What treats can I give my donkeys?
Treats
- Basic 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. ...
- You can add fruit to a bucket of water to make it more challenging to grab—think bobbing for apples, but with donkeys!
What human food can donkeys eat?
What human food can donkeys eat? Carrots, apples, bananas, pears, turnips and swedes are all safe and usually very popular with donkeys. Ensure that chopped fruit and vegetables are cut in a way that minimises the risk of choking, such as in sticks.
How to raise a donkey as a pet?
Donkey Housing And Management. When just beginning in raising donkeys the first thing you have to prepare is land and housing. Raising donkeys requires you to build a proper house for them. The housing provides the donkeys with shade from the hot sun and keeps them warm in the winter. Donkey house can be designed using wire, fencing hardware ...
What do you feed a baby donkey?
What to feed your donkeys
- Straw. We recommend feeding donkeys quality barley straw as it is high in fibre and low in sugar, and closely resembles the food that a donkey would eat in the ...
- Hay. ...
- Silage. ...
- High fibre pellets. ...
- Short chop chaff products. ...
- Dried sugar beet pulp. ...
- Succulents. ...
- Minerals and vitamins. ...
- Water. ...
- General considerations. ...
Can you feed the donkeys at the Donkey Sanctuary?
During the spring and summer the donkeys at The Donkey Sanctuary have access to restricted grazing. In addition to the restricted grazing our donkeys always have access to barley straw to ensure they are getting plenty of fibre to meet their nutritional needs.
What is the best feed to feed donkeys?
Donkeys require a diet high in fibre and low in protein, sugars, starch/carbohydrates and calories. The donkey diet should consist of mainly good quality barley straw or oat straw (barley straw is best) and carefully restricted access to grass.
What supplements do donkeys need?
Forage that is lacking in certain nutrients can be supplemented with a good forage balancer recommended by your veterinarian. Most healthy adult donkeys only really need to eat straw plus a little hay/haylage or grass and a vitamin and mineral supplement (forage balancer).
How do you keep a donkey healthy?
DONKEYS ARE DIFFERENT To provide the best standards of welfare for your donkeys and to keep them healthy you need to provide the following: 24 hour access to shelter and water. A safe, clean environment that is free of hazards. A high fibre, low sugar diet, and if there is a lot of rich grass, restrict their grazing.
What foods are toxic to donkeys?
Barley straw is a great option along with Meadow hay or seed hay. However, it's important to avoid feeding donkeys cereal grain, as they may develop gastric ulcers from these. Many other foods can be harmful to donkeys such as bread, rotting fruit, chicken feed, and horse nuts, and should all be avoided.
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 .
Why do donkeys need salt blocks?
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Is a salt lick good for donkeys?
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 mineral block is best for donkeys?
A block of salt is better than nothing at all. The best is loose (granular) salt. Donkeys, mules and horses have smoother tongues than a cow and may not actually get their needed amount of salt from a block. They may end up biting the block in an attempt to get more, which can lead to teeth and jaw or tooth problems.
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.
How do you feed a donkey a carrot?
Feeding Carrots As A Donkey TreatChopping raw carrots and placing it in their feeders.Feeding them pieces of carrot by hand.Cooking or boiling carrots and mixing it in with other treats.
What can I feed an old donkey?
To tempt fussy donkeys, carrots, bananas and apples are invaluable; however, donkeys with poor teeth may struggle with them. Grated carrots and apples are ideal, however if this is not practical mashed, tinned carrots may be used or small amounts of unsweetened apple sauce may be helpful.
How much hay should a donkey eat per day?
We know, from research conducted here at The Donkey Sanctuary, that donkeys need to eat approximately 1.5% of their own bodyweight per day in dry food. Straw contains very little water and is approximately 90% dry matter. For most average-sized donkeys this equates to roughly 2-3 kg of fibre per day.
What kind of hay do you feed 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.
Can you feed donkeys sweet feed?
We vaccinate in the spring and fall. You should never feed Longears (donkeys, or mules) any pre-mixed sweet feeds, or alfalfa products.
Do donkeys need mineral blocks?
Not Enough Minerals Salt in block form is also imperative for strong miniature donkey health and well-being.
What should I feed my donkey?
In the majority of cases this should be solely provided by straw, hay/haylage or restricted grazing plus a vitamin and mineral balancer. If your donkey has no dental problems, feed a diet of 75% straw in summer and 50% straw in winter. Make up the remainder of their diet with hay or haylage, or restricted grazing.
What to feed a donkey when it's overweight?
Restrict intake of energy-rich feeds (such as hay, haylage, or grass) if your donkey is overweight. Make sure a source of fibre (such as straw) is always available to satisfy your donkey’s need to trickle feed. See our fact sheet on feeding an overweight donkey for more information.
What to do if donkey is not getting mineral licks?
Always ensure that donkeys have access to fresh clean water and an equine specific mineral lick if not being fed a vitamin and mineral supplement/balancer. Continually assess your donkey’s body condition and make changes to their diet accordingly. If in doubt, consult your vet or contact our feeding and nutrition team.
What to feed a donkey with dental problems?
If your donkey has dental problems, replace long fibres (such as straw, haylage, and hay) with a shortchop die t instead. See our guide on feeding the donkey with dental problems for more information. Body condition score your donkey regularly. Donkeys are prone to weight gain, which can predispose them to laminitis and hyperlipaemia.
How to help a donkey lose weight?
Do not restrict your donkey’s total food intake to encourage weight loss. If your donkey needs to lose weight, feed low-calorie products in combination with exercise. Extreme dieting can put donkeys at risk of developing hyperlipaemia, a potentially fatal condition.
What to feed a person who does not gain weight?
Feed a vitamin and mineral supplement or a low energy forage balancer that does not promote weight gain
How to help a donkey with salt?
Provide free access to salt. Lick blocks are ideal as donkeys can help themselves as and when needed. Provide safe logs and branches to help satisfy your donkey’s natural browsing behaviour. See Safe Trees and Shrubs for advice on which species are suitable.
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What do donkeys eat?
Most healthy, adult donkeys only really need to eat straw plus a little hay/haylage or grass and a vitamin and mineral supplement . Straw should make up the majority of the diet, approx. 75% in the summer and 50% in the winter. Vitamin and mineral supplements may take the form of a forage balancer, or an unmolassed equine specific mineral lick.
Where can I buy donkey safe feeds?
Most horse feed merchants and agricultural suppliers will be able to source our recommended feeds for you. They may not carry them in their normal stock depending on your area but will be able to order them directly from the manufacturers or distributors.
How many feeds should my donkey get a day?
If your donkey is elderly, underweight or in foal they may need some additional feed in which case we recommend splitting the total amount per day over at least 2 feed s, and ideally more. It is important to remember that donkeys are trickle feeders and do not tolerate well large ‘bucket’ feeds and subsequent periods of no food intake. For an average donkey we don’t recommend giving more than 1 kg of supplementary feed at a time.
What size paddock does my donkey need?
Donkeys don’t need as much grazing as you might imagine, and depending on the type of pasture you have a one acre pad dock should be sufficient for two donkeys to provide year round exercise and limited grass. Grazing should be considered an addition to straw, with straw making up the bulk of the diet. Donkeys given unrestricted access to grass are highly likely to become overweight and are at an increased risk of developing laminitis due to the relatively high level of sugars in grass. If you are in any doubt about the suitability of your grazing please contact us for further advice. We can also offer free home visits all over the UK for any donkey owners or carers requiring on-site advice, which is often the best way of giving pasture management guidance .
Why are donkeys overweight?
Donkeys given unrestricted access to grass are highly likely to become overweight and are at an increased risk of developing laminitis due to the relatively high level of sugars in grass . If you are in any doubt about the suitability of your grazing please contact us for further advice.
How to keep a record of a donkey's weight?
Body condition scoring (BCS) or condition scoring (CS) is a way of assessing body fat coverage both visually and ‘hands on’. Taking heart girth measurements involves measuring the donkey’s circumference around the area where a girth would go (just behind the front legs), this measurement can be recorded and repeated to look for any change in size around the middle. Heart girth measurements can be particularly useful when used in conjunction with a height measurement as you can calculate an approximate weight from the two measurements. Keeping an objective record of your donkey’s body condition, heart girth and approximate weight every month is useful if you are monitoring their weight, or once or twice a year if their weight is stable. For more information on how to do this please see see our Monitoring your donkey's weight page.
Can a donkey graze muzzles?
Grazing muzzles also interfere with behaviours other than eating including social interactions such as grooming. There is also the potential risk of permanent damage to the teeth occurring with the use of some grazing muzzles, due to the abnormal abrasion caused from the muzzle itself. Due to these overwhelming factors we strongly advise against the use of grazing muzzles in all donkeys.
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.
Why do donkeys need to be fed?
There are many reasons to feed a donkey well. Good feeding keeps a donkey in good body condition. This makes it less prone to harness and saddle sores when working. Good nutrition can reduce the occurrence of disease, reduce the effects of disease on the donkey and help increase the rate of recovery from a disease.
What is concentrate feed for horses?
Concentrate feeds contain carbohydrates mainly in the simple form whereas roughages are high in fibre, the complex carbohydrates. Concentrate feed usually provides the donkey with the more readily accessible form of energy, which can be readily digested and absorbed in the small intestine. A donkey fed mainly on the complex carbohydrates in roughage relies mainly on the micro-organisms in the large intestine to produce the energy giving substrates in a form it can use. Donkeys and horses cannot be fed on concentrates alone. They must have some fibre in the diet to stimulate muscle contractions in the digestive tract, and to dilute the more readily fermentable simple carbohydrates. This reduces chances of colic or other digestive problems, which can occur when equids are fed high levels of concentrate feed.
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 long does it take for a donkey to change its diet?
The type of food fed determines the types and proportions of the micro-organisms in the hind-gut. It can take up to two weeks for the micro-organisms to adapt to a change in diet, and so it is very important not to change a diet too quickly. Sudden changes in diet can result in colic, diarrhea or laminitis. It is better to change a diet gradually, so as not to upset the micro-organisms and hence upset the donkey. A common time for problems in some countries is at the start of the wet season when new grass suddenly becomes available and people switch their donkeys from a crop residue based diet to a grazing regimen.
What is the best food for donkeys?
The key to successful donkey nutrition is to find high-fiber forages of low nutritional value. An ideal choice is clean straw, which in many ways is the most similar choice to feeds donkeys would find in their native environments.
What do donkeys eat?
Donkeys Eat Grass, Browse, and Forbs. Because food availability in their native settings is sparse donkeys in such environments don’t only eat grass. They happily eat browse (woody shrubs, trees, and broadleaf plants) and forbs (flowing plants) as well.
What do donkeys do when forage is limited?
Donkeys have such a strong desire to browse that they can become quite destructive when forage is limited. Providing sources of browse, such as brambles as well as tree branches and twigs, from safe tree species can give a donkey something to do and reduce destructive tendencies. Forage and Fiber.
How much do donkeys eat per day?
Typically as the amount of NDF and ADF in a hay increases crude protein level decreases, making this an ideal scenario for donkeys.Left to their own devices, donkeys have an appetite to consume between 1.3-1.8% of their body weight per day in dry matter.
What are the adaptations of donkeys?
The first adaptation is that feed passes through their digestive systems as a slower rate than it would through the tract of a horse or pony. This allows for greater digestion and absorption of nutrients.It’s a good thing if you’re consuming feeds of very low nutritional value but becomes a management challenge for owners when higher quality forages are fed.
How do donkeys conserve water?
Donkeys also conserve water by decreasing their resting metabolic rate during periods of dehydration, which decreases water needs for thermoregulation. Another key adaptation is the donkey’s ability to internally recycle nitrogen, which is something horses and ponies can’t do.
What is ADF in horses?
Acid detergent fiber (ADF, the cell wall portions consisting of cellulose and lignin; ADF relates to the animal’s ability to digest the forage) values over 45% for horses have little nutritive value and below 31% are considered excellent. However, for donkeys, with their specific adaptations for consuming high fiber forages, ...
Where are the facts sheets for donkeys?
The Donkey Sanctuary, based in the UK, has published a number of fact sheets. These are aimed at UK owners of donkeys or those considering getting a donkey in the UK. Several of these Fact Sheets are appropriate for donkeys in any country despite the differences in climate, terrain, available resources and the use of the donkey. These Fact Sheets are available below together with some that are specific to Cyprus and available in Greek. The Fact sheets provide information on common diseases, management of donkeys at different stages of their lives, dental problems, behaviour including details on mules and hinnies, feeding advice to name but a few. We are gradually developing and translating more information which will be available in the near future. For a full list of these fact sheets, please visit The Donkey Sanctuary's donkey health and welfare section of their website. If you can’t find what you are looking for, please contact us.
What is the first stage of Donkey Care?
Introduction to Donkey Care (Stage 1) covers all the core contents of our first course on donkey care, great as a reminder of what’s required or as preparation for having donkeys - available through The Donkey Sanctuary's online giftshop. Introduction to Donkey Health Care (Stage 2) includes essentials for any donkey owner, helps to set out the management practices that will help to keep your donkey as healthy as possible - available through The Donkey Sanctuary's online giftshop.
How are donkeys different from horses?
Despite being part of the equine family, donkeys are very different to horses in a lot of ways and should not be treated as small horses or ponies . Some of these differences, such as temperature, pulse, respiration, metabolism of medication, nutrition, can have a vital impact on a donkey’s health and care. If you are a donkey owner, vet or farrier and need any advice please contact us. To provide the best standards of welfare for your donkeys and to keep them healthy you need to provide the following:
