Caring for your donkey... Truth or consequences
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STRICTLY LIMIT HIGH PROTEIN FEEDS AND FORAGE. Due to the donkey's evolution
in dry desert or high mountain regions, its body cannot tolerate the same
high protein feeds given to a horse. These feed include: alfalfa, grains
(especially corn), commercial horse rations, even good quality timothy
hay and lush green grass. (Do be sure the hay you feed is clean and not
moldy or dusty.) Although with good intentions, many donkey owners lavish
their animals with these feeds only to bring on the inevitable: obesity,
crippling hoof conditions such as laminitis and acute or chronic founder,
life threatening colic, and severe skin rashes sometimes referred to as
"protein poisoning". Overfeeding, and its side effects, is a donkey's NUMBER
ONE health problem.
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TRIM HOOVES EVERY 6 TO 8 WEEKS. Simply wandering about rocky pasture will
not cause a donkey's feet to wear naturally as they do in the wild. Feral
or wild donkeys will forage 20 miles or more a day to stay alive. Our domestic
donkeys can rarely keep up with their untamed brethren in this department.
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IMMUNIZE ANNUALLY. If there is only one donkey who never comes in contact
with other equines, it should at least receive a tetanus booster once a
year. Otherwise, the animal should be immunized against tetanus, encephalomyelitis,
and equine influenza.
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USE A COMMERCIAL WORMING PRODUCT EVERY 8 WEEKS. Old timers used to rely
on feeding their burros a tobacco plug to kill intestinal parasites (or
worms). Today we know that the nicotine in the tobacco kills a lot more
than just the worms!
To find out more about adopting or donating a
burro, please contact us at...
B.R.R.R.O.
PO Box 222
Cheney, WA 99004
(509) 235-2255
