# Brood... DOnkey?



## rocky pony (Oct 5, 2007)

I'm sure that some experienced breeders will come and offer great advice, but in the meantime, read, read, read! Read up online as much as possible about how to properly care and provide for the pregnant jenny and eventually the newborn foal. Also about common complications that can happen during birth, so that you can know if you need to intervene (if you are one of the lucky few who gets to actually watch the event, I imagine donkeys are likely similar to horses in that they try to sneak and do it when nobody is looking).

Do you know anybody in person who is experienced in any type of equids' birth and foal care who might be willing to help you? Also maybe see if any trainers in your area might be willing to help you along the way with things like halter training and such as he grows up. I'm not sure if just any trainer would work on donkeys since they are pretty different from horses...I'm sure someone else will know about that.


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## SunnyDraco (Dec 8, 2011)

Do you have any experience with donkeys? They are not as forgiving as horses and are more unpredictable when it comes to new foals. Some donkeys are known to attack a newborn as though it is a threat (usually a pasture mate who attacks the foal, not the mother)

Do you know when the jenny was bred? Donkeys carry for about 13 months (longer gestation than horses). If you don't have any experience with foaling, study everything you can to know what to watch for as signs of trouble and have a vet ready on speed dial (when problems happen during foaling, it is a life and death situation for mother and/or foal). Make sure you have a really good relationship with a good reliable vet so they will help you every step of the way. 

You need good safe fencing for a foal, as foals will test fences, lay down next to them, lean on them or run into a fence when panicked or not paying attention. You need good locks on your gates as donkeys are really good at undoing latches. 

As far as teaching manners, you teach a foal the same way you would an adult. But if you don't know how to properly train/teach a donkey, you may be headed into a crash course with an unknown outcome. If you don't want a donkey to do something, you don't let it do that same thing as a foal. That is how foals learn, short quick lessons in behavior from their mother and pasture mates as to how to behave. Foals have the attention span of a toddler, anything longer than a few minutes becomes a negative experience and behavior discipline has to be simple and at the moment the bad behavior started (you will notice that this is how the jenny will discipline the foal)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## dawnandduke2002 (Sep 28, 2015)

*Donkeys and Horses*

I live in nebraska and theres like no trainers around me... I live in a super small town. Thanks for the advice! I have a gelding and should I separate the other jenny and my gelding from the mother and foal for a bit before letting them be together? I'll probably read up on the topic.....


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## SunnyDraco (Dec 8, 2011)

dawnandduke2002 said:


> I live in nebraska and theres like no trainers around me... I live in a super small town. Thanks for the advice! I have a gelding and should I separate the other jenny and my gelding from the mother and foal for a bit before letting them be together? I'll probably read up on the topic.....


Separate by a fence when she is close, you don't want to isolate. She needs to be comfortable and be able to see and touch noses with her buddies but at the same time make sure the foal is safe. Watch as many training videos on donkeys as you can, just make sure you aren't watching some backyard know-it-all that is actually making a mess of training attempts (just as there are many foaling videos where the people interfere when they shouldn't as they are basically impatient and want to pull the foal instead of letting the mare do the work, causing stress and problems by their "assistance")


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

Look up Meredith Hodges. She is one of the top mule and donkey trainers out there!

Here is her website
Mule, Donkey & Horse Training with Meredith Hodges | Lucky Three Ranch


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## Mulefeather (Feb 22, 2014)

I'm jealous!  

If the jennet is handleable and friendly, you'll have an easy time of it. Baby donkeys are WONDERFUL and will entertain you for hours with their antics. They're also very people-friendly and as soon as they learn you mean scratches, kisses and hugs, you'll have to run away from them to take pictures because they'll follow you otherwise. 

You can start the baby out being handled and led alongside his mom. Pick up all 4 feet, tap them with a hoof pick, brush him- all things you can do right away. Handle his ears gently and get him used to being touched all over. I have the DVD "Training Donkeys" by the late trainer Crystal Ward, and it's a great introduction to how donkeys think and learn. 

Their natural reaction is to set back when they feel pressure- they have to be taught to give to it. 

Donkeys are also a lot less explosive in their reactions than horses, so training them isn't as fraught with anxiety in my opinion. A foal might explode when he feels pressure and can't figure out how to release from it, a donkey foal is going to freeze. 

That's the other thing you may encounter- donkey foals can get overwhelmed sometimes and will literally freeze stock still. In that case it's best to just be calm and wait for them to figure out what's going on. 

There are a LOT of donkey folks out there who love to help. Try looking on Facebook for donkey training groups!


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

I adore donkeys! So easy and enjoyable.

Then I got horses and had to relearn everything. *sigh*


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