Learn Why Donkeys Are Not Horses With Long Ears

March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 3 Comments

Donkeys evolved from the desert their gift is to survive on low sugar, low protein forage:

Equus asinus (Donkey) evolved in the desert regions of our world. Donkeys have been been given the gift to survive in the desert, a part of our world where very few other creatures can survive. Donkeys can survive and thrive on very low sugar, and protein diet. The donkey has one of the most efficient digestive systems seriously better than the horse helping the donkey metabolize low nutritional value shrubs and trees, grasses for survival. Donkeys digest foods much slower than the horse and this gift helps the donkey to absorb more nutrients from lower-quality forage. Drugs in donkeys are not the same as with a horse. Most vets must learn the hard way about giving far fewer drugs to a donkey as their bodies absorb drugs differently from the horse per weight and size.

Please remember donkeys are healthiest emotionally and physically when getting to live with another donkey. Never make a donkey live without another donkey in isolation. Can a horse work out? It depends, most donkeys prefer another donkey over a horse but will take any animal in lieu of being forced to live in isolation. If you decide to place your donkeys into a pasture environment with cows, horses, sheep, lama, etc. you will have to watch the diet of your donkeys as they cant eat foods the other animals eat without becoming obese. Obesity in donkeys is a life-threatening health concern as laminitis, hoof abscesses, insulin resistance, fat in the blood, and kidney failure are all due to a rich diet. Additionally, donkeys grab the neck in play with their pasture donkey buddy, and in battle, they can kill another small animal quickly.

How Do I Keep My Donkeys Happy and Healthy?

Tested low sugar/protein hay with portion control. Test hay at Equine Analytical Lab before purchasing enough hay for the year. Do not feed free-choice hay twenty-four hours a day or your donkey will become obese. No grain, oats, grazing full-time, eating brush as even brush can be high in sugar in the Pacific Northwest. Create a hot wire track (dry) but safe for exercise and enjoyment.

Use The Hay Pillow mesh size 1 1/4 inches works best.

Geld jacks as jacks (stallions) are never a safe option for the farm. Only experienced donkey breeders should be keeping a jack.

Provide excellent fences, gates, and locks. Donkeys are one of the most intelligent animals on the planet they are capable of opening gates and doors that are not secure.

Shelter, donkeys need to get out of the rain, snow, and sun.

Clean Water and warm clean water in the winter.

Salt with minerals, add selenium if your hay does not have it, and remove if hay has selenium.

Vet care is needed for a donkey; spring shots, fecal samples (spring and fall) health checkups, and dental exams once a year.

Farrier visits schedule every six weeks in the spring and summer and seven in the fall and winter to trim and balance the hooves preventing white line disorder, seedy toe, and more.

Check for lice and rain rot in the winter months and spring.

Watch my free youtube video Bringing Your Donkey Home

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

Melody Johnson

Donkey Whisperer Farm ®

Happy 2021

December 31, 2020October 10, 2021 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

On Donkey Time ® Steel Sign – Shop Now!

Here comes a new year!

Hello, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Melody Johnson, Donkey Trainer, and a coach and teacher for humans who own and care for donkeys. I teach worldwide via Donkey 101 & 102 video on demand. Donkeys are a bit different from a horse as well the donkey is super intelligent so much that the donkey usually has the owner trained before the human has the donkey trained. If you have never been around a donkey let me share my favorite quote to help you understand,“Horses dream of being trained the way a donkey demands to be trained” Melody Johnson. If you would like to see what I do for a living come on over to the Donkey Whisperer Farm ® store. 2020 is the year of sitting down and re-thinking how to keep our families and business healthy. How to adapt to our new way of life. For most of us, the pandemic created a dramatic change or shift in thinking and behavior. Jesus brings peace. “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way, prosperity will come to you.” JOB 22:21 NIV

Are you a city person or a farm person?

Living on a farm seems to be a simpler way of life in so many ways living with covid our farm is truly a blessing. For us, the Covid was not much different than our normal life. You see, we have so much to do on the farm, each day the donkeys and horses and doggies need to be fed and cared for. Last spring my husband Scott planted the seed (hay) in the field during the beginning of the pandemic. While city folks were trying to find ways to adapt we were just living our natural way of life. The sad part was we could not have visitors on the farm, we look forward to having our most fragile world return to normal.

If you are having a hard time finding anything positive in 2020 let’s think outside the box. It’s easy to get caught up in what’s wrong in our lives and miss what’s positive or going well. If you have lost a loved one in 2020, I am deeply sorry for your pain I pray GOD gives you peace. I truly understand suffering and pain and my heart breaks for your pain. Please know this too shall pass. Jesus will bring peace “Start each day in prayer, meditating on the good things in your life.” Thank Jesus for something good in your life every day, God loves all of his children deeply.

God bless you and your family two and four-legged! Melody & Scott Johnson

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

Melody Johnson, Trainer/Owner Donkey Whisperer Farm ®

What’s Behind The Barn Door

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 6 Comments

Farm life is the best life! I love our farm, and all of the animals but let me be clear this is not the life for all humans. Our farm animals require twenty-four-seven care, seven days a week no exception.

Our farm is growing low sugar & protein hay and boy does this require some work. My husband Scott is a seriously physically fit middle-aged man, he is constantly lifting heavy items for the farm, moving hand lines, building fences, lifting heavy bales of hay. Did I tell you farming is hard work?

Farms Require Work!

* Farmers work full-time seven days a week, twelve moths out of the year.

*Farmers must have another full-time job to keep the farm alive.

*Farmers do not take vacations very often.

*Farmers must have passion for the farm and the animals.

*Farmers use their personal resources as its difficult to pay someone to run the farm.

*Farmers work in hot, cold, wet, windy, mudy and freezing weather all hours of the day.

*Farmers pray! Farmers pray for sunshine, rain, wind, and for favor to keep the farm running.

*Farms with animals require the farmer to provide food, water, shelter, fences, vet care, and basic husbandry of boring choirs such as picking up poop and composting at least 2 times a day. Picking poop out of the hooves at least three times a week for donkeys, mules and horses, no hoof, no equine.

*Farms require the owner to work full-time with very few breaks or trips away from the farm.

If you can agree to all of the issues above, hurry and get your farm up and running! Congratulations you are indeed a rare human, you are a hard worker and you are a farmer.

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

Melody Johnson

Donkey Whisperer Farm ®

Small Farms Of America Are Dying

December 30, 2019March 2, 2020 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 4 Comments

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Owning a small farm is a dream come true for me and my husband Scott. As children we both have found memories of the family farms. Now that we are in our late fifties something has drastically changed, small farms are being sold for cash something most farmers would never think of doing ever.

Hay Field Plowed

Scott plowing the field fall 2019

What has changed over the last sixty years?

Big farms can sell their produce much cheaper than small farms. Customers support the big farm over the small farm by shopping in the store over and over and not thinking about the little farm down the road. Another huge issue; the new workforce does not want to work as hard as a farmer they want a desk job no more than eight hours with a half hour lunch.

In the past people started farms for the lifestyle and the freedom to work hard and earn a fair living. Today if a person wants to start a small farm, they had better have a full-time job or savings to pay for it. Why? Farming is expensive it’s not a business anymore but more of a hobby for most people new to farming. No profit is seen for up to seven or ten years. That’s a long time to not get any profit while working seven days a week, long hours and no vacation ever. Farmers rarely take a vacation as the cost is not prohibitive to leave the farm.

Please support small farms. Purchase from our store now.

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Resources: America Loves The Idea Of Family Farms

It’s Not A Hobby

December 17, 2019March 2, 2020 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

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Dreams Take Work

October 22, 2019October 22, 2019 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

Today Is The Day Stay On Donkey Time ®

October 3, 2019November 15, 2019 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

Thinking About Health Concerns of Donkeys and Mules

September 1, 2019September 3, 2019 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 2 Comments

Health Concerns of Donkeys and Mules

Working with donkeys and mules takes training to an entire new level. Donkeys have photographic memories. Mules are half horse and half donkey meaning some mules will be more like a donkey and some more like a horse. Not every mule is going to make it to the Grand Canyon. What’s the big deal? Horses are flight equine. Donkeys are seriously smart and into self-preservation. All equine have personalities just like people extroverted more go than whoa. Introverted more of a deep thinker and more whoa than go.

Dictionary:

Donkey – Equus Asinus or Ass

Three sizes

Minature

Standard or burro

Mammoth Donkey

Jack—The term used for the male of the ass species.

Jennet—Pronounced JEN-et, it is the correct term for the female of the species. The most commonly used term is jenny.

Burro—A word taken directly from Spain. It means the common, everyday working donkey found in Spain and Morocco. Many people call a wild donkey a burro in the Pacific Northwest.

Donkey sizes—Donkeys come in all shapes and sizes ranging from the Miniature Mediterranean 28 inches to Mammoth 16’2 hands. The ears of a donkey are much longer than the horse.

Mule – The mother is a horse and the dad is a donkey. Mules are Usually sterile.

Hinny – The mother is a donkey and the dad is a horse. The death rate is high when trying to breed this way.

Female mule – Also known as a Molly.

Health Concerns

Diet is number one in the U.S.A. Donkeys evolved from the desert meaning they are seriously easy keepers. The overweight donkey is prone to laminits, colic, founder, hoof problems, abscesses, fat deposits. I.E., Neck crests and breaks. Death is final all due to poor diet. Donkeys must live on a dry pasture for the majority of their day. Donkeys will eat themselves to death if given the chance. Never feed donkeys alfalfa, oats, grass full-time grazing, bread, grass clippings. A safe reward for your donkey is a bite of a carrot. A bite. Never feed apples, pears etc., to your donkey. Donkeys evolved from the desert think about what is in the desert. Donkeys are seriously Easy Keepers.

Fecal samples are a must to prevent worms. Donkeys must have vet checks and regular hoof trimming just like the horse when living in domestication.

Reproduction

Donkeys gestation is twelve to thirteen months. Vet care is a must if you think your donkey is pregnant get a vet check do not guess.

Donkeys are stoic – Meaning donkeys will never show pain until it is too late. Be sure to not wait too long to get medical attention as your donkeys life is depending on you.

Training?

The Donkey Whisperer Farm trains the owner or caretaker to train the donkey via our video training series Donkey 101 and Donkey 102. Take Melody Johnson to the farm with you via your smart device. Each training program has a written PDF to print out and take to farm with you. We train the owner or caretaker to train the donkey worldwide using resistance free methods. Select OUR STORE to purchase donkey halter/lead lines, donkey training stick and string and our Donkey Training Video Series.

Flowers In August

August 28, 2019August 28, 2019 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 4 Comments

Equine Disease Alerts

August 18, 2019August 25, 2019 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / 1 Comment

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

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

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Death With Dignity For Our Donkey, Horse or Mule

July 7, 2019July 7, 2019 / Donkey Whisperer Farm ® / Leave a comment

Living the farm life is a blessing as farms are expensive to maintain, our world has become very expensive. The life of a farmer is amazingly difficult as each day something new is left at our feet. A farmer must pray, plan and let go. Nothing is more difficult than working for a year and having the weather destroy crops or livestock.

I teach the owner or caretaker worldwide how to care for the donkey and train and maintain the donkey. Everything we do or do not do will affect the health of our livestock emotionally, physically and mentally. Here on the Donkey Whisperer Farm ® we work closely with our veterinarian and farrier to ensure our donkeys and horses are living in optimum health.

Our Life is in God’s hands, each day is fragile and precious for humans and animals.

Resources: Options To Bury The Body Of Our Beloved Horse, Donkey or Mule

Resources: Sending The Equine To Heaven

Have A Plan:

When a donkey, horse or mule dies it is very important to let the rest of the herd smell and see the equine has passed. If we do not provide closure the animals will live in emotional distress crying and looking for their pasture buddy. Even when one of our dogs pass we let the other dogs say goodbye. Its only fair.