twins

spottedrj · May 2, 2004

hello,it's me with a question on donks.....i got a jenny this past Dec. and she was soooo fat that she has a fat roll on her neck

well since we got her she has lost a lot including some on her neck. question is......i was told she was preg. but they did not know when she is due, so what are the chances that she could have twins as her belly is as big as a barrel??? she lost wt every where but her belly!!! could some one give me a clue maybe????

thanks for any in put.

MeadowRidge Farm · May 2, 2004

You can have your vet do a ultrasoun on her. My jenny looked like she was ready to explode, she was so huge...but there was only 1. Let us know if she has twins in there!!! Corinne

spottedrj · May 2, 2004

thanks for reply

i hope she is just full of baby....but twins are nice too. what are the chances of twins??? any thing like a horse??? slim to none???

dbarjminis · May 3, 2004

Actually, Donkey and mule twin foals are more apt to survive than horse foals. Donkey foals surviving are quite common compared to horses. In the ADMS publication "The Brayer", there is a couple of twin foal stories each year.

On the other hand, donkeys do get just plain huge when pregnant. My Hershey is fat all the time, but she honestly looks about 10 months along, when she is only 2! But the slimmer girls will almost get a sunken in look in front of the hip bones and their lower bellies will stick way out.

Good luck!

spottedrj · May 6, 2004

well since we do not know when or if she is bred, guess i better call the vet. out here and see what he thinks!!! i hope we will have a baby.

thanks for the info.

Sandy S. · May 6, 2004

Copied this from donkey information site:

After the Fact: After your jennet is bred, she should be ultrasounded at least once prior to 30 days to verify that she is not carrying twins. Even though the slim chance of live twins are higher for mule and donkey foals, the cost to the foals themselves and the reproductive future as well as the life of the dam is too high to risk the novelty.

http://www.oregonvos.net/~jrachau/pregnant.htm

FYI I was told that donkeys usually have a gestation of 11 to 14 months. And lifespan is 30 to 50 years.