Not only does the donkey require regular medical and hoof care, you need to be safe when moving among your stock and handling the donkey.ĭonkeys can be used in pasture settings when other forms of predator control are used, such as poisons or traps. However, if you are not familiar with equines, you should enlist the help of an experienced person to help you select your donkey and teach you to care for it. If you are comfortable with horses and horse care, a donkey is not very different to feed, care for, and handle. Unlike dogs, donkeys don’t roam, dig, or bark.
They are also relatively inexpensive, although experienced guard donkeys will cost more.ĭonkeys generally have a calm temperament and pose little threat to neighbors or farm visitors. Donkeys will also drink more water than sheep or goats.ĭonkeys respect the same fencing as sheep, goats, or calves, although donkeys will chew on wooden fences or posts.ĭonkeys are extremely long-lived, with a life span of thirty years or more. Donkeys also need trace mineral salt, not the white salt eaten by sheep or goat. Do not give donkeys access to Rumensin, urea or other feeds and supplements only intended for ruminants. They definitely need shelter from rain and snow. Donkeys are natives of desert areas and lack the protective undercoat of horses.
Unlike a livestock guard dog, donkey will have similar maintenance and feeding requirements with its pasture mates, although they may need a taller shelter. Experienced owners strongly suggest you do not attempt to stop a donkey that is charging or attacking and that afterwards, you allow the donkey to calm down before approaching it. They may slash out with their hooves or turn and kick the predator. If they confront the predator, they will attempt to bite at the neck, back, chest or buttocks. They will charge the threat and attempt to chase it away. Donkeys can protect against a single fox, coyote, roaming dog and possibly a bobcat.ĭonkeys who do attack a predator will be very aggressive, using their teeth and hooves. Often the sheep or goats come to see the larger donkey as protective and will gather near it if they perceive a threat. Donkeys make acceptable guardians of sheep, goats and calves. Donkeys are not purposefully protective of stock but are either reacting to a threat in their territory or behaving as a maternal jenny. If the donkey brays loudly at threats, this may discourage predators as well.ĭonkeys are naturally aggressive to canines and this behavior will extend itself to their pasture mates. They also tend to be less spooky or flighty and more likely to stand their ground than horses. They are an especially alert grazing animal with very good hearing and a wider field of vision than horses. Donkeys do tend to become territorial although they do not patrol their area. Successful guard donkey users advise that you create a small corral for the donkey in the sheep pen where they can all become acquainted with each other over time before placing them together in a pasture situation. While donkeys are less social than llamas, over several weeks they will generally come to associate with your other animals. A three-year-old donkey will have outgrown much of his youthful playfulness. A young donkey may also attempt to play with its companions, which will become a serious problem when the donkey is eventually much bigger than its pasture mates. A young donkey or a weanling may bond well with stock but will not be able to defend himself or others until it is older. A foal raised in this way should make an excellent guardian itself when it is grown. A single donkey is more likely to socialize with your other animals, although some owners use a jenny with a foal. Intact males can exhibit aggressive behavior toward other stock and may be much more difficult to handle. Larger donkeys, such as Spanish Jacks or Mammoth Jacks, are horse-sized.īoth gelded males and female donkeys, or jennies, are suitable as guardians. Standard-sized donkeys tend to weigh 400 to 500 pounds and stand 36 to 48 inches at the withers. It is not appropriate to use a miniature donkey as a guardian against dogs or coyotes since he would be so vulnerable himself. A donkey chosen as a guardian should be standard-sized or larger. Although used less commonly than dogs or llamas, here is one more possibility: a guard donkey. In search of a livestock guardian, we have looked at both traditional livestock guard dogs and guard llamas.