Donkey Care & Requirements

We tend to treat our donkeys as organically as possible. We buy unsprayed hay; worm only when needed (we do our own faecal egg counts), use herbal worming deterrents, and generally find that most things resolve with herbal and natural treatments.

However, if an individual donkey shows a high worm egg count, we will worm conventionally and of course anything serious requires a vet. For a more orthodox and complete explanation of donkey requirements, we recommend logging on to any of the donkey societies – all of which have detailed donkey care sections. Below are the basics.

Shelter

It is essential that donkeys have a shed and shade to protect them from sun and rain.

Donkeys have no protective oils like horses and they really don’t like to get wet.

Companionship

Donkeys need another donkey to bond with.
No donkey should ever be alone.

Feeding

Most donkeys do very well with small amounts of pasture and good hay.

We use a combination of Meadow hay, Oaten, Rhodes and Teff hay. Teff is an excellent source of calcium and minerals, but low in sugars and carbohydrates. I also give them a small mix of oaten chaff with a supplement, sunflower oil and cider vinegar. Rosehips granules are added to the supplement and have found this very beneficial for hoof care.

A good mineral block should always be available. Try and avoid blocks with Molasses

General Maintenance

Donkeys need their hooves trimmed every 6-8 weeks. They need their teeth checked and require regular worming. We do our own faecal worm egg counts to ensure that we don’t over worm the donkeys, and herbal worming mixes are available to supplement your worming regime.

Donkeys need a salt mineral block and seem to prefer the Cobolt/Copper block but ant equine block is sufficient.

Donkeys need somewhere to roll and once they create their rolling patch they will often line up for their turn. A scratching pole is easy to make with broom brushes,which donkeys love to scratch themselves.

We find daily brushing keeps their coats soft and the donks love it. For more comprehensive and detailed information I recommend the donkey society websites in the links on the bottom of our site pages.
Donkeys are fussy about the water they drink. Water should always be kept clean and free of algae. Concrete water troughs are usually better than plastic as they keep water cool.