Their land is a swamp now and now it's freezing. Owner doesn't want their hooves in the mess any more and is giving them to us, we're well drained and the shed is on a hill and very dry. They're UTD on shots, teeth and worming. Not on the farrier but I planned on that. They're in good weight. She just can't get them enough safe dry graze and even their current shed is on wet land. So they're coming here. Horses I've had and worked with. Donkeys, not so much. Some and I love mules. I love thinking species and body language. I have bermuda hay for the goats right now and they've always about 1/2 acre of graze and rotate on another two acres. I give the goats 12% all stock twice a day right now with a bit of alfalfa pellet, and there's a goat mineral block out there. Do I have to rig any of that so the donkeys can't get to it? I posted over on backyardherds but I'm here more often. They're a young jenny and a gelding. They're very cute and social.
Basically feed as you would a horse, but think about mini horses. We had a couple and they don't eat much or they get really fat. Bermuda Hay should be ok and other than being a little stubborn pretty much like horses. Ours were really sweet and loved to be hugged on, they led fairly well but if they decided they did not want to go, they planted feet and as small as they were it was heck to move them....LOL Sounds like they will be fine with you, I used a Treat Based Training program with mine and it worked out very well.
Nice of you to get them out of the mud. You could run into some problems with them chasing your goats off of the feed. And like lockedhearts said, they can get fat. When you get them home and their feet dried off smell them. You might have to treat for thrush. Your farrier can help with that. Have fun with them! Being social is a plus!
Most of the people that I know that have mini donks believe in just feeding them grass hay. Their digestive systems are more efficient than horses', they get fat on air! Alfalfa and grains are a bit too rich. Donkeys will develop cresty necks and fat pads on their backsides that are almost impossible to get rid of, if fed too much. Make sure your farrier knows how to trim a donkey foot. It's not difficult, they just have steeper angles than horses do. It's good that there are two of them, as donkeys usually prefer their own kind. Gotta love them longears!
Thrush I am sort of just expecting but I am going to check for it as they dry. The local horse rescue gave me the names of some farriers who handle donkeys. At last the little guys don't run too much for trimming. I think I'm going to change the barn gate arrangement so I can separate them if I give the goats their grain. I can fence off part of it just for the goats, so they can still have their pellets. The goats climb like mountain goats but the donkey's hay won't hurt them.
I feed grain to mine. They only need a small amount, but they are such efficient keepers than they need a mineral block at all times or they can develop deficiencies. Donkeys really aren't "stubborn" as people say. What they are is "set in their ways." They crave a routine and if you are absolutely consistent with them, dthey are easy to get along with. I will say that my males are escape artists. But if you are used to goats, that won't be a problem. You'll love donkeys. Long ears are the best! BTW: the American Mule and Donkey Assoc. has a lot of great info on their website about keeping them.
