If you go to
www.gotdonkeys.com, you will be able to find all the breeders (and also alot of individuals) that post donkeys for sale in Indiana. As for buying book, I would suggest using the registries. IMDR has a very good book out "Caring for your miniature donkey". Prices, will vary, but you should be able to find a nice pet gelded jack in your area for between $100. to 350.00. Alot of times people will just look for homes for them as well, or like was mentioned a auction. There are alos alot of donkeys in Illinois. I bought two of mine from there. I am in north east Wisc.
If you go thru some older threads you should find some topics on training, I know I have posted on tips for training in the past. I would NOT suggest you use oats for any type of training reward! Your donkey needs to learn without ANY rewards other then praise for a job well done! Giving a reward everytime will end in a nippy donkey, also if you do want to occassionally give a treat, animal crackers (yes, the kind you would buy for kids...lol..) work great and are a good low calorie snack for a donkey. REMEMBER, donkeys do not need any grain unless they are being worked, or there is a NEED to grain one (nursing, etc) a donkey will develope a crest easy on grain. Donkeys are not stubborn, they are very inquisitive and must be 150% sure of everything that is being asked of them before they will do it. If you take all there training in "baby steps" you will end up with a happy, well trained pocket pet of a donkey who wont be able to please you enough. Always remember to keep your hands low when working with a donkey or you will be coming across as aggressive to your donkey and it will be alot harder to make him understand what is being asked of him to do.
All of my donkeys with the exception of one rescue has nice straight legs, however alot of donkeys do seem to have some degree of being cowhocked.
When you start to look for a donkey you will want to try to stay away from some of the more common conformation faults, if you plan on showing or breeding. Some faults would be:
HEAD~The head looks to large for the rest of the donkey, floppy ears, eyes look tiny, roman nose and a thick muzzle,
NECK~ to short or a thick neck.
BODY~to long or to short of a body, narrow chest, or sway back
LEGS~ try to buy a donkey with as close as possible nice straight legs, (fronts and backs) cowhocked, they should not toe in or out. (bt if its not too bad, alot of times this can be corrected with corrected trims)
HOOVES~ donkey hooves are not trimmed like a horses hooves are. A donkey hooves are more upright, but yet not too upright, they also should not be walking on there heels. The farrier you use should be familiar with donkeys and know how to trim for the right angle. Another thing to watch for is either long or short upright pasterns, or club feet.
One last thing, I always look at is the teeth, the bite (either over or under ) shouldnt be more then 1/4". I am sure there are many more, but, these come to mind.
If your looking for a pet only donkey just remember he is only going to be a pet and dont need to be perfect, he will love you and be just as happy pleasing you as a perfect show donkey. So, if you find a donkey you cant live without, and he has a few faults, as long as they dont interfer with his health. Go ahead and buy him, and he will love you for overlooking his imperfections! To know a donkey is to love a donkey! JOhn and Charlotte, what a beautiflul little fellow you have. CONGRATS
Corinne