A donkey should eat forage that is high in protein and low in sugar. In winter, donkeys need a high-quality diet with a large variety of forage. A donkey should be provided with a small portion of fruit and vegetables every day.
What treats can I give my donkeys?
Six Homemade Mini Donkey Treats from the Heart
- Popgrain Balls. Our first yummy treat for mini donkeys is these Popgrain balls. ...
- Flax Snax. The sweetness of these Flax Snax can be attributed to ingredients like molasses, cinnamon, and coconut oil.
- Apple and Carrot Treats. ...
- No-Bake Cookies. ...
- Carrot Treats. ...
- Ultimate Donkey Cookie. ...
- Conclusion. ...
What should you feed your donkeys?
- Hay
- Straw
- Minerals and Vitamins
- Short chop chaff products
- High Fibre Pellets
- Fruits and Vegetables
- Dried Sugar Beet Pulp
- Don’t forget – Your donkey needs plenty of fresh water!
What is the best grain for donkeys?
What should I feed my donkey?
- Basic rules of feeding a donkey. Feed little and often as donkeys are ‘trickle feeders’. ...
- High fibre requirement. Donkeys require a diet high in fibre and low in protein, sugars, starch/carbohydrates and calories. ...
- Common health problems associated with an inappropriate diet. ...
- General. ...
- Elderly donkeys. ...
What should I Feed my donkey?
- Limited grazing (if available)
- No straw or hay
- UK: 2.25-3kg MolliChaff Donkey fed free-choice or several times a day, 0.5kg Saracen Donkey Diet, soaked and split into two feeds per day and 150g TopSpec Comprehensive Balancer per day. ...
- USA: 2.25-3kg Triple Crown Safe Starch Forage per day, fed free-choice or split into three or four feeds per day. ...
What do donkeys eat during winter?
In winter months, when it is cold and the grass is either sparse or covered with snow, you will need to feed your donkeys good quality hay. Be sure to create a solid relationship with the hay supplier and make sure they are able to supply you with the same quality hay all winter season.
Should donkeys eat hay or straw?
Straw should make up the majority of most donkeys' diets, with grazing and hay or haylage being considered a top-up only. Feeding a donkey on grass and hay without providing any straw will end up over-supplying them with calories and energy, causing them to store the excess calories as fat.
What should you not feed donkeys?
Avoid feeding potatoes, anything from the brassica family, onions, leeks, garlic, stoned fruit and anything which is old, fermented or mouldy as these are toxic to donkeys. Carrots, apples, bananas, pears, turnips and swedes are all safe and usually very popular with donkeys.
What is the best thing to feed donkeys?
The donkey diet should consist of mainly good quality barley straw or oat straw (barley straw is best) and carefully restricted access to grass. Donkeys may require supplemental hay if they are not maintaining good body condition with the straw and restricted grass diet (for e.g. during the winter months).
What is the best bedding for donkeys?
Barley strawBarley straw is the preferred bedding for healthy donkeys. Barley straw is lower in feed value than oat straw, but higher than wheat straw. It is comfortable for the donkeys to lie on and drains reasonably well.
Is alfalfa hay good for donkeys?
Straw is also far lower in protein than a typical grass hay and, certainly, donkeys should not be fed alfalfa due to its significantly higher protein content .
Do donkeys need salt blocks?
Donkeys need salt and, if suffering from a salt deficiency, they may eat dirt or lick/chew objects. To avoid this, pour some loose salt into a separate container to other food or give a little at night. You can also buy equine salt lick blocks, but make sure you do not buy a cattle salt block by mistake.
What is toxic to donkeys?
Non-medicated cow, goat, and bird foods are not good for your donkeys, and medicated feeds can be fatal! Medicated food for many other animals at sanctuaries contain Rumensin or Bovatec and other ionophores (antibiotics) to control disease. However, ionophores are EXTREMELY toxic to equines.
What is barley straw for donkeys?
Barley straw is the best all-rounder for most healthy donkeys, as it makes a good feeding and bedding straw and is readily available. Wheat straw is more fibrous than barley straw and more difficult to chew. We would usually only recommend feeding it to younger donkeys for this reason.
How much grain should I feed my donkey?
An average sized (175 kg) healthy, adult donkey needs 2-3 kg of fibrous food per day to satisfy their appetite. In the majority of cases this should be solely provided by straw, hay/haylage or restricted grazing plus a vitamin and mineral balancer.
Can donkeys eat rolled oats?
Youngsters under the age of two and older donkeys that are more than 20-years-old have been found to do well on rolled oats or a 50 per cent rolled oat and 50 per cent rolled barley mix. Adult donkeys over the age of two years do well on good quality, clean whole oats.
What do donkeys eat for treats?
TreatsBasic treats like carrots, apples, peppermints, bananas, watermelon, oranges, pears, grapes, celery, strawberries, and pumpkin are all safe for donkeys. ... Donkeys like sweet flavors, like raspberry.More items...
What kind of hay can donkeys eat?
Good grass hay is adequate for donkeys. Legume hay such as alfalfa is not recommended for the same reason that lush pasture is not good for donkeys. The digestibility is very high as is the energy and nutrient content.
How much hay should I feed my donkey?
In terms of how much straw to feed your donkey, it needs to eat about 1.3–2 per cent of its body weight. Straw should be the main source of feed in the summer, making up approximately 75 per cent of all feed, and in the winter straw should be 50 per cent of a donkey's feed.
Is rye straw good for donkeys?
You may also occasionally hear about rye straw, but I am not going to talk about it much because it is not suitable to feed to donkeys because it is very high in carbohydrates. Similarly, peanut hay, sorghum hay, and triticale hay are all generally too high in sugar to be good choices for donkeys.
How much hay does a donkey need per day?
Many donkeys do. These are signs of an overweight donkey and in this case you need to feed them slightly less than a maintenance amount of hay so that they will lose the extra weight slowly. Feed them roughly 3-5 lbs of hay per day each – roughly!
How to keep donkeys warm in winter
Before I start, something to be aware of. If you have healthy donkeys that have acclimatised to cold conditions, they will not need pampering and can be kept outdoors on most days in the winter.
Keeping donkeys in winter
Take extra special care of your donkey in the cold winter months. As you will know, you can’t keep them indoors all the time, as they need space to move around, and exercise which is vital for their health.
Conclusion
Donkeys are relatively hardy creatures, but they do need to be kept warm in the winter. With a mix of the right food, shelter, and care, they will adapt to most winter conditions.
Can donkeys be on pasture?
Donkeys on pasture can be a problem IF your pasture is rich thick grasses high in sugars and proteins. Mine is not. Here is a video showing everyone what I mean when I say I don’t have good grass. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
Do jennets need salt?
A pasture of geldings or non-bred jennets typically only needs low sugar grass hay or forage, a salt and mineral. For years, that’s all my standards needed. They always have healthy and shiny coats. They grew good hooves and did great on that simple diet.
Can you feed a donkey?
Donkey feeding and care will vary depending on the individual and what you are doing with your donkeys. A donkey that sits in the pasture all day will not need the same amounts of feed as a donkey that has a job .
Do donkeys need hay?
A donkey that sits in the pasture all day will not need the same amounts of feed as a donkey that has a job. Larger working donkeys may need supplements. Pregnant donkeys may need extra nutrients too. A pasture of geldings or non-bred jennets typically only needs low sugar grass hay or forage, a salt and mineral.
What do you need to know about winter care for donkeys?
Winter care is about helping your donkey to cope with lower temperatures and to stay healthy during bad weather.
How to keep donkeys warm in winter?
Order your winter forage and bedding in plenty of time and keep an extra supply in case of bad weather. Stock up on road salt for gritting areas of hardstanding in icy conditions. Electrical lighting in your donkeys' shelter or stable is really useful as the morning and evenings get darker. Access to warm water will be needed as most donkeys will ...
Why do donkeys get mud fever?
Rain scald (also known as dermatophilosis) and mud fever are more prevalent during the winter months, particularly if your donkeys do not have access to shelter and hardstanding area . These conditions occur when the skin/hair is wet for a long period of time.
How to care for a donkey?
Make sure you have a clean rug ready if your donkeys are likely to need them. Make sure their vaccinations are up to date. Schedule a visit from the farrier to check their feet. Keep up to date with dental checks.
Do donkeys need to be kept off muddy fields?
Bedding in stables and shelters should be kept clean and dry and donkeys should be kept off muddy fields. If your gateways become muddy during winter, but the paddocks are still suitable for grazing, then ordering some non- poisonous barkchip at the beginning of the winter months will ensure you have some to put in muddy gateways to help keep ...
Can you brush a donkey's coat?
Do not brush your don key if their coat is wet. Brushing while wet will move water and dirt onto the skin and could make them cold. Have a spare rug in case one gets wet or damaged. Damaged rugs can be dangerous and should be repaired as soon as possible.
Do donkeys need a rug?
If your donkey is young and healthy and has constant access to shelter, they are unlikely to need a winter rug as their coat will naturally thicken as winter approaches. If your donkey is elderly, sick or in poor condition, they will find it harder to maintain body heat.
Can donkeys eat cereal?
Donkeys, on the other hand, don’t need this kind of supplementation. In fact, cereal grains should never be fed to a donkey; a donkey’s increased metabolism of energy and protein makes cereal grains completely off-limits.
Can donkeys get laminitis?
It also means that if a donkey is let loose in a lush pasture, he’s more likely to put on too much weight. (And yes, overweight donkeys can develop laminitis.) Ideally, a donkey’s year-round diet should include more mature hay than grass, to help keep his condition in check.
Is a donkey a pet?
Donkeys are growing in popularity as pets, even here in Kentucky, home of the Horse Capital of the World! Because donkeys look so similar to ponies, their owners may think Hallway Feeds is a good option to ensure they get all the nutrition they need. However, donkeys and ponies are very different—with different digestive systems, ...
Is a donkey a browser?
For example, ponies are grazers, and they can meet a lot of their nutritional needs out in the pasture. Donkeys, however, are both grazers and browsers.
Can a donkey have a ration balancer?
A product like Hallway Feeds Pure & Simple Balancer can support a healthy digestive tract and has the protein, vitamins, and minerals that many equines need to ensure overall health. Note , though, that a donkey would be fed a balancer at a much lower rate than a pony. Consult your vet for appropriate advice.
