One Big Pen?

bubba1358

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I've had my 10-year-old gelded donkey for over a year, and sheep and chickens for about 2.5 months.

I currently have them fenced off into separate yet adjacent electro-net pens (the pens share a single net line on one side), donkey in one and sheep and chickens in the other. I do this mostly because when I tried to pen them together 2 month ago, donkey tried to stomp the sheep. The sheep were very little, and had been run side by side for about a week prior. The sheep are now larger, but still relatively small lambs at 3 months old.

Given that they've been adjacent for so long (2 months), is it safe to try to pen them together? The main driver for this is actually the chickens - they are in with the sheep, and the forage is getting depleted too quickly. I need a larger area for them, mostly, and I cannot afford (nor do I have the space or charger for) increasing the amount of electro-net. I should note that donkey basically ignores wild turkeys that fly in and out of then pen. Could it be he's simply accustomed to them after a year?

Thoughts? Thanx.
 

CritterZone

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I'm surprised that the donkey took such a strong dislike to the lambs. I was pretty cautious about allowing our lambs and horses together because of the size difference. Our 6 horses seemed almost afraid of the sheep, but they do like to chase anything that wanders into their pasture (dogs, cats, cattle, deer, elk). I never allowed them together, but early this year the horses got into the sheep pasture and we ended up with an injured lamb (he was only 3 or 4 days old and we thought we might lose him). So, this summer we have had two lambs who like to exploit the area between a gate and the post it is chained to. It is difficult to get the chain tight enough to eliminate all the slop and most of the sheep don't even seem to notice. So these two lambs have been slipping into the horse pasture and eating the stuff the horses don't like. Surprisingly the horses have ignored them and the lambs have remained uninjured.

Anyhow, the point of all this is, you could try putting them all together again now that they have shared a fence line. I would leave a halter (and maybe a lead rope) on the donkey, and let down the fence. Monitor the donkeys response and be ready to intervene if he shows any aggression.

Our experience with chickens is that they are really tough on pastures. They eat or dig up any and all vegetation and there is nothing left to grow back without replanting.
 

bubba1358

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Thanks. I was surprised, too. When I first got the sheep, donkey was shaking and snorting at them. He seemed really scared.

Part of the reason for the large pen is because i rotate it every two weeks. Setting up separate pens takes longer and cuts down of the total area, leading to exactly what you mentioned - the pasture areas get eaten down either too quickly or not quickly enough. A bigger area means less overall wear per rotation.
 

bubba1358

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Is there a way to tell if donkey is "ready"? (cue Morgan Freeman's "rehabilitated? that's just a made up word....") :D

But really. Is there?
 

sawfish99

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Unfortunately, you won't know if he is ready until you try it. I would start early in the morning when you can be present all day.
 

CritterZone

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sawfish99 said:
Unfortunately, you won't know if he is ready until you try it. I would start early in the morning when you can be present all day.
Me too. If he isn't snorting at them through the fence he might be ok... If you are going to feed them together I would make sure there are plenty of piles so food aggression is less of an issue.
 

goodhors

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Nope, no way to really tell, except put them together. I would try letting
ONE sheep in with donkey, so if he attacks, you don't lose or damage all
the sheep. Some donkey's NEVER like sheep, while others make good
sheep guardians, with Jenny donkey's having a higher success rate then
male donkey's.

You might tie donkey up high, to a SOLID WOOD post, let sheep in with him, and see
what he does when they come around his feet and legs. Donkey probably
has GOOD AIM, so if kicked, the sheep could get hurt. Tied, he can't
chase and bite the sheep while you try to get them apart.

With the long-eared crowd, you just never know who will work fine,
or who HATES small animals and goes after them.

Maybe you could reduce the chickens, so there are less to tear up the ground
with your limited space, should donkey not like them either.
 

bubba1358

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CritterZone said:
Me too. If he isn't snorting at them through the fence he might be ok... If you are going to feed them together I would make sure there are plenty of piles so food aggression is less of an issue.
He's not snorting at them. He only did right at first, like day 1. Even before I had tried initially, donkey hadn't been snorting for over a week.

goodhors said:
You might tie donkey up high, to a SOLID WOOD post, let sheep in with him, and see what he does when they come around his feet and legs. Donkey probablyhas GOOD AIM, so if kicked, the sheep could get hurt. Tied, he can't chase and bite the sheep while you try to get them apart.
This is a really good idea. I have an area that needs mowed anyway, and with several large trees in it. I don't feed them, per se - they graze an area down then are moved to a new one.
 

treeclimber233

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Maybe try switching fields. Put the donkey in the sheep field and the sheep in the donkey field. He may try to protect his area from intruders (sheep). Putting him in their area will also get him used to their smell on the grass. I would only try this during daylight because the chickens are going to go back to where they are used to sleeping. Then tie him in their area and let them back into their field.
 

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