How long will it take for her to bond with us.

cwoods

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We recently got a 4 month old miniature donkey. She came from our small animal vet, so we know she came from a good environment. She won't come near us. She has had a few moments of aggression towards our Great Pyrenees puppy and baby Nigerian dwarf goats. She has warmed to the animals somewhat and is not showing the aggression towards them as much. How long will it take before she starts trusting us enough to come near her, much less touch her? Should we let her figure it out on her own or try to approach her?
 

frustratedearthmother

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I would put her in a small area where she can know that food/hay, water and comfort come from you. She will start looking forward to your visit and will begin to trust. At first you can put her feed out and stand back just far enough that she will come eat. Gradually start staying closer and closer to the feed pan until you can start touching her. If she doesn't allow touching - remove the feed and try again a little later. Four month old foals are a bit snotty and sometimes just need to be told what's best for them, lol. Good luck!
 

Bunnylady

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I assume the wooly mammoth in your avatar is the donk in question? She's a cutey!

As a lot of people find out to their chagrin, donkeys aren't just funny looking horses; a donkey brain works quite differently. Minis, being so small, can take a very different approach than standard sized animals - we may not feel so big, but we look very big to them. One thing that I have found very effective with timid minis is to "get small;" sitting or squatting on the ground near them makes me much less intimidating, and their curiosity often will get the better of them when I no longer seem a threat. "High" is a threat to them, so you don't want to put your hands over her, particularly not over or even near her head. Touching her on the shoulder or neck is considered a friendly gesture. Another piece of advice I have received from a lot of donkey people is, "pet, don't pat." I don't know why we want to pat animals, but most of us do it, and donkeys really don't like it. They also don't like to have their ears touched, though they can learn to get over that and even enjoy it once they learn to trust you.

If this donkey came from a vet, I'm sure you were told this, but donkeys, and particularly minis, have extremely efficient digestive systems. It can seem like they get fat on little more than air, and fat on a donkey is a pain! They develop big, unsightly lumps on the crest of the neck and on their backsides, and those lumps are nearly impossible to get rid of. I know an older donkey that has a fallen-over, blobby crest and great lumps like loaves of bread on her butt, but she has ribs showing much of the time, too. You want to feed only what your little gal needs, and no more; that most likely means good quality grass hay and little or no grain. You can use grain-based products as bribes to get her to come to you - I know someone whose donkeys would almost kill for a slice of bread. ;)
 

cwoods

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We've put a little grain and hay out for her and she doesn't seem very interested. She seems quite content with grass. Thank you for the advice. We'll give it a try.
 

bonbean01

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I agree with Baymule...was going to suggest the same thing. I tend to sing and have some treats on hand just in case ;)
 

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