New Donkey

Nathan Justice

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Hey guys, I have never had a donkey before.. I have had mules and horses most all of my life.. I may sound stupid asking this but I just recently bought 2 donkeys to have as guardians for my goats.. one is a miniature and the other is a standard Spanish donkey (I think that's right.. I'm not familiar with donkey types).. I've heard not to feed them grain but it's hard to keep it away from them since I feed my goats grain.. Could I feed a couple handfuls of grain and get away with that? I just don't want to make them over weight.. thanks ahead of time for the advice! It is greatly appreciated!
 

Latestarter

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From what I understand, some donkeys will get overweight from breathing high quality air. Others not so much. IMO I'd say go ahead if you want to, even if you're just using it as a treat/bribe. If they start to get overweight, then you'll have choices to make.
 

lazyjranch75428

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this is just my understanding after reading as much as I can find and Im still learning ... that they are natural foragers,desert animals and cant have a too rich of a diet...Ive had mine for 3 yrs...a standard sized female and shortly after she came here she had a baby which is going on 3 yrs and isnt quite as big as she is. During the winter I feed a scoop full of CRIMPED oats and a few big flakes of hay ...and the big scoop of crimped oats is shared between 2 donkey feeders and then they have pasture to forage on...it isnt a seeded pasture its a natural pasture with just whatever comes up...sometimes I give alil extra but I basically stick to that... I dont want to overfeed them... I once saw a bull that got into a grain bin and died he looked like a balloon...I keep the grains and hay locked up behind a gate and the grain is in a lock ring barrell behind that gate in case I ever forget to lock the gate behind me ... it happens and Ive done it but no harm was done because of the lock ring top barrells... I do this for my sheep as well. They are different from horses and cannot do the same diet Ive done ok with this so I feel like Im on the right track I only supplement their feed during the winter months... I also offer them shelter from the rain and snow donkeys coats are different they dont do rain well... they can ...but I try to do them right as I can... I also feed my sheep in a pen with a small opening to the pasture that the donkeys cant get thru .... only the sheep can get thru... its 5ft horse panels the ones with real small squares...they stand on the other side of the fence of that pen and I can see their minds working how can I get in there but the fence is tall horse panel and I set it so high its over my head.Its also a safety pen for new lambs I have alotta predators and the donkeys cant be expected to fend them all off .I built a special pen for added safety and for lambs which I call them into and close it off to the rest of the pasture at
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Beekissed

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Don't know why you couldn't make a creep feeder for the goats that the donkeys couldn't get into. Should work.
 

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