New Donkey Owner!

Driving4fun · Apr 29, 2004

Hi everyone!

I am new to the Donkey Forum . Just went and bought two new minis mares and in the deal I got a mini spotted donkey thrown in for good measure. The two mares have been bred by the donkey and I got the test back yestarday that confirmed them both postive. So looks like I will soon be a mini mule owner also. LOL Never had them before. My father in law is a draft mule person and trail rides every weekend. But, he just doesn't understand the mini thing!

Anyway, the girls at the vets office want me to send them pictures when the babies arrive. I am hoping for spots or at the least some chrome. What are my chances? The mares are a bay 33" and the other is a true non fading black mare that is 34" very, very nice mares! Both have thrown black and white mini foals off a black and white mini horse stud.

I have had 'big horses" all my life and minis for the past 7 yrs. Now I have Quarter horses, mini gelding that drives, two mares and the jack. Also two Australian Shepherd puppies, and a 4 lb yorkie. Lost my great dane last year to Wobbles Disease, we miss her so. I have a three year old daughter and a seventeen year old son (I know I was crazy) but would do it again!

My donkey is the greatest! He tries to breed a 27 yr old QH gelding I have that totally resents it! It is so funny. I took him away from the mares he bred because he pesters them to death! He brays whenI pull in the drive way, he brays if I open my back door and call his name, he brays at us if we just get out of his site for a few miniutes and then he see us again. He is the talkingest donkey I have ever seen! We have him in a big stall made for full size horses and it is so funny you walk by and all you see is his ears sticking up!

So I would love to have anyones advice with what I am up against in the foaling thing. They are due in Sept and Oct. Also any advice with the donkey, am thinking of training him to drive and maybe do some coon mule jumping. He turns three on the 30th of this month. He is 33" and registered. I am a member with a local Draft Horse and Mule Club so can not wait to get him involved in the shows!

It is great reading all the advice and learning about others experiences with donkeys . Love these forms!

NorthStar · Apr 29, 2004

Welcome, Driving4Fun! Boy, did you luck out! They just THREW IN a spotted jack?!?!? Wow. Lord only knows at this point what color your babies will be, but guaranteed cute! Plan to sleep in the barn at foaling time, unless you have a barn cam. You don't want to let your mares foal, unattended. Lots of film ready! We will want pictures!!

MeadowRidge Farm · Apr 29, 2004

WELCOME

to the forum, from Wisconsin! WOW-talk about lucky, to have a spotted donk thrown in with a deal! I use to raise Great Danes, we had 5 but I lost my last one 4yrs. ago,

but we do have a black lab, St. Bernard, a shepard X wolf , and a white shepard. As for donkeys, I think, color genetics gets thrown "out the door"

when it comes to donkeys and breeding specifically for color. Seems to really be just plain luck and unexpected! NorthStar was right, at foaling season all you can do is watch, I have a equipage system and a barn cam and wouldnt be without them....also, helps get a LITTLE sleep at night!!! (VERY LITTLE!)

Corinne

minimule · Apr 29, 2004

Hi and welcome! I raise mini mules ON PURPOSE! We had our 4th this year, he is a beautiful sorrel color with green eyes. He is possibly a gold champagne. Just can't seem to convince the Champagne group that momma is a champagne. Oh well, we still love him.

As for the color..........who knows what you'll get. Remember Forrest Gump......

I have bred my chocolate jack to 4 different mares:

1) Silver Dapple = bay mule

2) Silver Dapple = black mule (2 months premature and lost him)

3) Gray/White pinto = sorrel/white mule (mare seems to be homozygous)

4) Cream or Ivory = gold champagne or sorrel with green eyes.

Good luck! But I would suggest if you are not going to use him for breeding anymore, have him gelded. It will be better in the long run. They can get mean, even the sweetest ones.

Driving4fun · Apr 29, 2004

Thanks all!

Have a weird question, my husband keeps asking me. Not sure how to answer him.

How did spotted donkeys originate? How did they get their color?

Also, don't have a barn cam - can someone recommend one to me. Or, does anyone have one for sale? HELP! Need advice on how to set up to prepare for the little ones. I know the basic common sense stuff, just not this new fangle stuff that makes life easier! What would be the easiest cheapest way to watch over them?

When I was growing up all our horses foaled out in the pasture, we just waited for the big surprise we would get one morning when we found them. Never lost any either.

Not going to geld him yet. I might want to use him again to breed back to the mares. You would not believe how many times I could sell these mini mules already sight unseen! I have three people who want the donkey now, and the babies I have six people who want them. I am not joking about this. I have a man who wants to buy my mares and foal them out rebreed them then we would match the babies up and I would get two and he would get two that we could match as close as possible. Why would I do this? I asked myself when I could just sell him two later? Go figure! The nares are the best, they both drive single and double and are the friendliest girls you could find. We already love then to death! I really would like to keep two of the foals so I can have a mini mule team to show in my club that I am a member of.

Thanks again, for all the replies and any help anyone wants to give me.

minimule · Apr 30, 2004

http://www.barncams.com/

These guys are supposed to be good. I haven't dealt with them but lots of people have. They can answer any questions you have.

I cheated. I went to this great store in Austin, TX called Fry's Electronics. They have all kinds of "toys". I found a wired security camera with night vision for $40. It worked great. I had 3 mares under camera at once. I put the camera in the corner of the garage and set up 3 stalls. I could see all 3 mares fine. The one that was the closest to foaling was put right under the camera so you could see everything that was going on. The other 2 you could see them up/down and eating. My husband just wired it directly into our VCR so I could watch it on 3 different TVs throughtout the house. It was great.

I could sell all my mules but haven't sold one yet. My dad is my silent partner. At first, he wanted a 20 mule team

. Now he is done to 6. We have 3, and 3 for next year. I really would like to sell some myself. It is hard though. They have such a unique personality.