# How much human contact do a small group of donkeys need?



## Usernamerequired (9 mo ago)

My family has an 11 acre property that we visit every weekend. We have chickens and ducks in a pond that we have cared for for over 2 years. We are thinking about adding a pair of donkeys to the property but this is where there the question is. Would donkeys be happy keeping to themselves if we had two or three of them with enough room/feed/water/toys? One of us would go out there every weekend to check on them and occasionally we make an extended stay on the property. We think donkeys would be a great addition but I dont want to get them if we cant keep them happy and healthy. Thank you in advance!!


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Donkeys live in the wild without any human contact. I don't see why domestic donkeys would be any different, unless they were exceptionally friendly. You would want to be aware, however, that donkeys do not do well on rich pasture (laminitis risk), and that just like horses they really should get their feet looked at and probably trimmed regularly.

The place where I board has two very friendly donkeys. I mean, they are friendly if you're around and they think you have food. But they are perfectly happy roaming around and never interacting with people. They are a bonded pair, I guess you'd say, and they usually just hang out together and eat or play games that they invent (tag or tug-o-war). Sometimes they seek out the horses. 

Also I will say that their feet never get trimmed and that while they don't look pretty they have never had any obvious problems related to lack of trimming, despite what I said above.

In my own limited experience and from what I've read, you want two donkeys. Rather than three.

If you don't want anything out of them except that they live at your place, look into horse rescues. A lot of them have donkeys, too.


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## Usernamerequired (9 mo ago)

ACinATX said:


> Donkeys live in the wild without any human contact. I don't see why domestic donkeys would be any different, unless they were exceptionally friendly. You would want to be aware, however, that donkeys do not do well on rich pasture (laminitis risk), and that just like horses they really should get their feet looked at and probably trimmed regularly.
> 
> The place where I board has two very friendly donkeys. I mean, they are friendly if you're around and they think you have food. But they are perfectly happy roaming around and never interacting with people. They are a bonded pair, I guess you'd say, and they usually just hang out together and eat or play games that they invent (tag or tug-o-war). Sometimes they seek out the horses.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the information. That answers my question pretty well. We would definitely be able to do hoof care/dental etc. I will do some more research on how to avoid laminitis although the place we plan on keeping them is definitely not green and lush it is more of mowed wild grass with weeds and leaves as much as grass.


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## Aprilswissmiss (May 12, 2019)

If you're asking about how much social human interaction the donkeys need to be happy - they will be perfectly content without, assuming they aren't overly attached to humans in some way.

However, I (personally) would feel uncomfortable leaving them alone for five days at a time. I'd want any large livestock animal that's on a fenced and relatively small acreage to be checked on at least once a day. All it takes is one thunderstorm to down a tree, break a fence, and now have free-roaming donkeys that (depending on where you are) could get hit by cars, stolen, lost into the wilderness forever, disrupt a neighbor's property, etc... And you wouldn't know a thing about it until potentially days later. I do worry about that excessively, considering my neighbor as a kid kept and bred mini donkeys that regularly wiggled their way under the fence and one pregnant jenny did get hit by a car and killed one time. A million similar things could happen - one colics, or slices themselves open, or slips on ice - and they could go days without vet care.

You also have to consider how reliably they will have access to food and water all week. The mid-summer heat and two thirsty donkeys could empty a shallow water bucket in a couple days. This might not be a concern if they have constant access to the pond (though also have to think about if pond is drinkable water - filled to the brim with algae is certainly not ideal). As already mentioned, 11 acres of land, even if only partially grass, might have the potential to fatten +- founder a donkey. Or, if it goes the opposite way and the pasture is barren in the winter and you need to supplement with hay, then you'll need to find a system to keep hay available all week.

It could certainly work, and donkeys tend to be much less accident-prone than horses anyway. I just know that I wouldn't be able to ever sleep soundly during the week if I had to wonder if I'd come back to dead or missing donkeys. That might be a "me" problem though 😅


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

If the property has internet, you could put up a camera to check on them with your phone. 

You would need to pay extra for tame donkeys if you intend to trim their hooves. You also need to make sure they are easy to catch. If the seller catches them prior to you looking at them, that can be a warning sign that they are difficult to catch. 

Laminitis is a big risk, depending on how much that land is pasture vs woodland.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I would not house animals on a property where there is no one to watch over them for days at a time for all the reasons @Aprilswissmiss mentions.

Would they care that there aren't any people around? Nope. Is it humane to allow an animal to go without care for several days in the event that one is sick or injured? I don't think so.

And if you don't regularly interact with them, they will be impossible to catch to get their hooves trimmed and to receive regular vet care.

For all those reasons, I would say that this is a bad idea.


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