What do you feed a donkey?
Consider feeding your donkey chaff, a mixture of chopped up hay and/or straw. There are many types of chaff on the market. These contain variable amounts of chopped rye, timothy or alfalfa grasses and oat straw. Some have added oil, molasses, minerals, herbs or hoof growth supplements whilst others are high fibre and molasses free.
How long are donkeys pregnant?
A jenny is pregnant for anything between 10 and 14 months. It is important to state that if the foal is born at 10 months, they are not deemed premature. For most of the gestation period, it is very difficult to know when a donkey is pregnant or not. What happens when a donkey gives birth?
How to feed a donkey grass pellets?
For this purpose, it is recommended that you feed your donkey grass pellets that contain about 5% of its bodyweight. The best way to feed a donkey is to offer it high-quality hay.
How do you take care of a baby donkey?
Donkeys exposed to sunlight for at least three hours a day can produce their own vitamin D, which is essential for proper bone development The foal should be kept in a warm, dry place, and sheltered from the wind. A clean, loose box with clean bedding is ideal.
What do you feed a nursing donkey?
Offer the donkey hay or prepared horse feeds, with a small amount of grain or pasture grass. Cut out the grain when the foal is no longer a baby. Provide both mother and foal with fresh, clean water at all times. Give the donkeys access to a salt lick and loose equine minerals at all times.
What is the best donkey feed?
Top donkey feeds:Straw. Barley straw is an ideal feed for your donkey. This is because donkeys need high fibre diets with a low amount of protein and carbohydrates. ... Hay and grass. The remainder of your donkey's diet (25-50 per cent) should be grazing on grass, hay or haylage.
How do you know when a donkey is about to give birth?
Signs of foaling The udder will swell and subside for as long as four weeks before finally increasing in size, to the stage where the teats and udder are swollen and the udder is almost indistinguishable from the teats. In the last 72 hours milk usually starts to run.
What kind of milk do you feed a baby donkey?
ColostrumColostrum. Colostrum must be given within the first 12 hours of life; the first feed should be within 2-3 hours of birth. The recommended amount is 250 ml every hour for the first six hours, making a total of 1.5 litres.
What should you not feed a donkey?
Avoid dusty or mouldy feeds. Access to an equine salt or mineral lick is advisable (avoid mineral licks designed for other types of livestock as they may contain inappropriate mineral levels).
How much food does a donkey eat per day?
Research has shown that on average a donkey will eat approximately 1.3 – 1.8% dry matter of its bodyweight per day. For a 180kg, or around 10hh donkey, this equates to 2-3kg dry matter per day.
Can you worm a pregnant donkey?
Worming At Foaling Mum should then be wormed 6-12 weeks later depending on products used. But remember, no worming program is complete without proper pasture management. The strategies below can drastically reduce the number of parasites on your property – again safeguarding your foal from their damaging affects.
What is a newborn donkey called?
Foal: A foal is a baby male or female donkey up to one year old. Gelding: A castrated male donkey. Mare: A female donkey.
Can you milk donkeys?
Compared with milk from other dairy animals like cows, goats, sheep, buffalo, and camels, donkey milk most closely resembles human breast milk. In fact, it was first used in the 19th century to feed orphaned infants (3). Donkey farming is becoming more popular. However, most farms are small with 5–30 milking jennies.
What do you do after a donkey gives birth?
Young Donkey CareDry the baby with clean towels right after birth. ... Dip the baby donkey's umbilical stump into a five percent iodine solution as soon as possible after the cord breaks. ... Watch the baby until he stands and starts nursing. ... Pay attention to the foal's bowel movements.More items...
How long can foals go without milk?
It's an emergency if: the foal has not stood within two hours and nursed within three to five hours. Failure to do these things may indicate a problem that requires urgent medical care. And time is critical because he needs to ingest colostrum within the first six to eight hours of birth.
How long does it take a donkey to give birth?
11 – 14 monthsDonkey / Gestation period
How do I get my donkey to gain weight?
Fibre pellets, unmolassed beet pulp and/or unmolassed chopped fibre (chaff) products can all be fed to encourage weight gain. Alfalfa, in short chop or pellet form, can be a useful addition to the diet as long as the donkey has good teeth and is not suffering from liver or kidney problems.
Is alfalfa 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 mineral blocks?
Not Enough Minerals Salt in block form is also imperative for strong miniature donkey health and well-being.
How much beet pulp should I feed my donkey?
*Standards or minis also get soaked beet pulp (no molasses!) if they are looking a little thin or they are working. About 1/2 cup per 100 pounds. Rescue donkeys that are underweight will need additional foods, and so do pregnant jennets.
What to feed donkeys in winter?
If you plan to feed your donkeys hay during the winter months, ensure you have enough forage in store to see you through the winter as supplies could run out before the winter is over. Never feed donkeys mouldy hay as they may have potentially fatal allergies to the mould. It is best to try and build up a good relationship with your hay supplier to make sure you have a consistent supply of good, clean hay suitable for feeding to your donkeys. Different types of hay available include:
What do donkeys eat?
In their natural habitat donkeys will browse, eating highly fibrous plant material in small quantities throughout the day. During the spring and summer the donkeys at The Donkey Sanctuary have access to restricted grazing.
Why do donkeys eat straw?
Constant access to straw allows a donkey to eat to appetite without consuming too many calories. Too many additional calories adds a risk that the donkey could put on excess weight, which has associated risks of developing health conditions such as laminitis and hyperlipaemia.
How do donkeys control grass?
The amount of grass donkeys have access to is controlled, either by strip grazing using electric fencing or by co-grazing with other species to prevent them from becoming overweight. During the winter months some of our donkeys are housed in large airy barns with concrete run-out yards, without access to grass.
What is the best grass for donkeys?
Meadow Hay is a natural mix of grasses made from grass grown on old pasture and is suitable for feeding to donkeys. Seed Hay is also good for donkeys. It is a planted crop of specific grasses, such as rye or timothy, which the farmer makes from the stems remaining after the grain has been taken.
When is the best time to cut hay for donkeys?
Weather conditions tend to influence the cutting season - late May to July. Remember late cut hay will have lower energy values, which may suit your donkeys if they are overweight and require forage with a lower energy content, but not if they are elderly/underweight donkeys that need feeding up.
Can donkeys eat wheat straw?
Wheat straw is very fibrous and has lower energy values, but may be fed to young healthy donkeys with a good set of teeth. Linseed straw is best avoided since the seed is poisonous to donkeys unless it has been boiled, and it is very difficult to ensure that no seed is present in the straw.
What does a donkey eat?
The donkey is a herbivore. This means that it eats plants as food. The food provides the energy, protein, minerals and vitamins which the donkey needs for maintenance, for work, for growth, and when appropriate for pregnancy and lactation.
How much do donkeys eat?
It will then eat about 2.5 kg of dry matter in a day per 100 kg live weight. A donkey allowed access to grazing at will, will spend about 60% of the day in feeding.
How does a donkey get energy?
Energy is available to the donkey in several different forms. It is supplied in the food as carbohydrate, fat or protein. It is also available from the body reserves of glycogen in the muscles and liver or from fat in the adipose tissue throughout the body. Providing energy from food protein is wasteful. Many working donkeys are in lean condition and so have few body reserves to call on. The main supply of energy to a working animal is therefore the carbohydrate and fat in the diet. Carbohydrate is in two forms:#N#(a) simple carbohydrates, which are broken down to glucose which is absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream and#N#(b) complex carbohydrates found in fibrous plant material, which are fermented by the microorganisms in the large intestine to produce volatile fatty acids absorbed through the gut wall into the bloodstream.
How does a donkey regulate its temperature?
One way the donkey regulates its body temperature is by reducing the metabolic heat produced during feeding. Rate of passage of digesta through the intestine can also slow down when the donkey is hot, further reducing food intake.
How to meet water requirements for donkeys?
The best advice that can be given on how to meet water requirements is - offer water to the donkey at every opportunity and at least 4 times a day, more if it is working in the heat. Contrary to popular belief a donkey, and a horse, does not suffer from water toxicity. Both species can drink large amounts of water in one go without suffering any ill effects. A donkey deprived of water is very good at drinking to its requirements. In a study in Zimbabwe donkeys drinking only every 48 hours, drank the same amount over a three-week period as donkeys allowed to drink as much as they wanted daily. Working donkeys can also be watered during work in the day with no harm. In any short rest periods it is important to make sure the donkey is in the shade and to offer it water. It may not drink straight away so let the donkey spend some time at the trough or with the water bucket (at least 5 minutes) to see if it will drink. When it starts drinking it may pause in drinking and look about, make sure it is allowed to continue until it has finished and turns away of its own accord.
How much time do donkeys spend feeding?
In natural conditions a donkey would spend 14 - 16 hours a day in feeding. It is important that donkeys kept on grazing land have time to eat. Work in particular takes the donkey away from feeding. The more work it does the less time there is for feeding, but the more food is needed to meet the increased energy requirement. A working donkey therefore needs more concentrated feeds than one that is not working. Donkeys are more susceptible to the time available for eating than cattle. Cattle increase rate of eating if they have been working, donkeys do not, since the initial chewing is more important in processing the food in the donkey than in the ox (a ruminant).
What is the digestive system of a donkey?
It consists of the mouth (lips and teeth), the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine (cecum and colon) and the rectum.
How to tell if a donkey is foaling?
Signs of foaling. Usually the birth of a donkey foal is a relatively quick process, so it is essential to be prepared in advance. As donkey foaling approaches, the mare will become more solitary. The udder will swell and subside for as long as four weeks before finally increasing in size, to the stage where the teats and udder are swollen and ...
What is a donkey sanctuary?
The Donkey Sanctuary offers information for donkey owners seeking advice on donkey foaling. However, before deciding to breed from your donkey, please consider the number of donkeys taken into care by welfare organisations.
How long does it take for a donkey to foal?
Donkey foaling usually takes around 40 minutes, from the first signs to the point where the foal is free from the mare. Like most animals, donkey foals are usually born at night. Normal presentation is a 'diving' position with the head between the forelegs.
How old do you have to be to care for an orphaned foal?
There are many reasons why a foal might become orphaned, but alternative means of caring for an orphaned foal must be found until the foal reaches at least five months of age. Finding a nurse mare has many advantages, but they are rarely available.
Can you use milk replacer on calf?
Calf milk replacers are not recommended as they are a poor source of protein and often contain antibiotics. Human formulae should also be avoided, as they are not well tolerated by the foal’s digestive system. Poor milk replacers can also cause stunted growth.
Can you milk a foal with milk replacer?
Milking a mare is also very time-consuming, and not possible if the foal has been orphaned.
Introduction
Feeding Strategy of The Donkey
- To feed a donkey well does not require a large amount of money or feed, it is easier to feed a working donkey well than for example a working ox. The donkey is smaller and so needs less actual feed than most cattle. However, the way in which the donkey processes the food and what it gets from it are different from an ox. It is important to remember this when feeding donkeys - t…
The Digestive Tract
- The anatomy of the digestive system of the donkey is similar to that of the horse (Figure 1). It consists of the mouth (lips and teeth), the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine (cecum and colon) and the rectum.
Foods Available
- Most donkeys are fed on roughages for most of their life, supplemented with grazing of natural grassland, roadsides, bush and scrubland if they are kept in the rural areas. Many working donkeys are found in urban and peri-urban areas of the world where opportunities for grazing are few and people feed their animals entirely on purchased feeds. In t...
Guidelines to Feeding Donkeys For Different Activities
- These are guidelines, since the exact amounts and proportions will be affected by how much production is expected from the donkey, its body condition and the food available. A thin donkey has few body reserves of energy, whereas a donkey in good condition does have something in reserve for a short period. Table 1shows how to assess the feeding value of roughage in terms …
Conclusions
- The final test of a ration is to try feeding it to some donkeys and see if it is palatable, maintains weight and keeps the animals healthy. Feed a range of feedstuffs - if possible a mixture of dry forage, green forage and some concentrate - and then you can rarely go wrong. Feed the young donkey on the best possible feeds available, good quality roughage and high protein, energy con…
General Textbooks on Equine Nutrition
- 1. Allison K, Day C. A Guide to Equine Nutrition. UK: JA Allen Ltd, 1995. 2. Cuddeford D. Equine Nutrition. UK: The Crowood Press, 1997. - Available from amazon.com- 3. Frape D. Equine Nutrition and Feeding. UK: Blackwell Sciences, 1998. - Available from amazon.com- 4. Kohnke J, Kelleher F and Trevor-Jones P. Feeding Horses in Australia. A Guide for Horse Owners and Man…