Feeding my new mini donkey

[dmkrieg]

Hello,

I am buying my new little mini donkey. I just love him. He will be weaned and home on the 15th of December. Some people have said to just feed them hay and that is sufficient, but I heard the same thing with the minis. But I would never just feed my mini horses hay only. Do you feed a supplement??? Here is my thinking, there are people that just take care of the animals and do the bare minimum but then there are people that take care of their animals well and go the extra mile to make sure their animals have the right balance in their diets for a long happy life. I want to make sure that my donkey gets the same extra care as my minis get.

Please tell me what you feed your donkeys?

 

[FlatCreekFarm]

Here is what I've been doing for my two 6 month old mini donks since receiving some great advice here on this forum

I give them 1.5 to 2 cups total (each) per day of Nutrena (or Kent, whichever of the two I can find locally) YOUTH equine feed ~ never more than 2 cups each though per day. It is somewhat high in protein for donks but they really seem to do well on it, and because they're still babies (really), it makes sense they would need more than just hay. Mine also get a small amount (very small) of sweet feed once a day for treats. I also have a salt block, and a mineral block available to them, and plenty of hay (timothy mix). They seem to be doing great on this, seem happy, healthy and satisfied.

I was worried about my babies too, and didn't think I was doing things quite "right" but found so much helpful info on this forum. You have come to the right place. Bet you're excited about your new baby!! We love pics here (you will find that out), so post a pic of the little guy when you can

We'd all love to see

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

CONGRATULATIONS on being owned (soon) by a lovable longear. Cant wait to see pics. I only give my weanlings and yearlings a small amount of feed daily about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of a good YOUTH feed. Donkeys are very easy keepers and will develope a crest if fed alot of protein. If you read back thru some of the older posts you will find alot of good info on how we all feed ours. Make sure you have a selenium lick available if your area is low, besides a mineral, and salt one. Alot of times when you feed a donkey loose mineral, they will get the "poops" from it. I also give my donkeys in winter about 1 cup of beet pulp, with about 1/2 cup of grain. you dont have to but it is just a little something I do, and they look forward to. It is true, adult donkeys will do great without any grain, but you do need a good quality hay. Mine have access to hay all the time. Ce

 

[dmkrieg]

I wish I could figure out how to post the little guys picture on here. You all would love him. He is going to mature around 29" and is absolutely adorable. I am going to look for the Kent or Nutrene Life Design You feed.

thank you for your suggestions. I get my little one in 12 days and I am sooo excited. If someone knows how to add pictures without having to have them on a website first please let me know. I have them saved to my computer but thats it.

 

[Suzie]

Last year we "overfed" our donkeys, causing their hooves to grow out too long fast. We fed them orchard grass/alfalfa mix. The alfalfa was too hot for them. We cut back to fescue/orhard grass this year and they are doing much better. I do feed 12% sweet feed every other day to mine in the winter. Our donks graze 24/7 and have a stall in the barn for night and rainy days and a sheltered lot for rain/snow days. Also, I found an article where donkeys need to have water to walk in to keep their hooves in shape and hard surfaces, so we are changing our dry lot to a harder surface.

Congrats on being owned by a donkey! You won't regret it.