feed any equine (animal) anything without the permission of the owner.

Throwing apples or any food over the fence of an equestrian farm can cause death or a huge vet bill for the owners not to mention emotional stress, tears.

We have video surveillance on the Donkey Whisperer Farm and signs stating DO NOT FEED THE HORSES AND DONKEYS and still I have to tell people not to feed my equine. This is a huge problem and one I think most people who do not own equine just do not understand. You think you are sharing love, in fact you could kill the sweet Donkey, Horse or Mule living near you.

Thank you for sharing and caring.
Melody & Scott Johnson
Donkey Whisperer Farm

WWW.DONKEYWHISPERER.COM

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Select OUR STORE

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Trainer/Owner

Donkey Whisperer Farm ®

Donkeys Evolved From The Desert, LOW SUGAR DIET

October 30, 2015 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 1 Comment

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

GOT SAFE HAY?

August 18, 2015 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

Select HOW TO TEST HAY

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Select OUR STORE

EQUINE METABOLIC SYNDROME, DONKEY, HORSE AND MULE

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

Select TEST HAY

Select Managing Cushings DIET

Select Diet and Fat Score photos

Oboe in the wind

Select Paradise Paddock

CAUSES, SIGNS, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

Select EQUINE DIET

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Select OUR STORE

Wild Donkeys Weight and Hoof Shape

October 22, 2013June 1, 2021 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 4 Comments

Friends of the Donkey Whisperer Farm,

The internet is such a wonderful tool, a way for us to learn and share information all over the world. I would like to introduce my new friend Allison Freyer she lives in California close to the Arizona border. Alison has several herds of wild standard size donkeys coming to greet her in her yard each and every night.

Please burn these photos into your memory as the hoof heel should be low and short toes to prevent seedy toe and white line a balanced hoof.

“Domesticated donkeys should not be standing up with high heels like they have high heels on. Yes the heel will be standing taller than a horse but take a look at the photos below and learn from the wild donkey hooves. The weight of the domesticated donkey is imperative to a healthy donkey, NO ribs showing and no fat on the neck.” Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm

The fat on the domesticated donkeys neck can sometimes never be removed but the diet and weight can be! We must do our best to never let our beloved domesticated donkeys become obese as obesity in our domesticated donkeys causes laminitis, founder, and hoof problems such as abscesses, white line, and more.

We must learn what the donkey hoof looks like in the wild and be sure our trimmer/farrier is doing the correct job.

Did you know most farrier schools do not teach how to trim a donkey and most trimmers refuse to work on a donkey? We the owners need to get educated to ensure our trimmer is doing the correct balanced trim, low heel and short toes. “We are paying them good money to care for our beloved equine it is time we make sure they are doing the job correctly.”

I am so grateful to Allison for sharing these photos as I know that these photos are going to help so many of us donkey owners be better at the diet and hooves being trimmed. Remember domesticated donkeys should have their hooves trimmed at least every seven weeks in most cases. Only other case would be if they are used on a regular basis as a pack animal moving their hooves over ten to fifteen miles a day.

Resources:

Safer Grass – Test your hay and ensure it is below 10% sugar, Never Feed ALFALFA hay to a donkey or easy keeper horse or mule

Pete Ramey Donkey DVD, diet, hoof care and more

Paradise paddock

Wild donkey photos courtesy of Allison Freyer

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody